The Manufacturer Thread

okay, i'm gushing here, but that moots weld is a work of art. that was a hand not a computer guided weld?

My ride:

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It's a Habanero Touring/Cyclocross frame with (mostly) Shimano Ultegra 6700 components. Surly Long Haul Trucker front fork, Ritchey stem (not in picture), Cane Creek cantilever brakes and headset, Mavic Open Pro rims with Ultegra hubs and shod with Gatorskins, Shimano SPD MTB pedals.

On the list for future upgrades as the budget allows: Ti water bottle cages (just because), Kent Eriksen Ti seatpost, a lighter, stiffer saddle, and maybe some Ti front forks if I can find them (not holding my breath on that one). I'll probably also grab a couple more Ultegra cassettes and cobble together a custom stack that's more suited to my riding.

Some close-ups of the Habanero welds (from the website):

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slovakguy said:

okay, i'm gushing here, but that moots weld is a work of art.  that was a hand not a computer guided weld?

As it is with Firefly, Eriksen, and Holland, the Moots welds are done by hand. I've seen the welder in action, and he (with he being he frame welder at the time....dunno if he's still there) was a true master of his art. It was amazing to watch him lay down welds. Granted, good, strong welds don't have to be pretty, and being a pretty weld doesn't necessarily mean it's a strong weld, but with Moots you do get both. I think the perfection displayed in such welds is every bit as good as the perfection displayed in the fillet brazing of some builders.

jpr95 said:

Some close-ups of the Habanero welds (from the website):

I think Habanero has a bit of a cult following, but they've also got a rep for great frames. As a bonus, Habanero frames are typically less expensive than a lot of Ti frames.

what diameter stick was that guy using? that has to be one of the tightest/neatest hand welds i've ever seen. it's really immaculate. i know someone on a lynskey and the welds on his frame are nowhere near that tight.

If I were to get a steel bike (other than a stainless steel bike), my lust would drive me to get a bike from one of the following: Alchemy Bicycles Signal Cycles If I could endure the wait, Vanilla Bicycles [img]jeffreyburk.comroad1.jpgOpen ↗[/img] Speedvagen, a project involving Sacha White of Vanilla and a few other builders. Although he rarely makes custom bikes anymore, Tom Ritchey is having road bikes made again, this time overseas. His latest Road Logic frames make me all sweaty in my groinal area.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I think Habanero has a bit of a cult following, but they've also got a rep for great frames. As a bonus, Habanero frames are typically less expensive than a lot of Ti frames.

Well, they are built in China...but the shop that produces them only uses welders that have 10-15 years experience in the aviation industry. $900 or so for a standard frame, and up to $1200 or so (I think) for a custom sized frame.

As for the ride, I can't compare it to a bunch of other bikes, as it's only my second real bike (not including the cheap BMX bikes I beat around on as a kid). My first road bike I bought in '88 as a 14 year old--a Schwinn World Sport 12-speed. Put some good miles on that before it got parked for 18 years or so. I freshened it up a bit in 2010 when I took up cycling again and put about 1000 miles on it. That is one stiff frame. When I got the Habanero last year, I moved the handlebars and seat over from the Schwinn (they were recent upgrades). The Schwinn had alloy rims with 27 x 1-1/4, while the Habanero has 700 x 25 tires on those Mavics--at a higher pressure. I couldn't believe the difference. On bad roads, I was afraid of losing teeth with the Schwinn. Not so with the Habanero. BUT--the Habanero has some pretty stout chain stays--I can really mash the pedals from a stand still and it doesn't flex.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

...and here's my old Moots....
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The last of my four favorite titanium bike makers is Darren Crisp. Darren went to Italy to develop his craft under the old masters, and he now makes custom Ti bikes in Italy. It's an interesting combo, an American building custom bikes in Italy, but it's a combination that produces beautiful bikes:
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Hopefully a lot of people will contribute here.

Nice workmanship on those, thanks for the post (and I thought the welding on my USA CAAD9 was nice, pffft)

The MOOTS CR is my dream frame, period, and as far as I'm concerned it puts any carbon frame out there to shame, it's just bloody gorgeous. In fact I would take it over any of the new superbike offerings. I've lusted for one for a LONG time, unfortunately I know I can't afford one (mind you, I've always assumed they're rather pricey and have never looked into it, even without the extra options.)

I've never heard of "Crisp", nice stuff

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Continuing on the subject of Darren Crisp, the man has something really special going on, look at the welding work on that headtube.

Thanks to Alienator for starting the thread

IndependentMind said:

Continuing on the subject of Darren Crisp, the man has something really special going on, look at the welding work on that headtube.

Those are some beautiful welds, and that is a particularly beautiful head tube. Since this is a thread about manufacturers, it has to mentioned that it's getting hard not to notice all the Enve forks coming on bikes from custom and/or small run builders.

Demon Frameworks, in the UK, has mastered the industrial look. Others must have thought so because they won "Best Road Bike" at NAHMBS. [IMG ALT=""]http://www.cyclingforums.com/content/type/61/id/271267/width/500/height/1000[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://www.cyclingforums.com/content/type/61/id/271268/width/500/height/1000[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://www.cyclingforums.com/content/type/61/id/271269/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]

Mmmmmmm. Cyfac. Custom and off the peg CF frames, as well as custom frames from pretty much all the other typical frame materials. [IMG ALT=""]http://www.cyclingforums.com/content/type/61/id/271342/width/500/height/1000[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://www.cyclingforums.com/content/type/61/id/271343/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]

Well known in cyclocross circles, Stoemper Bikes makes some nice road and cross bikes, both in aluminum and steel: [img]stoemper.comtaylor road steel 600x395.jpgOpen ↗[/img] Perhaps most importantly, Stoemper has a very cool head badge: [img]stoemper.comindustrial2.jpgOpen ↗[/img] While there's not much I don't love about my Look 595, I do miss a real head badge.

While there's not much I don't love about my Look 595, I do miss a real head badge.

I would gladly give up a few grams and a little bit of drag for a real head badge--preferably a simple likeness of the maker's logo. I like elegance through simplicity, not a bunch of flash, colors and graphics.

My last non-paint/decal head badge: [IMG ALT=""]http://www.cyclingforums.com/content/type/61/id/271500/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]

all of them,,are nice bike..like it.

Quoted post said:

They are every bit as regular and precise as those from Moots:
Sadly, I lost a lot my pictures in a hard drive crash and don't have a piccie of my old Moots' bottom bracket welds anymore

Since you lost your original photo, I figured I'd help you out and post a picture of my Moots bottom bracket. Took 9 weeks to build, but when it shows up and looks like this, you really don't mind.
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The craftsmanship is flawless and the ride is smooth as butter. Moots sends you a little yellow tag with your bike that tells you who did each step of your bike (mitering, tacking, finish weld, etc) and you can go on their web site and see who actually built your bike. These welds were done by Caleb.

SteveV said:

Since you lost your original photo, I figured I'd help you out and post a picture of my Moots bottom bracket. Took 9 weeks to build, but when it shows up and looks like this, you really don't mind. The craftsmanship is flawless and the ride is smooth as butter. Moots sends you a little yellow tag with your bike that tells you who did each step of your bike (mitering, tacking, finish weld, etc) and you can go on their web site and see who actually built your bike. These welds were done by Caleb.

Very nice. Congrats.