CharlesC

My first bike was a 24" coaster I pulled from my neighbor's trash can after it had been driven over by a car. That was when I was in the 8th grade. Straightened the frame rear triangle, bought new tires, tubes and spokes, repainted it and rode it for many years. Finally traded it in for a used 26" wheel Schwinn coaster. That bike was awsome for riding on dirt roads in New Mexico.
I built 15 custom road bike frames in the 1970's. Had one on the cover of Bicycling and The League of American Wheelmen mags. Was one I made for Ian Hibell who rode it from the Scandinavian countries to Kenya.
Around June of 1987 thought I might like to build some mountain frames so I went to Bud's Bike Shop and bought a Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo to get experience with MTB frame geometry. Never did finish my frame jig, it's still sitting in my shop 80% finished. Some day I may still get into making light weight MTB frames for us vintage riders who don't jump off tall buildings. Love riding the Fisher altho it's a bit heavy. Ride it every day. One of my brothers recently bought a new Fisher and my other one got a Trek hybrid. We ride together once a week.
This forum has recently provided me with a wealth of modern bike info and thought I should contribute where I can.
Ride on!

DnvrFox

Hi

Drop by the 50+ Forum!

ken cummings

Some frames are being made with organic carbon fiber. California of course . Try building a bunch of frames with really cheap stuff like wood dowels and bamboo (see California) for practice first.