ratfink76

Michael Terraferma out of Miami (Terraferma Cycles)

When I lived in Miami I used to ride with him occasionally and visit his shop to see works in progress. He built an impeccable track bike for my buddy also living in Miami at the time (Terraferma Cycles: PISTA).

While Terraferma seems to do mostly touring bikes - I've seen his other work and it is very impressive.

jr59

I'll say it's a tie;

Both Dave Wages and Tom Kellogg build OUTSTANDING bikes, and are VERY nice guys on top of that. Both free with their knowledge and understanding of all things bike.

I have 2 Spectrums and 1 Ellis (Dave Wages)

KonAaron Snake 

+1...the size of the extension is just an interesting feature to me. I really like how it both pays tribute to the original while being purpose built. What that purpose is is probably best known by smarter people than me, but I do not think it's an accident.

Some of this would depend on what I wanted built. There are some really talented frame builders out there, many of whom have been mentioned. Mooney's aesthetics speak to me the most. Why? Beats me. I really like fresh frames paint, though also understand those who think it's too thick. I LOVE Kirk's designs and history with Serotta. I also like the man very much. He took the time to contact me (I didn't contact him) about a Serotta I posted and asked questions about. Tom Kellogg is just a gentleman and behind the geometry of my favorite production bikes. RDS makes beautiful bikes and I love the history of his builds. I wouldn't hesitate to order from Daniele Marnati again and am forever in the debt of CDM for recommending him to me. If I wanted a touring bike, I don't think you could go wrong with Bruce Gordon.

Something about Picchios really appeals to me if we mean historically.

Scooper

Fair enough.

The geometry of early seventies Paramounts, the look I was attempting to emulate, didn't have sloping top tubes so that was out, and a higher level top tube would have made the frame too big for me. If you'll look at the profile below, I did leave the steerer tube longer and put spacers between the upper head tube bearing cup and the lock nut, so the added handlebar height is divided between the top head lug extension and the spacers in order for the stem length to not look too goofy. All of these compromises were done because my 72 year old body isn't as flexible as it once was. It still looks goofy, but splitting the handlebar height among the extended head lug, the spacers, and the stem makes it aesthetically a little less offensive in my view.

Italuminium

I don't really like the lugs with extensions, but then again, anything better than a spacer stack, especially if you just need 2 cm or so. Threadless stems do pose some challenges for the builder that wants to get a classic look, with the benefits of a much better stem. The combination of an extended lug and a quill stem is poorly thought out, IMHO.

but as @rhm says, plenty of other options, like sloping TT's, longer head tubes and what not.

non-fixie 

As promised, some pictures, and even a couple of videos.

Wim van der Kaaij and his predecessor at RIH Sport, Wim Bustraan, built bikes to win races, rather than to be pretty. So no fancy lug work or spectacular paint jobs. Just fast and reliable bikes. Bikes that helped win 63 world championships and Olympic gold medals.

Peter Post, winner of 65 six-day track events, rode only RIH frames during his career, regardless of the sponsor. Here he is, riding for Willem II- Gazelle:



Another example: Gerrie Knetemann, world road champion in 1978, riding for GAN-Mercier - on a RIH:




Here are a couple of vids, showing Wim van der Kaaij in his natural habitat: building a bike that could win you a medal:

e-RICHIE

The Newvex parts were conceived in 2003 and have an 18mm/20mm upper part on the top tube lug (as do the Richie-Issimos, the René Singers, the Nuovo Richies, and the Sax Max versions) because the designs were put into the market to accommodate the real estate deficit that comes with shorter stack headsets and also threadless stems. The details of each particular lug set run higher up into the shoreline. I thought this was better than simply casting an extension over the area where a head tube would typically penetrate through a lug. Some companies buy the sets and use them as supplied, and others further embellish them. Waterford seems to use them as-is. Just as the pre-IC parts were, mine are "a place" to start from, and shouldn't be considered a final iteration - though some do. PS I stopped using quill stems by 1997 so I'll add that seeing my lugs with a pre Y2K component throws me too, but we all have different reference points as the comments here prove. Oh and by the way, all the cast parts on my menu are drawn, redrawn, made into scale models, made into 3D parts, and then signed off on by me before any art file goes to the foundry.

Italuminium

Thanks for your reply Richard! Must be a fascinating process to get lugs like these designed and cast.

e-RICHIE

The 3D printed models are the best part. They look and feel like candy. I wish I could sell just them. They'd be great for holiday gift giving atmo.

KonAaron Snake 

Candy Sachs.

rmikkelsen

Here is my 1978 vintage Chris Kvale. I rode it about 700 miles this year!:

gomango

Wow!

More and larger pics please.

Italuminium

Definitely cool stuff for under the christmas tree! I recently had some cufflinks made and was utterly amazed that "they" (Shapeways) can print directly in casting wax.

e-RICHIE

Thanks!
Here are several Flickr albums that show the lack of a developmental route we take to pull some of this off atmo.


The UOS 27mm blade + 1 1/8"crown

Converting the Richie-Issimo into a 2.0 version

The UOS crown again...

The Piccoli Gioielli dropouts

RiKi-Leaks

The modified braze-on for UOS sizes

Some wax Nuovo Richie samples

Some (many...)Sax Max parts, with 3D printing images

-holiday76

what would be cool would be if you 3d printed all the parts that make up a frame then plastic-braze it together. Or just 3d print the frame as a whole. Why purpose would that serve? I have no idea, but it'd be cool.

JAG410

Joel Greenblatt at Clockwork Bikes made this All-Rounder bike recently and it blew my mind.

All Rounder by Joel Greenblatt | Clockwork Bikes, on Flickr

There's certainly no denying the skill, artistry, and perfection brought into the world by many of the masters mentioned earlier in this thread, but I love the "new school" innovations some of these younger builders are bringing to the table.

When it comes to working without a torch or file in hand, Richard Sachs wins. I love the stories and knowledge shared.

gomango

That Mr. Sachs would stop by and share speaks volumes.

Noticed and appreciated.

rmikkelsen

I had bought the frame used and freshly painted from Chris in about 1980 -- it had been his personal crit bike. I rode it steadily for years. It had about an 8-year rest, then I dusted it off in about 2002. In 2004, I sent it to Chris for another fresh coat of paint. It's got a Campy Nuovo Record/Super Record group, Here are some pix from after the repaint (you can click the small images to see larger versions:

























Before the repaint:

RobE30

I like when the fillet brazing flows like a baby's tears

noglider 

Are you saying you like it when babies cry?

zonatandem

Have owned custom tandems by:
Matt Assenmacher (MI) in the 70s. Put 64,000 miles on that one!
Colin Laing (Phx, AZ) in the 80s. 56,000 miles on it.
Co-Motion (Eugene, OR) in the 90s. Put 55,000 miles on it.
Zona (Peoria, AZ) since 2003. Currently 40,000 miles on it
Photo of Zona attached.
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

rando_couche

I'm far more interested in builders who know how to make a (BIG!) bike that works, "cutting edge" be damned. Pretty much anybody can build a 56-58 cm frame that's acceptable - hell, my CAT could do that! But a 65 cm road frame that's light, lively, solid and smooth? Good luck with that. And I've ridden enough of 'em to know that many highly regarded names don't have a clue! Albert Eisentraut had the whole big bike geometry/tubing selection thing down, and I'm willing to bet that he passed that knowledge on to his understudies (Nobilette and Gordon among others).

The one "mass produced" brand that had big bike design down (at least for me) was Eddy Merckx. I say "had" because once Eddy sold the company and the new owners moved all production to the same factories in Taiwan that everyone else uses, that all went out the window. Now they're the same as every other plastic (oops, "carbon fiber") bike out there, just with different decals.

So to get back to the original point, no it's not about aesthetics for me. It's about somebody who's built enough frames to know how to make one that fits me and does what I want it to do.

SP
OC, OR

gaucho777 

So, I'm curious: Which is your favorite and why? Would your wife say the same? How many do you still have? Any non-impact failures along the way? It strikes me that tandems are likely candidates for cutoms since the geometry has to work for two riders.

(Btw, I don't think I've ever said so before, but I do envy the saddle time you and your wife have put in over the years. My cycling time is mostly alone time, which comes with it's own set of conflicts. What an incredible bond you and your wife must have! )

jr59

Hard to give you an answer. I think that many are able to do such as you request. I named Tom Kellogg @ Spectrum and Dave Wages @ Ellis earlier in this thread, I KNOW they make bikes like you like b/c I ride a 63. I would also think Dave Kirk would do the same, not because of the hype, but b/c of his size. I'm pretty sure he and I ride the same size frame.

Just b/c I name these guys, I'm very sure there are to many to count. Building a bike isn't black art. In fact I tend to think it's a lot more of the design of the bike that makes it really work. With a small amount of practice, anyone can learn to weld.

Italuminium

A plastic bike would be whippy, whippy good. Apparently, entire titanium MTB frames have been printed. The future is now, I guess.

That said, the fact that you can print the wax models for lost-wax lugs casting makes me want to go all Hetchins and have some ultra curly lugs done. Anyone got a microfusione facility I can borrow?