What I'm working on...
My current customer is Andy G. and he wanted a dedicated single speed with 26” wheels and a rigid fork. Some of the things Andy wanted to achieve were lugged construction, fairly stiff frame, good tire clearance for the occasional 2.3 tire and handling for pretty technical trails. When it came to the lug question, I was able to achieve it on all but the bottom bracket. The seat tube and head tube joints are lugged and the bottom bracket is fillet brazed. I chose to do the BB that way to ensure proper tire and chainring clearance. Andy gets the beauty and strength of lugs where they are most visible, and by doing a fillet brazed BB, we make no sacrifices for the rear end of the bike.
For stiffness, I chose tubing diameters that were on the big side. 1 ¼ top tube and seat tube with a 1 3/8 down tube, all of which was True Temper OX Platinum.
To achieve the handling Andy wanted, I designed a bottom bracket drop of 40mm and the chain stays are designed at 425mm. The fork I built has an axle to crown of 390mm and a rake of 39mm. This gives a “trail” of 60mm which is middle of the road and will achieve the best of low speed and high speed handling characteristics. The fork is uni-crown, fillet brazed with hooded drop-outs and straight blades.
Andy is a small guy and super fast, this will be a perfect machine for him. The bike is going to the painter soon and will be an Olive green with white decals and highlights around the lugs. Stay tuned for the finished product.