The Process of Making a Steel Frame

The building of our frames begins with the frame design. Our designs are not radical. They are built around concepts which have been proven over the years. These designs are tempered by the experience of our staff, our riders and our racers. We seek to distinguish our frames through exquisite attention to detail in execution and continuous improvement in a myriad of small ways.

Improvements can be as small as a better seat collar, minor changes in geometry or improved color selection or as significant as offering different seat stay configurations. Most of the progress in the development of modern steel bikes is the result of improved alloys of steel which allow steel bikes to be significantly lighter than their forbears. We are constantly evaluating new materials to see if they can contribute to the improvement of the breed.

The design and the selection of the tubes and accessories determines the flow of work through the shop. Presented in this section is the sequence of activities which go into making a typical steel frame. This is not a comprehensive list but will give the reader an overview of the significant procedures which go into each frame. Custom frames and custom painting will extend the tacking and painting sections.

Note: The fabrication of a ti frame is similar except that there are additional steps. The ti tubing, for example does not come in butted form and cut tubes must be sent out to Form Centerless Grinding to be butted. The final finish of the ti frames is performed by Metal Improvement, Inc. who shot peen our frames. The shot peening adds one week to the production process as compared to the making of steel frames. Carbon seat tube inserts are glued in place with epoxy after the frame is shot peened.