Shut Up and Build Bikes Podcast
By Joe Roggenbuck
Shut Up and Build Bikes PodcastSep 16, 2019
Ep. 66 Jonathan Hornell-Kennedy of Framework Bicycles
Framework Bicycles is an impressive operation. In this episode we discuss Jonathan's story and everything about the bicycles and manufacturing process.
Ep. 65 Stephen Wood of Swood Cycles
Swood Cycles is based in Richmond, Virgina. Since 2018 Stephen has been building up a shop and building bikes. You may know him for his steel bike frames or his T-Bars. Now he's starting a new venture - Haute Bicycle Co.
EP. 64 Dave Wages of Ellis Cycles
Dave Wages tells us about his framebuilding career. From working at Serotta Cycles to Waterford Precision Cycles and then starting Ellis Cycles, Dave has had a wide variety of experiences in the past 25 years.
Ep. 63 Daniel Yang of Neuhaus Metalworks
Daniel Yang has been working with Nick Neuhaus to design and build the best bicycles they can in Marin, California. Daniel comes from an engineering background and has embraced 3d printed metal frame components. We also talk about his other ventures and projects.
Follow Daniel on Instagram and check out the Neuhaus Metalworks website.
Ep. 62 Ed Mason of Dward Design
Dward Design is based in Bath in the UK. Ed Mason has taught framebuilding at The Bicycle Academy and lately he's focused on CNC machining with his two small Syil mills in his home shop. Listen along to his story!
Ep. 61 Zach Geller of Acoustic Cycles
Ep. 60 Uriel Eisen of Austere Manufacturing
Uriel and I go over his story with bikes and with building Austere Manufacturing. We talked a lot about lean manufacturing, process improvements, bikes, and business.
https://www.instagram.com/austere_manufacturing/
https://austeremanufacturing.com/
Ep. 59 Danielle Schön
In this episode I share my interview with Danielle Schön of Schön Studio in Squamish, B.C. Canada.
https://www.instagram.com/schonstudio/
https://www.schonstudio.com/
Ep. 58 Devin Bodony of Lichen Precision
Devin Bodony runs Lichen Precision -- a CNC machine shop just outside of Seattle, Washington. Devin started building full suspension bikes and eventually transitioned his work primarily toward CNC machining. He has a product line including bike framebuilding components and a disc brake mount fixture. We discussed his story, CNC machining, automation, the bike industry and more.
Follow along on instagram and check out the Lichen Precision website.
Ep. 57 Corey Kruchkowski
Corey Kruchkowski of Kruch Custom Bicycles in Calgary, Alberta Canada is making cool bikes and in this episode we share his story.
Ep. 56 Hernán Montenegro of MMFG
We share Hern's story getting into the custom bike biz. We discuss his area of expertise - carbon fiber framebuilding and frame repair.
Ep. 55 Rob English of English Cycles
This week I share my interview with Rob English of English Cycles in Eugene, Oregon. We talk about Rob's history in the bike industry, his own business, and we ended up talking a lot about lean manufacturing at the end.
Ep. 54 Aaron Stinner
Aaron Stinner has been building bikes for over a decade and we talk all about it. Our discussion gravitated toward running a business, the importance of paint, and a whole lot more.
Ep. 53 WZRD Bikes
This week I share my Interview with Em of WZRD Bikes in Vancouver Island, Canada. We talk about fillet brazing, bike geo, Laser cutting parts, paint work, and a whole lot more. Enjoy.
Ep. 52 Garbaggio
This week we interview Nick Kuszyk AKA Garbaggio in Queens, New York. We talk about the Huffer, his story, and why bikes rule generally.
Ep. 51 Tom LaMarche of La Marche Bike Co.
Tom builds fillet brazed and TIG welded steel bicycle frames from his small shop in Philadelphia, PA. With roots in BMX, Fixed Gear Freestyle, and MTB, Tom builds some really excellent bikes. We talk about his story, construction methods, tooling, his machines, and the difficulty of finding suitable workspace as a builder living in a major city.
Follow Tom on Instagram and check out his website.
Ep. 50 Adam Prosise of Reeb Cycles
This week I'm talking to Adam "Prosauce" Prosise of REEB Cycles in Lyons, Colorado. Adam machines and welds a ton of beautiful bicycles at Reeb, while riding like a maniac and still managing to run his own side hustle - Prosise Metal Works. He is a much stronger MTB rider than most framebuilders and we discuss how his riding and racing inform his fabrication and design work. We talked a lot about how a job he held for 5 years prior to REEB prepared him for success. I'm always interested in the Full Suspension bike design discussion and that was no disappointment either.
Buckle up, it's a long one!
Check out REEB, Prosise Metal Works, and Adam's personal accounts.
Ep. 49 Zach Small of Amigo Frameworks
Zach Small runs Amigo Frameworks in Nashville, Tennessee. In this episode we talk about his story, from working with Rob Roberson and Joe Bell in San Diego, CA, to Comrade Cycles in Chicago, and the bikes he has built along the way. We discuss his time in trade school and how it relates to making bikes. Zach tells us about Champ Ramps, his venture in the works to make sick, cnc-cut bike ramps.
Check out his website and follow him on Instagram.
Ep. 48 Mike Flanigan
Mike Flanigan has been in the framebuilding world for decades, starting at Fat City Cycles in the late 80s, being a founding member of Independent Fabrications in the mid-90s, and going solo with Alternative Needs Transportation in the early 2000s. We talk about the different places he’s worked, the emphasis he brings to “transportation” bicycles, and the classes he has taught. We also discuss the perspectives he’s adopted about this work and tips he has for making it all work in spite of the challenges.
Follow Mike on Instagram and check out his website.
Ep. 47 Sean Handerhan
This week I’m interviewing Sean Handerhan in Pittsburgh, PA. Sean works as a prototyping CNC machinist and has been building steel bike frames in the corner of that shop for the past few years. We talk about his career, about the framebuilding community, about his bikes and his cool wishbone seatstays, about Pittsburgh’s cycling culture, and other perspectives surrounding these things.
Follow Sean on Instagram and check out his website.
Ep. 46 Sam Whittingham of Naked Bicycles
Sam Whittingham has been building Naked Bicycles for over 20 years in Western Canada. We talk mainly about the career phases of a framebuilder and the huge lessons he learned about where his business fits in the landscape of the bike industry. I think this discussion is one of the best I’ve ever had on this show. We also had a super valuable discussion about forward geometry mountain bikes.
Check out his website and follow him on Instagram
Ep. 45 Paul Brodie
Paul Brodie built frames for Rocky Mountain Bikes before starting Brodie Bikes. He built Brodie bikes for over a decade before selling the brand and moving into custom motorcycles. After making some truly incredible vintage motorcycle replicas he began to teach bicycle framebuilding in 2010 and has continued until recently. These days he is making some excellent youtube videos on bike framebuilding. We also discussed his book.
Check out Paul’s website and follow him on Instagram
Ep. 44 Brad Hodges of W.H. Bradford Designs
Brad has a long and interesting history in the handmade bike world and we discuss his story. From the days when he made Nemesis Cycles until more recently as he has transitioned the work to the W.H. Bradford brand, we talk about what inspired him and what the challenges were.
Ep. 43 Georgena Terry
Georgena Terry started building custom bicycles in her basement in the 80s and in the following decades built one of the most impactful businesses in cycling. Her bikes addressed fit issues of shorter riders and eventually her company was re-named to Terry Precision Bicycles for Women - specifically addressing needs of women riders. Terry also famously has produced saddles with a cut out and lots of other cycling apparel. More recently Georgena has left Terry Precision to get back to the custom bike world, though she now focuses on design and customer relationships and has the bicycles manufactured at Waterford Precision Cycles.
Check out her website and follow her on Instagram.
Ep. 42 Paul Burford of BTR Fabrications
This week’s guest is Paul Burford/Burf of BTR Fabrications in Froome, UK. We talk about the history of his company and how he got started. We discussed what the framebuilding community is like in the UK and his time teaching at The Bicycle Academy. We also talked about the partnership business model vs working alone, the importance/frustration of good and bad supply lines, his trail tools and how his mountain bikes are really meant to be tools, and finally we talked about making Youtube content.
Check out the BTR website and follow him on Instagram.
Ep. 41 Andrew Cooper of Bike Fab Supply
I interview Andrew Cooper of Bike Fab Supply in Phoenix, Arizona about his framebuilding supply business. BFS is always growing and adding new product offerings with an emphasis on customer service. It’s interesting to get Andrew’s perspective on how to build a business like his and what cool product offerings he has coming next.
Check out Bike Fab Supply and follow Andrew on Instagram.
Ep. 40 Nao Tomii of Tomii Cycles
Ep. 39 Eric Tomczak of Myth Cycles
Eric Tomczak builds Myth Cycles in Durango Colorado. Eric had the opportunity to work with Ron Andrews of King Cage for years before starting Myth Cycles, which is where he learned a lot about bike framebuilding. I wanted to discuss what that relationship was like and how it helped him get started. We also talked about when having complete control of the building process is ideal or even necessary. Eric told us about his recent full suspension frame build and what was involved.
Check out the Myth Cycles Website and follow on Instagram
Ep. 38 Tyler Reiswig of Btchn' Bikes
Ep. 37 Mark Combs of Chumba USA
This week I share my interview with Mark Combs of Chumba USA. We talk about what it’s like to run a solo framebuilding shop like he used to do with Majaco Cycles vs operating a partnership like he does now with Vince Colvin making Chumba USA. We also talk about the satisfaction of making bikes and seeing the rider’s first ride, about the cool dragsters his dad used to build, and about finding viable shop space.
Follow Mark on Instagram and check out Chumba USA.
Ep. 36 Tom Porter of Porter Cycles
Tom Porter builds Porter Cycles in Brooklyn, NY. His bikes typically involve fabricated, hand-carved lugs and other labor-intensive details. Tom won the best new builder award at the NAHBS 2019 show and it’s no surprise why. In this episode we discuss framebuilding, imposter syndrome, covid 19, and bike touring.
Ep. 35 Paul Price of Paul Component Engineering
This week I talked to Paul Price about his company Paul Component Engineering, which just celebrated 30 years in business. We talk about how he got to where he is today, the ups and downs along the way, projects that came and went, some of the bikes he’s built, and what it looked like in the early days of Paul. We also discussed the current state of affairs with covid 19 and its effect on business.
Ep. 34 John Caletti of Caletti Cycles
Ep. 33 Ross Shafer of Salsa Cycles
Ross Shafer founded and built Salsa Cycles in 1982. Ross ran the company for 15 years and built it into a fun and important cycling brand before selling it to QBP in 1997. We talk about what made Salsa unique and successful and some of the stories from back in the day. Since then he has done a variety of things in metalwork and beyond that we discuss. Lately Ross works for Sierra Steels making pedal steel guitars. Fricking cool.
Check out the Sierra Steels website, Youtube channel and follow Ross on Instagram.
Ep. 32 Eric Weis of The New England Builder's Ball
Ep. 31 Austin Russell of Russell Makes
Austin Russell of Russell Makes isn’t our typical guest on this show. He has taken a framebuilding class and built a bike frame, but more notably, he has built thousands of wheelsets at Velocity USA and for the last few years he has been running the rim factory. Austin has rolled every Velocity rim that has come out of the Grand Rapids, Michigan facility and his job has him covering all parts of the rim manufacturing process from rolling, cutting, drilling, machining, and on to anodizing. Austin also bought my old CNC milling machine and has been making really cool things with it. We also talk about some of his fun bike projects like the Skim Bike Competition and Wheelie Wanderer.
Check out Austin’s website, follow him on Instagram, and definitely check out Wheelie Wanderer.
Ep. 30 Dale Marchand of Rolling Dale Cycles
This week I share my interview with Dale Marchand of Rolling Dale Cycles. Dale is relatively newer to framebuilding, but his work is really very strong. We talk about his class with Paul Brodie, the framebuilding scene in Canada, and how he has built up his shop for frame fabrication.
Follow Dale on Instagram.
Ep. 29 Mark Hester of Prova Cycles
Mark Hester builds custom bikes in Fairfield Australia. Mark studied mechanical engineering in college and worked in motorsports for a while before taking a framebuilding course at The Bicycle Academy in 2015. Since the class, Mark has been building bikes in Australia. Mark incorporates Stainless Steel, Titanium, and Composite materials. I find his use of 3D printed materials to be particularly remarkable.
Check out the Prova Cycles website and follow along on Instagram.
Ep. 28 Jeff Tiedeken of Monkey Likes Shiny
Jeff Tiedeken of Monkey Likes Shiny in Richmond, CA does a wide variety of machining and fabrication for aerospace, medical, and even weirdo art stuff. He’s been in and around the bike world for ages including making several absurd concept bikes and bike-related products like a U-Lock wrench.
Follow Jeff on Instagram
Ep. 27 Brad Bingham of Bingham Built
Brad Bingham has a unique story in the framebuilding world. Brad built his first bike frame out of utility - he kept breaking his Cannondales and he loved machining and fabrication. From there he took a titanium framebuilding class at the United Bicycle Institute, worked in production at Moots for over ten years, and then started to work with Kent Eriksen. Brad has now taken over operations at Eriksen Cycles and rebranded it to Bingham Built.
Brad’s TIG welding is out of this world, as you might expect for someone who worked in production for so many years. He is also a very talented machinist and his shop-made tools are excellent. Another thing that sets Brad’s bikes apart is the full suspension frames which have a lot of engineering and custom- machined components.
Sit back and enjoy the story.
Check out his website and follow his instagram.
Ep. 26 Mark Norstad of Paragon Machine Works
Ep. 25 Dave Harrison of Pedal Driven Cycles
Ep. 23 Chris Chance of Fat Chance Bikes
Ep. 24 Jessica Bratus of Fit Mi
Ep. 22 Joe Roggenbuck of Cobra Frames (autobiography episode)
Ep. 21 Mike DeSalvo of DeSalvo Custom Cycles
Ep. 20 Stephen Bilenky of Bilenky Cycle Works
Ep. 19 Sean Chaney of Vertigo Cycles
Sean Chaney builds very detail-oriented and expertly-executed mountain bikes in titanium in his shop in Portland, Oregon. We talk about why Titanium, how he got started, what he’s been up to with making some guitars, and more.
Ep. 18 Matt McDonough of Isen Workshop
Isen Workshop makes unique and beautiful bicycles in the UK and this week I share my interview with Matt, one of the founding members. Isen Workshop is based on Matt’s work with Talbot Cycles and Caren Hartley’s work with Hartley Cycles. Together, and with the help of some others, they do Isen Workshop. We talk about the dynamic of a business model like this. We also talk some about what it’s like being a framebuilder in the UK.