Shakedown ride

The second OtisB has rolled off of the assembly line. Sorry the picture is a bit fuzzy. My camera skills are no better than my frame building skills. I'll post more detailed pics when she's cleaned up and painted.


This one is a single top tube, schwoopy seat stay, 29er front, 650B rear, dedicated single speed, with internal cable routing. Rear end is inspired by a recent creation by Fred Cuthbert of Wolfhound Cycles. Single speed sliders by Todd at Black Cat Cycles. Rather than wait for paint, I decided to build it up for a few shakedown rides first. The fillets still need to be cleaned up and prepped for paint. But I was curious to see if I could build a mtb frame that would survive the rocky trails of northern AZ. First ride was a success! It will go off to paint while the fam is on vacation in August. Still waiting to be inspired by a color...

Specs are:
HTA: 71 degrees
STA: 72 degrees
TT: 25"
ST: 20"
CS: 16.8" (in middle of slider)

Tubing:
DT: Nova 35mm 9/6/9
TT: Nova 31.8mm 9/6/9
ST: Nova 28.6 external butted seat tube with custom sleeve
CS: Nova oval chain stays 30/16, 8/6
SS: 16mm 4130 straight gauge bent in the roller.
BB: 73mm

Where are they now?

Thought I'd provide an update on OC#2, the cross frame chronicled below. It's now affectionately known as the "brownie townie" and has been serving duty as the commuter bike this spring/summer. So far so good. Now that I've gotten over the fear if it falling apart with every bump in the road, it's definitely living up to expectations and is a good reminder of why I decided to build my own. Fits great, rides great.

Shop Tour

I've been promising this for a while - here at long last is a look at Otis Cycles World Headquarters. It's not really lacking for anything at this point, the essential tools have been assembled. (except for maybe a nice Bridgeport mill, but that's a pipe dream at this point.) Now we just need to catch our skills up to our big ideas.

A current project in the jig - soon to be a schwoopy top tube, schwoopy seatstay cross / ride-it-anywhere bike. Stay tuned for updates on this one. This is where is all starts. Tubes are mitered and assembled for tacking/brazing.

Tubing roller. Used to create schwoopy top tubes, seatstays, and whatever else gets in the way. Cheap Harbor Freight version, but does the job for a couple of hobbyists (as witnessed by finished product in previous shot)


Tubing bender. Used to create tighter radius bends in seatstays and chainstays.


Files (and tunes). Used for mitering and cleaning up fillets. Can't live without these. There's a whole lot more scattered around the shop. And bench grinder in the background.


OA Brazing setup. Standard setup with Henrob torch and tips. And drill press for drilling water bottle bosses and vent holes.