One of the first few bikes I sold was to a really cool guy named Tim who lives on the East Coast. He called in one day and wanted to order a bike to allow him to cycle while he travels. He travels often (5x or more per year) and right now isn't able to explore his destinations by bike, but that's about to change!
Tim wanted something with an Internal Hub (changes gears inside the rear hub) and that would allow him to go really fast. There are a number of internal hubs available, but few that will allow a really good gear range (most allow you to go fast up hills, and decently quick on flat ground, but not on downhills... The SRAM Dual Drive allows you to have even more range than your typical triple-chainring system, but with the simplicity of a single ring in the front and a single rear derailleur. It's got an awesome sound too!
Here are some pics of the bike in process:
Each bike gets "Kitted" which means the complete bike is put into this bag prior to going out to production. The Kit includes the wheels, and all parts for the bike. We pre-order the parts so they're ready and waiting to be put on the bike once the frame is built up.
This shows the suspension seat post a "Thudbuster ST" and the Dual Drive actuator.
One of the things I knew Tim would appreciate is the "Gold" chain. I think this ultra-light and durable component really sets the bike apart. I want one for my bike!
The wheels were waiting for assembly prior to the bike build at the wheel station. At BF, the wheels are laced by machine, then hand-trued by our master wheelsmith. I love the fact that the front hub is Shimano XT. Very nice stuff!
After the bike is cut, it's put onto this rack so that the brazer can quickly assess that all pieces are correct and ready for the brazing process.
These are shots of the brazing process (sort of like tack-welding the pieces in place prior to doing a full weld)
In this shot you can more easily see the finished frame on the assembly jig. Tim's bike has a "Heavy Rider Upgrade" which means that the large oval tube and the rear seat-stay / chainstay loop uses thicker-wall and slightly oversized tubing. It's easily identifiable prior to being powder-coated since it has a darker color and has writing on it.
Don't look into the light! ... But it's so beautiful! Zap!
Here's a close-up shot of the fork on the welding stand.
Above is a close-up of the mono-tube near the base of the folding seat mast.
Above is a shot of the bottom bracket including our stamped frame number. To the left is the top of the folding seatmast with brazed-on clamp.
Once the bike is brazed, welded and powder-coated, areas that require bolts are drilled out, then the frame is aligned. Using calipers and exacting measurements, each frame is hand-aligned.
Once the frame is aligned, it goes to the assembly station to have all of the parts put on. This is the bike in its near finished form. Notice that Tim got a special custom 2-color paint job. He requested black fork with his Orange bike. He has an orange Camaro and I suspect this will look pretty awesome sitting next to it... or inside of it. Not too many full-sized bikes can go into the back of a Camaro. But, a Bike Friday can!
This shows a close-up of the Cane Creek Solos Headset. This is the same one I'm putting on my new Bike Friday. It's a high quality headset that won't break the bank. The headset takes a lot more torque on our bikes due to the long steering mast, so it's really important to have a high quality one.
This shows the Sram X-7 rear derailleur and the smokin' gold chain!
I love the color-matched chain protector!
This shows a close-up of the SRAM DualDrive Hub. All of our frames come with a pre-brazed trailer attachment. It takes a standard air-compressor nipple and works very well.
Here's a shot of the finished bike after the test ride, just before it went into the packaging stage.
Once I get a photo from Tim, I'll add it below. More to come!
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