The latest frame completed here at the shop is a stainless bike for Ralph. It’s a lugged single speed built with Reynolds 953…mostly. I say mostly because the head tube, fork blades, seat stay bridge, and rear dropouts are not stainless (hence the paint). The painted parts are black with a red pearl so it’s pretty fancy in the sunlight. The bike has a satin finish as opposed to the polishing I’ve done on stainless bits in the past. I’m a big fan of this finish not only because polishing stainless is a painful process but because of it’s raw feel. Ralph has chosen some pretty classic Campy parts to complement the frame. This one will be on display at the Maker’s Market in NYC from the 26th through the 28th of June. Stop by and say hi if you’re in the area and have a minute. In the meantime, check out the pics.

 
 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

I also painted a lugged Nitto stem to match.

 

The open house we had two weeks ago was a great time. Lots of people came by to hang out in the “new” backyard complete with grass, eat some food, drink some drink, and mingle. This is the second one we’ve had in the spring and will probably have it every year around this time. So if you missed it, mark your calendar for next year!

 

There’s always another bike coming up and this one is a lugged road bike for Dave in North Carolina. The lug carving has already begun and I should have something to show next week.

 

So Matt’s single speed is polished, painted, and ready to be built up! This bike is probably one of the more over-the-top ones that I’ve ever done. It has the stainless logos on the downtube, stainless headbadge, stainless dropout faces, and polished stainless fork crown and lugs. Many hours went into getting the bike to this level. The stripes on the seat tube were inspired by some vintage bicycle painting styles to give the bike a little bit of a classic feel.

 
 
 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

I also built several fillet brazed stems recently and painted them to match the bikes they’re going on (including one for Matt’s blue bike). One quill and two threadless and all with recessed binder bolts. Check ‘em out in all their silky smooth glory.

  

And finally, this Sunday, May 31st is our annual open house eat ‘n’ drink shindig! We’ll have some stuff but please BYO whatever you want. Bring your bike! Invite your friends, and let us know if you have any questions. We also have a fresh stock of t-shirts for sale and finally are making prints of Alec’s famous Circle A poster, courtesy of IO Labs! If you’ve never been here and need directions, check out the map.

I just finished another Schwinn Paramount frame repaint for Andrew in New Jersey. This one came in as a blue bike and left a beautiful metallic green. Even though I didn’t do the lug lining, I’m very happy with the cleanliness of the paint to chrome transitions. If you have a Paramount you want refinished, it seems that now is the time to send it over for a refinish. It’s getting to be second nature for me.

 
 
See the full slideshow.

Matt’s single speed is ready for paint as I can now see myself in his fork crown and lugs. We’re still in the process of ironing out the paint. I’ll also be making a custom stem for this one.

 
 
See the full slideshow.

And speaking of custom stems, I just finished a 90° quill stem for Patrick over at Javaspeed. Here it is pre-paint. It’ll be yellow with a pearl coat just like his bike.

Check back soon as Ralph’s 953 bike is still in progress. I’ll have pictures to share very soon.

I’ll give you the background to this restoration as accurately as I can. In 1966, Dave bought a new, white, 24″ Schwinn Paramount (serial P605). It was gorgeous and he rode it very little because it didn’t really fit him. I blame the bike shop salesperson for that. Soon after the purchase, the bike was put into storage and didn’t see the light of day for 40+ years. In January of this year, our shop acquired an orange 22″ Schwinn Paramount (serial p631) from our friend Bob. Dave came to our shop with hopes of altering his original frame but then saw the orange Paramount that was his size. It was decided that the orange frame and fork would be restored to be the white Paramount that would fit him like a glove. Some changes needed to be made though: the frame needed chromed head lugs, the seat stay bridge needed to be moved for 700c medium reach brakes, the fork also had to be filled and redrilled for 700c medium reach brakes, and water bottle bosses needed to be added. So after many weeks of waiting for the chrome plater, I was recently able to complete this frame. Special thanks to Bob for aligning the planets for Dave and to Peter Weigle (who recently did a similar restoration/renovation) for tips on lug lining and antiquing the clearcoat. I have another one coming up as well so check back here soon (see the blue Paramount in the last pic).

 
 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

I was also busy in the shop doing other repaints and repairs including a dropout replacement on a carbon, aluminum and steel Lemond Zurich. Not the easiest of replacements but the operation was a success.

See the full slideshow.

The other paint jobs being done here include a Bianchi touring repaint. Let me just say that I have a love for brown bikes. So what about a bike with three different earthy shades? Well, the bike is almost organic at that point. Here’s Deb’s Bianchi, re-aligned and repainted.

 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

And finally I did a repaint on a D’Arienzo/Basso. I am told that Basso built the bikes for D’arienzo (which would explain the Basso pantograph on the bottom bracket). So we went with some Basso decals on Armando’s pursuit bike. Armando was the lucky winner of the Circle A paint job raffle prize at last year’s bike swap at Providence Bicycle. I also did some carving and added stainless faces to the dropouts that another builder had replaced. Here’s the finished product.

 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

Still in the hopper is Ralph’s 953 frame and Matt’s single speed. Materials have been shipped and I’ll be trading in the paint gun for a torch and file for awhile. In some sadder news, I recently dropped my Canon digital SLR and broke my favorite lens. Hopefully I can get a new lens before my next blog post. You’ll want to see these next few bikes.

But to end on a happier note, Nathan got his stolen bike back! Props to Andy for spotting it and taking action.

My latest work coming out of the shop is a fillet brazed cyclocross frame for our friend Nathan (different from the Nathan of a couple weeks ago). The frame is a mix of Dedacciai Zero (main tubes), True Temper OX Platinum (seat tube), and Columbus Zona (s-bend seat stays). Sounds like a mutt but it looks great. I did internal cable routing on the top tube for the rear brake and derailleur. Nathan used to paint for Independent Fabrications and then Circle A so he’ll be taking it over from here. Expect to see pictures of his frame as well as our friend Jay’s bike that I built 6 months (!) ago. He is also a master painter and will be finishing his bike soon. Right, Jay?

 
 
See the full slideshow.

Another project that has been in the works is a restoration on a 1950’s Raleigh Sports for our new friend Will. This bike has a lot of history as it was/is his father’s bike. Will has been bringing every part of this bike back to life from the bottom bracket to the dynamo hub. The chrome was pitted and the paint was nearly non-existent. With the decals in hand, I was able to blast down to the metal on the frame, fork, fenders, and chain guard. The resulting bike is entirely different from when it came into the shop. Here are the pictures of what it became.

 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

Other projects happening right now include Ralph’s lugged Reynolds 953 bike that will start as soon as the tubing arrives. In the meantime I can carve the lugs and fork crown and be ready to build when the time comes.

Coming up is a restoration/renovation of a 1966 Schwinn Paramount. Also, a single speed for Matt, various frame repairs, and more paint work. Stay tuned!

The latest frame to go out the door here at Circle A is a single speed commuter for Steven in Pennsylvania. The pastel palette he chose is going to make for a beautiful complete bike. It’s a classic cream color with faded sea foam panels, head tube, fork blades, and details. This will definitely be a head turner.

 
 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

And I’ve still been doing tons of paint work. I guess I just can’t get enough of the fumes. I did a couple frames for Royal H (off white with orange lug lining) and Icarus (red and white with pearl).

 

I also did a repaint of a Klein Q Pro XX for Clyde in North Carolina. You will definitely know what kind of bike this is when he comes flying past you.

 
See the full slideshow.

And I went to Indianapolis recently to check out the handmade bike show. Thanks to Marty from Geekhouse for being accommodating and letting me sleep on his hotel room floor. I met a lot of great people there and can’t wait to display next year. Word on the street is that it’s going to be on the east coast. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!

 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

Two old bikes had makeovers recently at the shop. One was an early 80’s Lotus and the other an 80’s Lemond. The Lotus was our new friend Allison’s commuter that she wanted to rejuvenate. We stripped it and repainted it and put on a brand new Shimano 105 triple group. Here’s the final product.

 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

The other project was Paul’s vintage Lemond that he wanted new paint and decals for. Paul had recently had us restore his old Silca pump. The Lemond got a pretty blue paint job with masked yellow lugs.

 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

And in the jig right now is Steven’s single speed. The fork has been built and the lugs are carved and ready for brazing. I won’t finish it until next week after I return from the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. I’ll tell you all about that too.

 
 

The latest Circle A to be completed is Nathan’s new work bike to replace the one that was stolen a little while back. I didn’t do the stainless lock protecting sleeves on the top tube and down tube this time so we’ll see how the paint holds up in those areas. I did build it with the integrated seat mast though. Here are some shots of it before it hit the streets.

 
 
 
 
See the full slideshow

Next in line is a single speed for Steven. Before that one, I’ll have pictures of Paul’s Lemond repaint and Allison’s Lotus. Check back soon!

So things are definitely picking up as we roll into February. Chris L’s single speed is painted and ready to ride. Check out the pics of this beauty. The light and darker yellow combination is pretty rad. The subtle contrast between the main tubes and lugs is so pleasing to the eye. The lines are sharp as a tack making it a fine frame to check out up close.

 
 
 
 
See the full slideshow.

Nathan T. is getting a new work bike to replace the stolen one. Ugh. All bike thieves need a good poke in the eye. So infuriating how selfish and unfeeling they are. Anyway, all the tubes are mitered, the fork is done, and it’s coming together nicely.

  

To make my life more confusing, the frame after Nathan T’s is for another Nathan T. Believe it. I love it. I’m just glad they’re different size people who want different style bikes with different brands of tubing. Phew.

The latest frame I’ve been working on is a tall single speed for Chris up in Boston. It’s a 62.5cm frame built with Columbus Zona tubing and long point lugs. It’s going to have a unique yellow paint job and the stainless fork crown will be left raw. It’s ready for paint now and I should have pictures of the finished product later this week.

  
  
See the full slideshow.