We’re entering the first thaw of the season (Will it last?? Will it be a false start to spring?? Only time will tell!), and we’ve got a bunch of custom builds to share. These builds kept us busy through the winter doldrums. Some were started quite some time ago, but due to the parts shortages that have cursed us over the past year, they took a bit to come to fruition. Luckily, our very patient customers have been super understanding, and we thank you for it! This spread of bikes covers a pretty good range of the kind of bikes we love to build, ride, assemble, and customize. (Ryan says, “where are the bags?? where are the racks?!") Some of these are out on the road, being enjoyed by their owners, others are patiently waiting at the shop for the return of pleasant weather.

Adam’s Sam Hillborne

This Rivendell Sam Hillborne was brought in to us (along with a fine selection of used components) after our customer picked it up from the RBW google group (a slightly more modern extension of the RBW forum). If you love Rivendells and want to chat with other folks that love them, it’s the place to be. We tried to honor the true nature of a Riv build with triple cranks, MKS platform pedals, and leather and cotton accoutrements. There were some fun details we got to execute on this bike. It’s not every day you get to shellac bar tape and finish it with twine.

Matt’s Piolet

If you’re gonna go, you better go, and this bike GOES. Our customer wanted to drape this Velo Orange Piolet in silver and orange and we were happy to oblige. A few of us are big fans of colorful cable housing, and Jagwire provides some great colors to choose from, like this orange. Jones bars, Simworks Super Yummy tires, and Kona composite Wah Wah pedals bring the shredability. I believe this is our first build using Microshift Advent, a very afforadble and effective groupset. It’s kind of the new kid on the block, and so far we’re really liking it. We’ve got some more plans for Advent, so stay tuned. Fun note about this build: we couldn’t find modern silver 1x cranks, so we polished up this set of vintage shimano square tape cranks.

Gary’s Gorilla Monsoon

This All-City Gorilla Monsoon is one of the more modern builds we’ve done. 1x11 SRAM drivetrain, hydraulic road brakes, thru-axles, tubeless…all very fun stuff. If you haven’t tried Rene Herse tires yet, we highly recommend them. Some (or all?) of us have put some serious miles on them, and it’s hard to imagine riding anything else at this point. Cool thing about this build is that with the tire clearance this frame has, it could be a very sick trail bike with just a swap of tires. Honestly could probably just take it out as is as long as it’s not too muddy out there. The Wissahickon schist can get pretty sloppy after a recent rain.

Ryan’s Circle A Cycles

Last entry is also our first entry in to the “Employee Bike” category! This fully fillet brazed Circle A frame has lived many lives since Ryan picked it up in 2014. This most recent iteration is a result of one CJ Arayata planting the idea of a single speed rando bike in Ryan’s head. What came out is maybe more of a single speed gravel bike, but close enough. Due to the frames lack of really any eyelets (twas a cross racing machine after all..), a little bit of thinking outside the box had to occur to mount the dyno light. We’ll see how long before it ends up with gears on it again. If half the fun is building the bike, and you build it twice, then you’re always having fun? Anyway, build list includes Paul Components stem, White Industries headset, cranks, and ENO hub, TRP mini-Vs and brake levers, and Schmidt dynamo hub and light. Fun fact: This frame and fork were built by Brian Chapman before or around when he established Chapman Cycles. If you haven’t checked out his instagram or flickr account, you’re missing out on some truly beautiful bikes and some amazing process videos.

Til next week: Spring’s first flowers are popping up as we speak so quit reading this and get out there!