Chapman Cycles

Paul’s randonneur

Brian — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:43:37 +0000

There’s nothing quite like building a complete bike with fenders, pump, rack, and integrated lighting. The challenge is getting everything to sync up and work flawlessly together. And then there’s the fact that everything needs to look good together. There’s a combination of parts on here that just flowed seamlessly. The finish of the Nitto, Grand Bois, and Cane Creek components was almost a perfect match. The polish of the stainless frame details, the SON dynamo front hub, the White Industries rear hub, and the Paul Racer brakes (very appropriate) also went very well together.

My main concern with this bike was the paint. Paul wanted contrasting fenders that were inspired by fendered cars of the 1930s. I was concerned about the bike becoming too dissonant. But through several computer mock-ups, we were able to come to an agreement on a design based off of a green Mercedes Morgan. The fenders ended up getting small pinstripes on the edges to match the frame and fork.

See the full slideshow.

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Josie’s fendered road bike

Brian — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:45:24 +0000

Fendered? Befendered? I don’t care to fight with my spell checker so it’s going to be fendered from here on in. Josie is an incredibly talented artist and designer living here in Providence who initially helped me with the Chapman Cycles headbadge and logo. Although not a functional part of the bicycle, I think that the headbadge is one of its most important aspects. It’s one of the first places I look when identifying a bike and it reflects how the manufacturer cares to brand their machine. Josie understood this quite well and was able to create my headbadge with the fabrication powers over at Hookfast (also located here in Providence, RI). The result is much more detailed and beautiful than I had hoped for. And I, as a bicycle builder, now feel the need to compete with the beauty of the badge when making my frames. The area I focus on to balance out this badge is always the seat cluster. On this frame I brazed stainless tubing to the seat stays for caps, formed that tubing to the shape of the lug, and then carved the four points in this cluster to make a shape that is symmetrical and balanced. I have always focused on single color paint schemes so I don’t add any other colors or textures in this area, instead I opt to polish the stainless caps. The chrome-like appearance of the polished stainless defines the lines and draws in the eyes. The head lugs on this bike were carved a bit to add the wave-like flourish on the sides. It’s not a proprietary design but it’s one that I’ve always liked. The fine metallic green paint enhances all the lug lines of the bike (as well as any file marks). A mix of old and new for the components round out a bike that should keep Josie cruising for a long time.

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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Almost as tall as they come

Brian — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 23:36:38 +0000

When Steve inquired about a custom frameset, I knew it was going to be big. At 6 feet 3 inches, the off the shelf bikes just didn’t fit him that well. To accommodate a tall bike like this, I opted to use larger diameter thin wall tubing so it wouldn’t feel so willowy. Some people like steel frames for their liveliness but there are limits to what is and is not pleasant to ride. The tubing is True Temper as they could supply me with the lengths and diameters required for the seat tube and down tube. Similar to one of my earlier builds with the oversize 31.8mm seat tube, I was not happy with the availability of 30.6mm seatposts on the market so I opted to turn down a Nitto oversize seatpost to 30.6mm on the lathe and re-polish it. The main components on this bike are from the Campagnolo Athena 11 speed alloy group. It’s silver crankset, shifters, and derailleurs go very well with the Velo-Orange brakes, stem, and wheelset. The handlebars are Deda 44cm wide that I polished silver. The pump on the drive side seat stay is a Lezyne painted to match. Steve picked out a bright red for the color which definitely makes this bike stand out of the crowd.

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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A bike for my brother

Brian — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 03:16:27 +0000

My older brother has been a big support for me throughout my life so building him a custom bicycle was a pleasure. This bike is combination of porteur and sporty roadster. The rack is nowhere near the size of a porteur but is a little bigger than I normally build. The Acorn rando bag that goes on it (not pictured) is fully supported which alleviates the need for a decaleur and makes the bag keep its shape over time. The lugs are the Richard Sachs Newvex and the tubing is Columbus Spirit for Lugs. Almost all of the components on this bike have been modified in one way or another. The Velo-Orange bars, Nitto stem, Nitto seatpost, MKS toe clips, Dura Ace brake, brake hardware, Tektro brake levers, Honjo fenders, fenders stays, Dura Ace shifter, IRD crankset, chainring, chain guard have all been anodized black. The brake levers were hacked down and then filed and polished prior to anodizing. The Sugino chain guard was machined down on the lathe to work better with the 39t chainring. The Dura Ace centerpull brakes were completely dismantled and fitted with new hardware prior to anodizing as well. It was a fun project trying to get all the components black and my brother’s choice of the cranberry metallic works well with the bike as a whole.

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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Gary’s fillet brazed light tourer

Brian — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:36:12 +0000

This bike will be on display at the Philly Bike Expo this coming weekend not only because it is a good looking bike but because the bike’s owner is conveniently located in Philadelphia. A show bike is almost always defined as a bike that is not meant for riding, just ogling. The bikes at these shows should be beautiful but I’m always a bit happier when I can see that they’ve already been loved. Gary’s bike will not be an exception. He has had the bike for several months now and has kindly agreed to let me show it in his hometown. I built a custom stem and rack for this one. There is also an integrated pump and dynamo/lighting. Black components play well with the burnt orange paint. And there’s also a slight pearl coat on there to give it a little bit of flair. If you manage to come out to the show in Philly this weekend, stop by and say hi!

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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Brian B’s light touring bike

Brian — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 11:45:14 +0000

There’s nothing like going on a bicycle tour where your primary concerns are where to sleep and what to eat. It only takes a short tour to really get satisfaction from that simple routine. This bike is what I consider the ideal vehicle for such short jaunts. It’s built from Columbus SL tubing and weighs in at 23 pounds with racks, pump, and fenders. The bike is spritely and can accelerate like a vintage racer but it’s function is definitely as an escape vehicle. It’s built with classic lugs with clean lines and no cutouts. It doesn’t have too many frills that detract away from the bike’s primary purpose which is to move the rider and gear from one place to another as fast and comfortable as possible. The racks are also bare bones, designed to carry panniers, a handlebar bag, and whatever else needs to be strapped down to them. The custom stem has the front brake cable hanger integrated into the shaft to match the rear.

Now, I need to say a couple word about the owner of this bicycle. When Brian came to me looking for a light touring bike, I knew I was going to have fun building it. I had built a racing bike for him a couple of years ago and his consideration and understanding as a customer always made me want to go above and beyond for him. He’s genuinely a good person and you should consider yourself fortunate if you ever get the chance to meet him. His positive attitude is infectious even for this jaded New Englander. We need more people like him in the world. An example of how nice he is, he came up from Greensboro, NC to the Cirque du Cyclisme to meet me and pick up the bike! I was rushing to complete the build before I left and I was glad I was able to get some pictures of the bike in the hotel parking lot before making its way to its new home!

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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Andy’s Columbus Max single speed

Brian — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 02:20:12 +0000

Andy came to me knowing that he wanted a single speed with Columbus Max tubing. He also knew that I was mostly focusing on commuter and light touring bikes which was fine as this would be his simple city commuter. This is the bike that he’d use for working, commuting, or just getting to the coffee shop. My biggest problem with this bike was the use of the Columbus Max fork blades. I didn’t like the beefy crowns that were available so I designed a twin plate version. After brazing it together, I polished it and had it chromed. As for the rest of the Max tubes, I only used the seat tube and down tube. The top tube is Columbus Spirit for Lugs and the stays are Columbus SL. The seat binder is integrated into the fastback seat stays to accentuate the flow of the fillet brazed joint through the entire seat cluster. The front and rear dropouts are Campagnolo pista and are very fitting with the rest of the Campy components (including C-Record seat post and low flange hubs). I was happy to see that Cinelli reissued their 65 Criterium bars too. They have a nice gradual bend that’s not too deep and they are super light. A very classy build.

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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Chris’ City Bike

Brian — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:34:32 +0000

I built a bike for Chris’ wife, Lori-Ann last year and upon delivery Chris put a deposit toward a bike of his own. He had a vision of a bike with moustache handlebars, brown leather, dynamo lighting, and lugs. This city bike/commuter is what came together. He will be using a BOB trailer to carry his cargo so there were no racks needed for this one. It was built from Columbus Spirit for Lugs tubing and Richard Sachs lugs. The blue paint is almost gray in dim light. Thin silver lining accents the shorelines of the lugs and spots of white show the cutouts.

I brought this bike down to Leesburg, VA earlier this month to Le Cirque du Cyclisme and it tied Johnny Coast for Best City/Utility Bike. For those not familiar with Le Cirque, it’s a gathering of vintage bicycle enthusiasts and people who appreciate the craft of hand made bicycles. If you get the chance to go, I highly recommend it! If not for the bikes, then definitely for the people who share your passion.

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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Jon’s road bike

Brian — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 15:12:46 +0000

Jon and I have been on many adventures together over the years (since 1985 to be exact). One adventure that sticks in my mind was our bike trip to Montréal. I was on an old Klein Quantum and he on his Bridgestone MB-5. Although his bike was much more suited to touring than my Klein, his bike fit was a bit off. I can remember him being in great pain on the ride home and adding a considerable amount of ibuprofen to his daily food intake. Fast forward 11 years and I’ve finally built Jon a bike that he can take on long tours and be comfortable. This is a relaxed geometry road/light touring bike that can withstand the weekend or week long rides that he plans on taking. The lugs and fork crown on this bike are Pacenti Artisan that have been heavily carved and modified to have the longest points possible without adding more material. The tubing is Columbus throughout with polished stainless details on the seat stay caps and front derailleur braze-on. The front and rear dropouts are Suntour but have been hacked down to be as compact as possible. The build is full Shimano Ultegra 10 speed with the Shimano R701 shifters, medium reach Shimano R650 brakes, Nitto stem and post, and an IRD Defiant crankset. The classic metallic blue paint dramatically brings out the lugs lines while Jon’s choice of brown Brooks leather saddle and tape bring it all together.

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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A big bike with big tubes

Brian — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:06:20 +0000

I believe this is the longest it has ever taken me to build a bicycle. It’s the polishing of stainless steel that will seem to eat away every minute spent at the workbench. It’s worth it though in the end. I worked with Ryan on every aspect of this one. He is an industrial designer by trade and his requests were very tasteful, so sharing the vision of the finished bike was not hard. The bike is a 61.5cm road/commuter with super oversize Columbus tubing and the new Richard Sachs Sax Max series lugs. The crown (which is not a Sachs) was carved and polished to match the lugs. The front and rear dropouts are from Paragon and were polished as well. The rears had the bottoms polished by Ryan’s request to alleviate paint chipping over time. The custom stem has a nice polished stainless ring that flows seamlessly into the Star stainless headset and into the stainless head lug. The cable hanger on the stem was fabricated from the STI cable stops that were originally part of the bottom head lug and polished to match the rear.

The geometry of this bike is more relaxed than most large frames. The seat tube angle of 72.5° and the long chainstays get Ryan into a comfortable position on the saddle without having to feel every bump over the rear wheel. The downfall of using this oversized tubing is that there are very few seatpost options out there. So I ended up getting a Nitto S67 31.6mm oversize seatpost, machined it down to 30.6mm on the lathe, and then re-polished it (there was plenty of meat on that post to remove 0.5mm from the wall). The rear rack is a tiny custom with stainless toe strap guides to hold down that jacket when it gets too warm. And the paint is an understated cactus green with pearl topcoat and yellow details.

Ryan has worked in bike shops over the years so he picked out all the parts and did the build. I just had to install the fenders, rack, stem, post, and lights on there. The fenders, which are Berthoud stainless, were polished up as well. The lights are Supernova and the dynamo is a polished Shimano DH-3N80 to complement the White Industries rear hub. The brakes are the polished Paul Racer Mediums with very low profile mounts.

The full slideshow of 73 pictures goes through the whole build process over the last couple of months. It was definitely a good exercise in polishing and patience.

See the full slideshow of pictures.

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