Custom Bike Project: XS 26" Flat Bar Road Bike

This project is in the works for a long time AD Bikes customer and this will be her family's sixth bike from us. The frame is a custom geometry road frame that is basically a 26" wheeled version of the 1x9 Element model we build. The future owner has a very short inseam of about 28" and a height of about 5'2" so when she started looking at 700c (28") wheeled road bikes the bikes that fit were nil and anything that came close allowed only for up to a 23-25c tire width. For her daily commute she needs at least a 28c and a 32c would be nice! So off to the drawing board and voila! an 26" wheeled element with a custom fork.

Here is the drawing for the custom 26" wheel road fork

 More photos of the fillet brazed and custom chameleon painted frame and complete bike soon come!

700c Custom Bike Project: Cross Boss CX DD

The Cross Boss has always been a popular bike due to it's versatility. This particuar Daily Driver CB will be used for weekday commutes, country tours and a bit of CX training and racing. The Paragon dropouts on this pup are so sweet. The ISO disc tab is integrated, the drops themselves are relieved nicely and the hanger is a replaceable 7075 alloy. Yes, sick indeed. Did I mention they are stainless steel, which will be polished to and impressive lustre. Disc brakes, handbuilt wheelset, the works. This BikeCAD drawing shows many of the crucial fit dimensions for the rider.  

US Made Paragon Dropous are stainless steel

This drawing displays frame geometry such as: effective t/t, h/t length, s/t length, wheelbase, c/s length, h/t & s/t angles, bb drop, s/o height and axle to crown height 

Frame Specifications:

Geometry: Custom

Fabication: Hand-built in USA, TIG weld

Tube set: Double butted Columbus Zona Cyber CX Tube Set with CX optimized rear end featuring more bend than shallow road s-bends, but less bend than super curvy MTB s-bends.

T/T: Columbus Zona 28.6mm X 8/5/8 wall SKU: COL-KXTT Raw length: 858mm

D/T: Columbus Zona 31.7mm x 8/5/8 wall. SKU: COL-KXDT Raw length: 757mm

S/T: Columbus Zona External Butt Seat tube 28.6 x 29.3  SKU: COL-KMST Raw length: 620mm

H/T: Columbus Zona 36.0mm Raw length: 200mm

C/S: Columbus Zona S-BEND 22.2 oval x 0.7wall

S/S: Columbus Zona S-BEND 16.0mm x 0.8 wall

Dropouts: Paragon Machine Works: Low Mount Disc, Eyelets, Stainless Steel, Bolt-On Long 6061 Hanger, 

Braze Ons:  

• Disc guide: Large Miter, Single Saddle, Zip-Tie, Steel & Small Miter, Single Saddle, Zip-Tie, Steel
• Cable guide: Triple, Front, 1 1/4" Miter, 2 Slots, Through Hole, Steel & Triple, Rear, 1 1/4" Miter, 2 Slots, Through Hole, Steel
• STI:  Downtube, STI Stop, 3/8" OD, Mitered, Steel
• Water Bottle Boss: 1/4" Hole, Blind, 11 mm Flange, Stainless Steel

Frame Color: Metallic silver  

Decal Color:  Metallic dark blue

This drawing displays the essential information needed for the frame-builder to be able to cut, jig, weld and align the frame.

Fork: Ritchey Comp Cross

Blades: Carbon

Dropouts: Forged 

Steerer: 1 1/8" Alloy, threadless

Crown Race: 

A/C: 391mm

Dropout width: 100mm

Fork Color: Carbon

Wheels: Hand-built, 3x

Rims: Velocity

Front Hub: King

• Hub Shell Material -
• Bearing Type - 
• Axle Diameter - 
• Axle Length - 
• Over Locknut Dimension - 
• Spoke Holes - 
• Pitch Circle Diameter - 
• Center to Flange Right - 
• Center to Flange Left - 
• Flange Width - 

• Spoke Compatibility - 

• Weight - 

Rear Hub: King

- Hub Shell Material -
• Axle Diameter - 
• Axle Length - 
• Over Locknut Dimension - 
• Right Axle Protrusion Length - 
• Left Axle Protrusion Length - 
• Spoke Holes - 
• Pitch Circle Diameter - 
• Center to Flange Right - 
• Center to Flange Left - 
• Flange Width - 
• Spoke Compatibility - 
• Sprocket Teeth - 

• Chain Line: 

• Weight - 

Gear Ratio

• Overall Range - 

Spokes: Stainless steel, 14/15g

Nipples: Brass

Rim strips: Velocity

Tubes: Presta p/v

Tires: Panaracer

Brakes: Disc

Headset: King

BB: King

Crankset: Ritchey

• Number of Teeth - T
• Chainring Material - Alloy
• Removable Chainrings - Yes
• Crank Style - Cross
• Crank Arm Material -  
• Crank Arm Length -  175
• Chainring Bolts & Nuts - Alloy
• Bolt Circle Diameter - 
• Chainguard Outer - Yes
• Chainguard Inner - 
• Suggested Bottom Bracket - 
• Spindle Length - 
• Chain Line - 

• Total Weight - 

Pedals: Time Atac 

Chain: Wipperman stainless

Handlebar: Ritchey

Stem: Ritchey

Grips: 

Seatpost: Ritchey

Saddle: WTB

Length: 

Width: 

Height:

Weight: 

Frame: 

Much more to come..... please check back and follow the design and build of another custom cycle from Alpine Designs.

650b Custom Bike Project: Steel Kickback Two Speed

The next project will be a custom 650b wheel bike. 650b/27.5" wheels are proving to be a much better fit for riders in the 5' 8" - 6' 2" height range than the 29" wheel platform. The project is still shaping up but so far this is how it looks:

Rider Dimensions:

Inseam: 31.5" = 80 cm 
Torso: " =  cm
Arms: " =  cm
Shoulder: " = cm
Height: 5'-10" = 178 cm

Reccomended standover height = 82.55 cm

Reccomended saddle height = 70.65 cm

Reccomended effective top tube length = 

Best Fitting Bike Dimensions:

Frame: Custom,  Hand-built in USA, Double butted 

T/T: 

D/T:

S/T:

H/T:

C/S:

S/S:

Dropouts: Paragon horizontal

Braze Ons: Seat clamp, CB tab

Frame Color: Tequila

Decal Color:

Fork: Custom, Made in USA, Rigid

Blades:

Dropouts:

Steerer:

Crown Race:

A/C:

Dropout width:

Fork Color:

Wheels: Hand-built

Rims: 650b silver

Front Hub: Sturmey Archer HBT, High - polish silver

• Hub Shell Material - 6061 Aluminum
• Bearing Type - Sealed Cartridge x 2
• Axle Diameter - 9mm 
• Axle Length - 145mm
• Over Locknut Dimension - 100mm
• Spoke Holes - 32 H
• Pitch Circle Diameter - 61.5mm
• Center to Flange Right - 35.3mm
• Center to Flange Left - 35.3mm
• Flange Width - 71.5mm

• Spoke Compatibility - 13g or 14g

• Weight - 273.5g

Rear Hub: Sturmey Archer  S2C 2 speed kickback rr hub with Coaster rakeB, High polish silver

- Hub Shell Material - 6061 Aluminum
• Axle Diameter - 13/32” Slotted
• Axle Length - 162mm
• Over Locknut Dimension - 116mm
• Right Axle Protrusion Length - 23mm
• Left Axle Protrusion Length - 23mm
• Spoke Holes - 36
• Pitch Circle Diameter - 67mm
• Center to Flange Right - 26.9mm
• Center to Flange Left - 29.7mm
• Flange Width - 53mm
• Spoke Compatibility - 13g or 14g
• Sprocket Teeth - 13T through 22T

• Chain Line: 3/32” Dished  44.9mm

• Weight - 1400g

Gear Ratio

• Overall Range - 138%
• Gear 1 - 100% Direct Drive
• Gear 2 - 138% (+)38% (Gear 1 + 38%)

Spokes: Stainless steel, silver 

Nipples: Brass

Rimstrips: 

Tubes: 650b P/V

Tires: 650b

Brakes: Sturmey Archer coaster brake

Headset: Chris King, Sotto Voce, Silver

BB:  Silver

Crankset: Sturmey Archer FCS74 Series, polished silver, 175mm

• Number of Teeth - 44T
• Chainring Material - A5 Aluminum
• Removable Chainrings - Yes
• Crank Style - 4 Arm Spider A Crank
• Crank Arm Material - A356.2 Aluminum
• Crank Arm Length -  175mm
• Chainring Bolts & Nuts - SCM435 Chromoly
• Bolt Circle Diameter - 104mm
• Chainguard Outer - A5 Aluminum
• Chainguard Inner - Hi-Tensile Steel
• Suggested Bottom Bracket - Sunrace BBS15 or BBS20
• Spindle Length - (D) 110mm
• Chain Line - 45mm

• Total Weight - 610g (175mm)

Pedals: TBD

Chain: Silver

Handlebar: On One Mary Bar, silver

Stem: Nitto

Grips: Brooks leather

Seatpost: Nitto

Saddle: Brooks Swift

Length: 272mm

Width: 150mm

Height:72mm

Weight: 510g

Frame: Chromium Plated Steel

Pedals: TBD

Much more to come..... please check back and follow the design and build of another custom cycle from Alpine Designs.

Custom Bike Profile: Titanium 29er

Titanium 29er Custom Built Profile

This lightweight, made to measure 29er I designed for a Canadian customer is used for 24 hour racing and epic riding in the mountains of Alberta. I needed to get as much standover clearance as possible for his relatively short inseam. This is where 29ers meet their design limits due to their tall crown height requirements. I stretched the limits by radically sloping the top tube and then bracing the seat tube with a 1" tube. The head/tube was designed short to provide every bit of stand over possible . The t/t is mitre'd into the d/t to squeeze it all in there. The seat tube is left about 19" long so that the seat post doesn't stick out a mile and the seat stays intersect nicely with the s/t brace. The owner named it "Airtight alibi" - his frame turned out light, laterally rigid and aesthetically unique.

Jason at El Camino fab flawlessly executed the CAD design by providing the miter operations and tig welding on the frame. He also added some custom bends turning non descript 7/8" 3/2.5 ti tubing into beautiful s - bend stays. This frame received all the good stuff. U.S. Made 3/2.5 ti tubeset. 6/4 ti Paragon "Wright Bros" hooded dropouts and Paragon cable stops, etc.

After getting the frame back from El Camino I did the satin polish with scotch brite pads, laid down some custom cut decals and then applied a final sealant/polish.

All of the frames ti surfaces were prepped with anti-seize and then I built it into a complete bike using manufacturers specified torque ranges and being careful to keep a close eye on all the important details. The list of parts on this 2-9 x-c flyer would please any rider.

COMPONENT SPECS:

FORK: Rock shox reba 29r 80mm
WHEELSET: Handbuilt - Ti Dye spokes, Alloy nipples, Dt Swiss hubs, Mavic disc rims
BRAKES: Magura Marta Hydraulic

DRIVETRAIN
Shift levers: xt 3x9
Front Derailleur: xt
Rear Derailleur: xt
Crank Set: xt 170mm
Chain Sram: PC971
Cassette: xt 11-34t
Bottom Bracket: Race Face x-type
Headset: Chris King NoThreadset

TOP KIT
Handlebar: Race Face next carbon flat
Stem: Race Face deus
Grips: Race Face good evil
Tubes: Ritchey
Tires: WTB exiwolf 29x2.3
Rim Strips: Ritchey Snap On
Seatpost: Race Face next carbon
Saddle: WTB stealth ti
Seat Clamp: UNO Al black
Pedals" Time atac carbon
Ferrules: Wheels Mfg machined brass

 If you like what you see and are interested in a custom cycle please feel free to email an inquiry.

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