Introducing the ICEBREAKER Winter Specific Commuter!

David's 29er+ #2: How to Build a Full Custom Oversized Plus Frameset in Four Days

How to Build a Bike in 4 Days:
This was the second, and final, attempt at nailing down a the perfect frame with David's custom geometry and 3.0 Knards. It was a big (sic) challenge, but given the outcome of the last frame (BB too high and TT too short) and I had my reservations on the final product. Alas, I actually had the privileged to ride it yesterday, and it feels perfect. David commented that it rode so smooth on the road that it felt like a road bike. That was the idea! I'm stoked.

Since the first frame was off (it will actually fit me perfect 26" winter tires, more later...) I had to push to get this into the painter s soon as possible. With the last of the parts coming in on Thursday and the painter scheduled for Monday, that meant 4 days to put the whole thing together, start to finish.

Day 1: Pulled out the drawing sheet and rough cut all the tubes. Laid out the master drawing and
mitered the main triangle, with the help of the new tube notching clamp I picked up on sale. I also mitered out the chain stays and fork blades, mostly by hand, with a little help from the mill. Once everything fit together properly, I tacked it in the jig and welded most of the front triangle and fork.

Day 2: Worked on the rear Triangle, cutting, mitering, tacking, checking, and welding it all together. Given the complex geometry from the oversized tires and spacing, this took lots of measuring three times and mocking up tire clearances and spacing. But, It turned out great!


Day 3: Finished welding the fork joints,
and disc tab. Mitered bridges,
created the custom dog leash loop,
welded them in, then marked and cut all of the braze-ons.

Day 4: Brazed in all of the accessories; front and rear rack, fender, bottle and cable mounts, cleaned up the joints, and checked final alignment. All within tolerance. Tapped in the serial number. DONE!

November Shop Update; New posts to come!

Now that David Meyer's Custom Icebreaker 29er+ is finished and on the road, and AK's fork is finished and painted, it is officially 'catch up on blog posts' day. I'll do a post on AK's track fork build start to finish, and David's "How to build a complete oversized plus frameset in four days". Then probably a Fall/Winter Queue and Specials update. More to come..!

AK's 'Dirty Gold' Track Fork

Building AK's fork

   Designed for a 700c x 25 track style for a 2008 Giant Bowery. I used chromoly blades, a 1/8 steer tube and plug style dropouts from Nova. Everything went together really well, and, it was really fun working with those tight clearances.

Here are some shots of AK's fork after paint. AK picked the 'dirty gold' color. I love it.

Of course I had ran out get coffee right before she stopped in to pick it up!

painted by AP Paints

November Sale! 26/27.5/29er+ Frameset Sale! $1000 w/ Paint!

Made with the

ZONA OS MTB TUBESET with Slider Disc Dropouts

Frame options:

frame size options: 46-60cm frame

tire size options: 26x2-3", 27.5x2-3", 29x2-3"

bottom bracket options: 68mm or 73mm

custom fitting & geometry

to match your body and riding style

& custom powdercoat

only $1000!!

to set up a fitting and designing appointment
email blackshipcycles at gmail dot com

order must be placed by or on December 3rd

to get this low pricing passed on from

nova cycle supply

29er+ Frame Set for Sale! - $800

This frame is super light, hand built right here in beautiful Minneapolis with Columbus Aero Tubing and made to tightly fit a maximum tire size of 3.0 Knards. It could easily handle 26x2.+ or 650bx2.5 with clearance for fenders, mounts for front and rear racks, and would make a great winter bike/commuter. It is designed for a tall (6ft) rider. It is comparable to a Marin Muirwoods 29er, but sits up higher (with bigger tires on it). 4130 Chromoly steel with Matte 'midnight black' powder coat finish. Even has a custom dog leash tie bracket!

If you are interested in a big and light oversize tire bike, please email me before it gets nabbed!! $800 o.b.o. See geometry below:

Geometry (with Knard 3.0s) in mm:

Seat Tube Length	571.5
Top Tube Length (Center-Center)	591.5
Effective Top Tube Length      (Center-Center)	604
Head Tube Angle	71
Seat Tube Angle	73.5
BB Drop	35
Chainstay Length	450
Wheelbase	1090
Standover Height	855
Head Tube Length	120
Fork Length	460
Fork Rake                  45

CX Gravel Frameset Sale! $800 w/ Paint - OCTOBER ONLY!

Made with the

Nova "Gravel Grinder" 8/5/8 Chromoly Double Butted Tubeset

for Disc & PF30

Frame options:

sizes: 46-60cm frame

tire sizes: 700x32-47c

bottom bracket: PF30 68 or 73mm

custom fitting & geometry

to match your body and riding style

only $800!!

email blackshipcycles at gmail

order must be placed by or on November 3rd

to get this low pricing passed on from

nova cycle supply

This week: Designing David's 29er+ Part 2 and AK's Track fork

I'm excited to put together a 1-1/8" Track fork for AK's 2008 Bowery. I'll be sure to post pics.

Also, in the news, some of the numbers we entered into the equation for David's frame were incorrect, and we didn't catch it until after it was painted!

What does that mean? I will be building David an even better frame with the new (and correct!) numbers, and selling off the 29er+ Columbus Life Aero Tube Frame at a great price. Details to come, and, oh yes, pictures!

David's 29er+: Finishing

Sent this off to the painter's today, and I am so stoked!

This is by far the biggest bike I've designed and built, and it really turned out beautiful. Great tolerances too, with only minor final alignments. I really loved the custom dog leash loop and the tire clearance.

We fit it out for a 1x with disc brakes, cinch style cable mounts. Rack braze-ons for traditional rear,  lowrider and/or upper front racks. Pretty minimalist for a 29er+, and I like it.
   Can't wait to see it painted and built up!

more photos at black ship flickr.com

David's Frame Part 2 Front Triangle and Chain Stays

David's Frame - Part 1 Mitering and Tacking

Just a few pics of putting together the fork and frame for David's Knardtastic 3point0 29er Frostline Icebreaker

Fat bike? Not necessarily. Big, yes. Very big.

Raliegh Repair Pics

 This beautiful Raleigh Team USA frame came in with both seat stays cracked at the the cap.

There wasn't any separation or other damage so we opted for a simple crack repair operation.

 I started by filing a ridge into the crack to see how bad it was, and to prep it for taking new metal.

 Then I roughed up the weld area and removed paint from the heat zone.

Then the other side.

Next, I ran a bead on both sides, digging in to not only repair the crack, but also to add a little extra metal, is it would now be a weak point in the structure.

Finally, I finished it off by carefully sanding it to shape and polishing it.

Unfortunately, I couldn't re-stamp the letters!

This type of repair should last a good while under normal conditions and usage, and it comes with a discounted cap replacement if it doesn't hold up.

The bike is a bold solid red Team USA, but my camera setting made it look pink..!

Cheers!