THE PROCESS OF GETTING A FRAME

I make steel frames, and complete bikes one at a time. You can think of a frame-order as a collaboration to make a cutting-edge steel frame to suit you out of combinations of light-weight steel tubing that simply do not get used on production frames because their failure rates would be too high. Because I get to know your requirements, I can make a design that will work just for you. The result will weigh 5-25% less than a production steel frame, which is a good measure of the additional spring and desireable absortion I can build-into the design, which lets you ride longer and arrive feeling less beaten-up.

I offer TIG welded frames. The fillet-brazed construction is still available but now on a more limited basis with longer delivery times. All frames are priced painted in either two pack auto paint with clear-coat, or powdercoat, both of which I send out to the experts. All threads and bearing surfaces are faced and chased.

With a few emails or discussions on the phone, we can establish the type of frame or complete bike that suits your needs.

I really enjoy doing this for a living so I run and update this website myself to give you a look into how I go about it.

Because each frame is totally unique, I can give you a rough guide of a time to completion but am not able to give a solid timeframe. I am currently estimating orders will be filled in 12 weeks.

• one of my standard designs: choose from fixie, track, 29er, mtb, road-racing, sport-road, randonneur, touring, cyclocross, 96er. and I'll recommend geometry for your frame size.
• a standard design adjusted to your saddle-to-handlebar and saddle-to-Bottom-bracket-axle measurements.
• your design that I've checked over and approved.
• a fully custom design based on your body measurements from +$150.
• a Bike Fit session with either of the following practitioners: the resulting design feeds into my build process:

  --Osteopath Dominic Briscombe of First Place Osteopathy in Melbourne: a former B-Grade road racer, Dominic uses a fully adjustable fit bike.

  --Steve Hogg of cyclefitcentre.com in Sydney who is well known and published in cyclingnews.com

My prices reflect the amount of extra time involved. I explain these in more detail lower down the page.

Along with frame dimensions, we decide on frame tubing, frame parts and the method of constructing the frame.

If you're interested in going ahead, I use BikeCAD to display the proposed design and email it to you to check it out, along with a one-page form to record the things you'd like. Fully custom designs require a 10% deposit at this stage before we get into the measurements for the design.

The BikeCAD drawing can also show fit-dimensions such as saddle to handlebar distance which you can use to compare with your current bike. Typical BikeCAD drawings are here,

A deposit is required and I start the build process. As part of buying one of my frames, you're welcome to come out and meet me and see where it all happens.

Once you decide to go ahead with a frame order, I ask for:

Delivery of the frame to you can be arranged for $30-$40 around Australia.

When I receive your deposit, I organise all the tubes and frame parts I need. For most frames I'll have all the parts, while some frames may need special tubes and we will be waiting about a week or two for the parts to arrive. By then you will have moved up the queue a little. Once built, the frame is 'faced and chased' then painted which can take anywhere from 5-10 weeks.

The detail - the ways you can order a frame;