Come see OC at NAFBE!

Otis Cycles has been invited to participate in a little event hosted by Flagstaff Bike Revolution next Friday, June 1. Stop by and check out the Northern AZ Frame Builders Expo during First Friday Artwalk. Should be a good time, there will be bikes by Form Cycles, Coconino, Mustache, and others. And beer, of course. So what bikes will we bring? We realized the "show" bikes haven't even been represented on the blog. So here's a sneak peak on what you'll see... We're calling it the Otis B. It's a 29er front, 650b rear geared hardtail with some sweet lines.

Next up is the Mean Green Machine. It's a 29er hardtail with improved standover via curved TT.

Introducing the Cream-sicle. Built for a local hard man, this one has sweet lines and is prepped for bike packing adventures.

Saving the best for last, it's the Fatty Cargo. The bastard child of a fat bike and cargo bike, this one rocks a trip to the coffee shop in any conditions.

We'll have some combo of the above bikes at the Expo next week. So stop by, say hi, and drink a few beers with with a bunch of dudes passionate about bikes.

Has it really been a year?

As the women in our lives can attest to, remembering dates has never been our strong suit. So the exact date that Otis Cycles took flight will forever remain a mystery. But we decided that October would be a good approximation for the anniversary of Otis Cycles. Why pick just one day when we could celebrate all month! And just like our parents used to do, we marked the occasion with a family photo. Eight bikes in all, not a bad body of work for Year 1.







In summary, it's been a year of great learning for us. I think we can both say that any frame we build now is a huge improvement over those first attempts. And it's nice to have the confidence that our creations can actually survive out on the trails and pavement.

There's been many who have helped us along the way. The sage advice of the many builders on mtbr.com frame builders forum has been a life (frame) saver at many points. Bryce Wright down at AZ Bikes for his patience with our questions and gracious use of tools that have yet to find a way into our shop.

We are excited about all of the ideas yet to find form and new skills that will be added along the way.

Recently back from powdercoating and built up is Anni's new 29er mtb. These pictures don't do the color justice, it's a sky-blue base with some metal flake in it, very cool in natural light. It will get gears as soon as I raid the parts bin.



Specs are:
HTA: 71 degrees
STA: 73 degrees
TT: 23.3"
ST: 19"
CS: 17.2"

Tubing:
DT: Nova 35mm 9/6/9
TT: 28.6mm x .035 4130 straight gauge bent in the roller
ST: Nova 28.6 external butted seat tube
CS: Nova oval chain stays 30/16, 8/6
SS: 16mm 4130 straight gauge bent in the roller mated with some tapered 16->12.5mm seat stay leftovers in a segmented design (not the intention, I screwed up the originals).
BB: 73mm

October updates

A couple of recent projects to catch up on. First is a BMX frame that Jason built for the little family daredevil. Mostly straight gauge tubing and other BMX burliness.








Next is a schwoopy top tube / seat tube cross frame that Jason built for commuting, gravel road grinding, and other general debaucery.

Specs are:
HTA: 72 degrees
STA: 73 degrees
TT: 580mm
ST: 560mm
CS: 425mm

Tubing:
DT: Nova 35mm 9/6/9
TT: 28.6mm .035 straight gauge 4130 bent in the roller
ST: Nova OS external butted seat tube
CS: Nova oval chain stays 30/16, 8/6
SS: 16mm x .035 straight gauge 4130 bent in the roller.
BB: 68mm





Look for a post on Anni's new 29er mtb coming soon!

Ongoing in the shop at the moment - hardtails designed for 100-120mm forks and oversized seat tubes for adjustable seatposts. Pictures coming soon.

Also, October marks the 1-year anniversary of our frame building journey. We're rounding up the offspring for a family photo. Should be fun.

Don't blink or you'll miss it

Otis Cycles lucked into a bit of free publicity a few weeks ago. Although you wouldn't know it unless you know what to look for. Pull out your latest Title Nine catalog (admit it guys, you look at it too. can't pass up the actively fit gals in spandex) That purple mountain bike being carried across the river by the smokin' redhead (more on her later) is OC #1.


Scroll down the blog and you can see a better picture of this bike.

No, we don't have a Madison Ave. marketing firm working PR for Otis Cycles. My wife Anni is the gal in the pic. She had a chance encounter with a photographer for T9 (Flag local Dawn Kish, check out her impressive work: http://www.dawnkishphotography.com) and the wheels were put in motion. Dawn wanted to get some mtb shots down near Sedona. Anni's Otis Cycles ride wasn't ready (final pics coming soon!) and her current ride is a ratty ol' mess, so the spanky new OC#1 seemed like the logical choice. Apparently it was a hit with the T9 crew as well. Sorry gals, not for sale.

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.