Recent News, Frame #4

Well, I've been neglecting the blog for too long, here's some of the happenings at Ellis Cycles.


I'm making the trek to Cirque de Cyclisme in Leesburg, VA on June 6, 7 and 8. http://www.cirqueducyclisme.com/ I've reserved a table for Sunday's show and hope to display the stainless track bike, Ellis #2. Henrik hasn't decided yet if he'll drive down with #1, but it would be cool. I may bring bike #4 Travis' rando frame, but it won't be painted. Pictures to follow.


Confirmed an order for 100 Ellis Cycles t-shirts on Monday, I'm excited to see them and I'll post pictures for sale on the website when I get them. Mainly I wanted to have something to sell at the Cirque, hopefully recoup some of the travel expenses. They will be Metro Blue and Cedar with white lettering, if you want to see the colors go to: http://gildan.com/distributors/colorpalette/.

Still working on the head tube logo. Anyone who visited the website in the last couple weeks may have seen the survey, well the majority liked the iris logo, but I still think it needs some work. I'm thinking of changing the color of the iris to white with yellow falls, then making the banners white and including CYCLES under the ELLIS. I think it also needs to have a black outline around the laurels and banners to give it some definition from the background. Originally I had imagined having 2 or 3 different colors of iris to go with different paint schemes, but in the short term I think white will be the most universal. Maybe when things are busier I will expand the color choices.


OK, so on to the frame, I started frame #4 last week and have made steady progress. It's a randoneering frame for Travis, and it'll be my first custom rack. He sent the Berthoud front bag and now I need to design the rack to fit it and accommodate his light. Here's some pics.


Here's the beginnings, I raked out the fork blades really low. Finally found some Columbus blades that rake the way I like and don't have a huge minor end.









A close up of the front dropouts, tidy and neat.










All the tubes are mitered and the fork brazed up. If you look close you cna see the internal brake routing in the top tube.








Fluxed and tacked on the new fixture, very nice...








BB shell after brazing and soaking.

Head lugs.

After some time with files and emery.

I'll post more soon, especially the front rack as it comes together. I've got the seatstays ready to braze on as soon as I machine the BB shell and align the front end.

Also, stay tuned for a top secret project bike I hope to bring to the Cirque, I haven't decided if I'll post pics before then, but it should be cool.