Hey RBTechies!
This new forum should not escape your radar.
It was recently written about in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
e-RICHIE
[email hidden]
here's the article:
Neil Hassan Hopes to Keep Frame Builder's Torch Lit Via the Net
by Matt Wiebe
London, England - Neil Hassan cut his frame-building teeth at Rattray's in
Glascow, Scotland, and Holdsworth's in London. In those days, building
custom
frames was considered high art and those who wanted to learn it apprenticed
under a master of the craft.
"There were so many tricks to learn from other frame builders I worked with.
Simple
inexpensive tools that made the job easier, knowledge of where the special
parts of
the frame were. Now, so few people are left who know the craft," Hassan
said.
As a way of keeping the knowledge he learned as a young student alive,
Hassan
launched a frame-building resource web site complete with a forum.
Hassan said he hopes www.frameforum.net will become a resource and meeting
place where professional and hobbyist frame builders can come together and
exchange
their knowledge.
"So many of the successful frame builders today apprenticed with some
well-established
names and so many of them have become one-person shops these days that the
entire
apprentice track is no longer an option.
"I hope the forum can continue this apprentice tradition and the builders
with years
of experience can help those new to the craft, " Hassan said.
Hassan, who works for a large private-label frame builder in Italy, got the
idea for the
web site while trying to locate aluminum track dropouts with steel faces for
a special-
project bike he was building.
Although he found the dropouts by using an e-mail list for frame builders,
he thought the
community needed a better way to exchange information.
"Who wants to get into the frame building business these days? People know
it isn't easy
making a living at it, and so many people think the expense of getting
started is too much.
"Hopefully, the forum will give them the support they need and the guidance
and tricks
to help keep costs down," he said.
"More than 200 people have registered in a little over a month, including
Richard Sachs
and Peter Weigle, who have been stopping by and commenting in the forum
every now
and then. The interest is a bit surprising," he added.
Hassan said he plans to add a classified section to help beginners find
vital on-the-job
experience as well as help the pros find a willing pair of helping hands.
The web site's Links and Resources section provides tube and fork
specifications,
manufacturer data and other useful information, making it a one-stop source
for frame
builders of all skill levels.