I've known Chris for about a year and half now, after meeting him at the Cirque in 2009. He approached me just as Lisa and I were packing up bikes and displays as the "show" at the Loudon County fairgrounds was winding down. We chatted a bit, and then about a week or two later he contacted me to see if I would consider selling my 29'er. I thought to myself, "that's my bike", but then it occured to me, "you can build yourself another one, dummy!", and I finally capitulated and sent it on it's way to Chris. Well, I see the yellow Ellis pop up in Chris' Flickr pictures pretty often, so he must be enjoying it, and we've run into each other a few more times now, NAHBS in Richmond, Cirque again in VA, and most recently at the D2R2.
So, this summer Chris called me about ordering a road bike, but as we talked, I could tell he was having a tough time making his mind up on what to build. A Modern Classic, a 953, or something like my personal show bike from this year's NAHBS, below.
I knew what Chris liked about all these bikes, so I finally came up with a suggestion that we both agreed to. I'd build Chris an awesome bike, but it'd be a complete secret until he opened the box. We discussed his geometry, I sent him a copy, but as for styling, all I had to go on was our conversations and his comment, "I already have a yellow and a green bike, so something else".
Well, I've just about finished the frame, it needs some polishing before it heads to Jason for paint, but I can't post any pics! Arghhh... Suffice it to say, it turned out pretty badass, and I'm excited to see it with paint. Stay tuned, probably less than a month till the unveiling.
Cheers,
Dave
