My New DRB!

It took a while, but it's finally done! This frame is actually the one that I'm brazing in Chris' video in Vimeo, and I displayed it at NAHBS as a "raw" frame, but since then it's kept sliding onto the back burner as Jason worked on frames for customers. If you haven't seen the video, definitely take a couple minutes to check it out, it was filmed over the course of one day in my shop this past Jan, and it features both of Ellis' furry mascots, Woody and Chuckles!

Ellis Cycles from Chris Harris on Vimeo.

Getting back to the bike though, it's my personal DRB, and I designed it to accept mini v-brakes for maximum tire clearance and it features fully internal wired Di2 components. It's perfect for exploring dirt roads, and with a skinny set of tires, it certainly doesn't hold me back on the smoother pavement!

In the next week or so I'm hoping to get some better pictures of the complete bike, but if you're heading to Blue Mounds this Sunday for Robbie Ventura's Gran Fondo, you can check it out in person. I'm also looking forward to D2R2 in about a month's time as well, can't wait to try out the DRB there!

Cheers,
Dave

Three Dirt Road Bikes

As usual, I've been neglecting the blog, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been turning out bikes. If you check out my Ellis Picasa page here; https://picasaweb.google.com/elliscycles, there you'll see some of the newest bikes to head out into the world.

Right now, I'm working on parts of the next 3 bikes in the queue, which all happen to be DRB's (Dirt Road Bikes). They're all a bit different, but I managed to get the forks built together and yesterday I worked on all three sets of chainstays.

Here I've got 2 sets of blades for the two forks that will be getting chromed. The third fork will be painted, so it gets different dropouts.

All 3 forks brazed and ready for finishing.

Here's my chainstays and dropouts. All three bikes are going to have stainless steel chainstays and seat stays, so they require a bit more work to prepare. The longer stays are KVA's round oval round stays and the shorter oval stays are Reynolds 953.

On stainless chainstays, I grind the dropout tabs to a point and then slot the stays into a point as well. I'll finish the stays with this point slightly proud of the stay so that the silver braze material doesn't get polished out during finishing, leaving a low spot. Below are all the stays, slotted and prepped for brazing along with a bunch of stainless washers that will make up the dropout faces.

On the Reynolds 953 chainstays, I'll be leaving the reveals open on the end of the stays to allow for Di2 wiring.


All three sets, brazed up and ready for finishing. Two of these sets will be heading out for pre-polishing, and then I'll concentrate on finishing the one bike that will be getting a "brushed" finish.

More soon!
Dave

Three New Ellis

Things are moving right along here at Ellis, and I've got a few new bikes to share.

First, Jim's green on green light tourer is headed to the Great White North! He's promised some complete bike photos once it's finished.

Han's touring bike will be hitting the road in Switzerland soon! His request for the paint scheme was simple, "autumn". We also designed it for the Map/Ahearne style bars, so Hans could be a bit more upright than a true tourer.


Finally, Tom's DRB/Seattle Commuter, on it's way to the rainy Northwest! I set up the fenders so they can be installed and removed in a matter of minutes with a 4mm allen wrench so Tom can do double duty, commuting and longer weekend rides.

There are lots more photos of these 3 bikes on my Picasa page here; https://picasaweb.google.com/elliscycles. Plus you can see the build progressions of each one as well.

That's all for now, but Jason just sent me a note to say that the next Ellis will be ready on Thurs. morning, so I'll get pics of that one up soon!

Cheers,
Dave

Classic Rendezvous!

It was only a short 14 hour drive to Greensboro, NC this weekend for the Classic Rendezvous this past weekend, but completely worth it! Got to see some old friends and do some nice rides in the warm weather that so far has been lacking in WI.
Wayne and I posing with our Ellis frames and outfits!

Sydney and I with my large white Ellis and her "petite" Ellis.

At Sunday's swap and show I shared the love with some Ellis t-shirts. Scott's got his, when are you gonna get one!

Thanks to Dan for sharing his photos with me, there's lots more at the Classic Rendezvous website here; http://www.classicrendezvous.com/weekend/pictures.htm

I'll have some pics of the latest Ellis' soon!

Cheers,
Dave

Ellis 29'er, First Dirt!

I'm a bit sheepish to admit it, but yesterday was my first day out on the new 29'er. It's not that there haven't been opportunities to get out before this, but it has been a cold, rainy spring here in Wisconsin. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

As for the ride, I wasn't sure how many miles my legs had in them, but once I got going, I did the whole blue loop, the connector trail and Emma Carlin at the Kettles. All told, 28 miles and change, and I was kinda dragging on that last bit of the blue loop, sore legs today!

What can I say about the bike? I may be a bit biased, but it really rocks! The combination of really light wheels, (Stan's Crest rims with tubeless Schwalbe Racing Ralph's) and the XTR parts is amazing. I couldn't believe just how powerful the XTR brakes are, just one finger and I can totally lock the wheels up with almost no effort. The 2 x 10 is cool too, but I have to admit, I don't think I used the big ring at all yesterday, the 30T with an 11 x 36 cassette was plenty for the ups and downs at the Kettles.

I think if I had been on my old Rockhopper, I'd have maybe ridden the blue loop and the connector, but this bike just begs to be ridden longer and faster! (pretty cliche, right?)

Well, that's all I've got for now, here's to more warm weather here soon!

Cheers,
Dave

Dirt Road Bike in it's Natural Habitat!

After I had built my first DRB (Dirt Road Bike) last fall, I decided to tweak the design just a bit and make one that would be my full time road bike for the upcoming season. This worked out great for Carl, he had just moved to Western Mass, home to lots and lots of dirt roads. I shipped the yellow beauty off to him last winter, and now it's happily traversing the gravel and dirt roads just like it was designed to do!

Cheers,
Dave

Ellis #3 For Sale (New Price)

I've got a new road bike at paint, and with my limited bike storage space Ellis #3 has to find a new home. Here's a great chance to own a piece of Ellis Cycles history, and a pretty sweet bike!

53cm ST c-c

60.5cm TT (effective)
72.5* ST angle
73.5* HT angle
19.4cm HT
7* TT slope
42cm Chainstays
(If anyone wants more info, I can send a copy of the drawing)
Frame weighs just under 4lbs, but is super solid with the XL tubing

The tubing is XL diameters (31.8mm TT &ST, 34.9 DT) of True Temper S3 and OX Platinum.
This bike has the very first set of Ellis Cycles stainless dropouts. It's also the first bike painted with the "Team Ellis" paint scheme, and the first bike with internal derailleur cable routing through the chain stay. Lugs are heavily modified Llewellyn Slant Six's in my "Classic" style.
Like all my frames, I maximized the brake reach so this frame and fork will accept 28c tires. In fact, that's what I used for this past year's D2R2 with no problems.

Bike also includes;
1 1/8" Silver Chris King headset
Silver 30.6 Thomson Post (brand new)
110mm Ritchey stem (painted to match)

More pics available at my Picasa page here; https://picasaweb.google.com/elliscycles/DaveSEllis3?authkey=Gv1sRgCOqIoPbt8ZrtBw# The frame does have some small nicks and scrapes, but overall it's very clean with no rust at all. I treated it originally with Framesaver, and I'll give it another coat before I send it out.

A nice shot of the "Classic" style lugs.

A frame and fork like with the same options, paint and parts would cost $4000+ new, I'm asking $2700 for everything. If you'd like to have it built as a complete bike, I'm happy to quote it that way too.

Feel free to call or email with any questions!
262 442 6639
dave@elliscycles.com