Two Wheel Blogs

Since I left Badger HQ, I doubt much has happened regarding the build of my new dream. This certainly is not a complaint, we are just in a holding pattern until the tubes come in..and it is the weekend afterall... I assume that Rob and Josh were out racing today...hopefully they did well and the trails were drier.

I have little to tell, other than to summarize status:

Fork is built, but needs minor finish work before heading to paint (I don't think he polished the crown fillets yet). We decided to go with an 80mm suspension corrected design. I originally wanted to go with a non-corrected fork, but Rob pointed out that one way or another we had to elevate my hands further away from the top of the wheel...and a corrected fork is a good way to do this. Other methods include; a mega-rise stem, a giant stack of headset spacers, and a really long head tube...none are attractive options for me and my idea of what looks good. We briefly considered a 100mm corrected fork, but I think that if I ever put a squish fork on this bike (doubtful), I won't need more than three inches of travel...

Frame design is final, but Rob does not have all the tubes in stock. I wonder if he has built any frames larger than this? He has some really special tubes laying around his shop, but most are in boxes for projects underway, and are probably too short or otherwise less than ideal for my riding. I must admit, when Josh and Rob start talking about frame tubes, it sounds like two sommeliers discussing wine (they both are very passionate, and I don't have any idea what they are talking about). That said, they were discussing the tubes that they were planning to use for my frame, and they sounded pretty excited...So I am too. I never thought that building a frame was simple, but I never imagined how complex it really is...Angles and lengths are the easy part.

Paint is still a total mystery. We have discussed a few concepts, but I don't think anyone really has any idea what the finish is going to look like. I have thought about clear coating the joints (to show off the fillet work). I have also considered some whacked-out busy head-turning graphics, but that would take away from the frame's real beauty. High gloss black is a classy way to show that flow, but way to common for me. In the end, I have asked Rob to surprise me with something cool.

I have the highest confidence that it will turn out amazing!

Click here for the next post on this build

Click here to see the first post on this build