Some new dropouts with cut outs for little mountain bikes and lower standover frames.

 Little red 20"

 Lightweight Ti 24". I forgot how much of a pain it was to work with hooded dropouts. They just aren't nearly as easy to work with as slotted BMX style dropouts. The only advantage they have is that they reduce the possibility of air contamination while welding.

Titanium 24 racer.

My guess was off by .1 lbs, its going to be 2.9 lbs with a seat stay brace.

A few years ago I sent a trail frame out and the customer expressed a general concern over the two piece seat tube. What looks like a few tubes welded end-to-end is actually called a seat collar (which is pressed in and fusion welded). Think of it as a way of custom single butting a tube. These are ubiquitous in custom frame building.

Slowly getting there on Ricks Ti frame, very stoked on how its going so far. I was worried that the smaller headtube would distort (Ti distorts much more than 4130) but my new heatsink purges kept it in shape. Could have been done sooner but the rain has made life suck this week. I had to evacuate yesterday due to a potential levy failure up the street. There are people in a worse boat (cars) up in Travis county. Austin's creeks just got hit pretty hard. In the background is a fully submerged 12th St skatepark. 

Tony O's

half of the order

 The test part for the thermachrome powder was this fork. The stuff costs ~$50 after shipping, and I have to mix it with a clear. It also requires a 2nd or 3rd straight clear coat over it to provide UV resistance. So I'd say its a $75 add-on if yer interested. It comes in black, blue and orange and can be layed over a solid color.

Thermachromic powder

 Finally got some usable weather for Randle's thermal color changing frame: black at 85 and below, raw at 86* F and above. This stuff was odd because the coat stayed clear after coming out of the oven and cooling down to room temp. Luckily the fridge in my shop is empty because it required a shock of cold air to activate the effect.

A goof-off shot during some stock manufacturing photos we did last weekend. I don't typically wear a welding helmet and gloves while firing sparks off randomly.

Could have used some more time to get Tony's DJ coated, but this one is going to be a little complicated also.

I can almost remember what it was like to ride bikes. We've had weeks of heavy rain and a forecast without reprieve. About this time last year on the 22" near Austin:

Mike's 22 again

 Mike and his son's rides

Lots of 33.5* miters. Four piece bars on the way

 An Empire gusset on a significant 20"

All the rain has tied up the powdercoat schedule. I've got four naked frames laying around

44mm Cane Creek POS

For 44mm inset headtubes: avoid the Cane Creek upper headset. Opt for a Chris King or FSA.

I have been wondering why my upper seal and lower cup have crept out of place. The tolerances on the stock bearing were beyond sloppy, and the wedge that keeps them in place was plastic. I reamed out the press-in cup on the lathe and tap fit a BMX style bearing in place of the garbage stock bearing. I am really wondering why the headset didn't come with a decent bearing begin with.

Offset the seat tube for clearance. The (27.2mm seatpost) seattubes are a little larger and leave less room for the tire than the externally machined (25.4mm post) tubes. This one can be slammed at 14.8" with adequate clearance for a 28t sprocket and a 2.35" tire.