(Soon to be) NEW BIKE DAY! Independent Fabrication TiFLW

More details and complete build shots coming soon.  In the mean time let me tell you: this thing will be SICK.

Enjoy....

Lynskey Cooper - Stars and Stripes Edition

This is a special build that we partook in, though we can't lay claim to the entire bike.  You may recognize the wheels from a few weeks ago, which we were thrilled to be a part of building.  Rims are Velocity A23, hubs are White Industries H2/H3.

Let's backtrack a little.  This bike belongs to a friend of the shop who has served out country in the Army.  From the get-go this bike was to be loud and scream patriotism.  But at the same time, we didn't want to go down a route that lead to a bike that crossed a line TOO far into being gaudy.

The fork was painted locally by a great friend of ours, Duane over at Chester Cycles.  If you need something painted, this is your dude.  Turnaround has always been totally acceptable, his pricing is great, and his work is top-notch.

It's clear that in as many areas as possible, choices were made to stick with US companies, and preferably US-made products.  Of course, it's pretty much impossible to completely pull that off, but Ryan got damn close.

The frame is one that hits close to home for us, a Lynskey Cooper.  I've spent a ton of time on an identical frame, Chase still sports his, and we have a few more team people riding theirs, check them out here, here, here, and here.

The drivetrain is a mix of SRAM Force and Red.  The headset is a Chris King, the stem and post are both Thomson, tires are the wonderfully plush and grippy Vittoria EVO CS.

While the Cooper is considered by some as the "budget" Lynskey, it's far from it.  The tubing is still shaped, the frame is light, and it has one very nice feature some of the other Lynskey frames don't: a replaceable derailleur hanger.  Don't take that the wrong way, a Ti derailleur hanger makes for excellent shifting, but in the case of a serious crash isn't it nice to know that hanger is replaceable?

Nothing "budget" about this bike.  Built with care, each part chosen for a very specific purpose.  I can't help but to assume this bike rides as well as it looks.  Enjoy it, sir.

Independent Fabrication Steel Club Racer w/ SRAM Rival

On a completely opposite end of the paint spectrum from our last IF, we have this super-stealth Steel Club Racer.  While similar in construction, both are steel with steel forks and made in Somerville, this one opted for no logos at all other than the IF Crown headtube decal.

Also particularly awesome about this bike is the added clearance the Club Racer brings to the table.  With enough room for 28's easily, and maybe even some smooth 32's from certain brands, this bike is ready for good roads and bad.

We should point out that even though this bike has seen a ton of miles, the first generation SRAM Rival is still kicking!  I don't care to even imagine how many shifts it's seen in it's lifetime, but the polish remains nearly perfect and the shifting action is flawless.  What I wouldn't give for some silver Rival stuff right about now....

Independent Fabrication SSR Max

Main details:

Independent Fabrication SSR, Max tubing, internal wire routing
ENVE 2.0 fork, custom IF crown paint
Shimano Ultegra Di2
Rotor 3D Quarq
Chris King R45 to NoTubes Alpha 340 with DT Swiss Aerolite spokes
Thomson Elite and X2

The Max tubing is incredibly limited.  As of right now, only 6 tube sets were made available.  One set was used for the Abarth-inspired NAHBS show bike, one set is here on this bike.

Ride review coming, but let me spoil it a bit: this thing is fast.  What makes it fast?  It's stiff, but still rides like steel.  That means you can put some power down and it rockets forward but glides over the rough stuff.

Enough for the spoilers.

Better pictures coming soon....

I love jobs like this....

I'm happy to see anyone bring just about anything into the shop that we can work on.  No, I'm not going to start replacing spark plugs on the bikes that someone rigged up with an engine, but if the rider is the sole source of power we most likely want to work on it.

Sometimes though, we have bikes like this one come in.  The Crown Jewel is a staple of the Independent Fabrication line-up.  It's their history, it's the baseline of their stable.  This one in particular is made even better with Campy, hand-built wheels, and custom paint.  The main color is oh-so-close to the packaging Tiffany is known for.  The panels are painted a beautiful lime green.

There's something special about this one.  I get excited when it comes in the door, I get excited when it goes into the stand, and I get excited when I see it on the road.  This one has seen the road for plenty of miles over it's 12 year life.

Yes, this bike is 12 years old.

That's what you get when you make the investment upfront, a beautifully crafted steel bike, custom for you, that over a decade later will look as good as the day you bought it yet provide you with even more value every day.

IF and Alchemy at NAHBS

The North American Handmade Bike Show is one of my favorite times of year.  I wish I could have gone this year, but instead I spent about 72 hours straight on social media following photos being posted of the show.

Now that it's long-since wrapped up, we have a little info to share.  First off, Independent Fabrication came to the show with a killer new SSR Max (which we have scheduled to arrive on Monday), an outrageous single speed townie, an over-the-top Ti Factory Lightweight CX bike with disc brakes, and a pair of sweet mountain bikes.  More info can be found here.

Alchemy came away with a highly-coveted "Best Carbon Bike" award for their custom Carbon Aero Road frame.  Having had one in the shop in the fall, I can attest to the quality of the frame.  The design is beautiful, the quality is stunning.

*Alchemy photo credit to Cog Blog

Cielo Sportif Racer SE Stainless Steel

I'm keeping this one photo-driven...

Cielo Sportif Racer SE.  Word from King is that this is #1 available to the public.

Full Shimano Ultegra, Chris King R45 hubs to NoTubes Alpha rims, King Ti headset, Thomson, and Challenge Parigi-Roubaix 27c clinchers.

Go now and drool....