Cycle Mode Tokyo 2009

Our Man in Japan Daisuke Yano just finished doing the 2009 Cycle Mode Tokyo trade show representing Independent Fabrication as well as the Rapha line of cycling clothing.

Daisuke and his crew always do an amazing job of representing us.

Daisuke had many of our bikes professionally displayed.

He also had a couple of special bikes for the crowds to check out.

The limited edition IF/Rapha cross bike (sold out of the bike but we just unearthed a few of the custom IF/Rapha cross kits from our archives and put them up in our store HERE).



Thank you Daisuke for all of your hard work! We wish we could have been there but we were too busy making bikes for you..... let me know which rack you want to use on that fork, you know the one...

On/off, in/out, up/down, faster/slower, and side to side: Handles

These handles get a lot of touching.

They start the day cold but are warm by sundown.


The machines themselves develop a surface patina, whether it is dust, oil or some other type of grime, but the handles are always gleaming.

Everything is so solid in these machines that you would be surprised how much you can actually feel through them.

When operating them by hand you can actually feel the metal being cut.

On/off, in/out, up/down, faster/slower, and side to side: handles make it happen.

Bike, Bag and Beer... trifecta

I had a thought a few weeks ago on my commute home. I knew I didn't have any beer at home and it was a long day of welding so I stopped by my local packie to get a some. As usual, I had a bunch of stuff in my bag and had to maneuver an unwieldy six pack into my bag.

The shape of the cardboard six pack carrier made for an uncomfortable situation for the rest of my ride and I thought: "if I had some sort of padded insert in my bag that lined up all of the beers in a single file things would be a little bit more comfortable."

Enter my pals over at BaileyWorks....

I had just completed a photo shoot of some prototype bags they were working on and in exchange they said I could have the bag of my choice.

Being the pain in the ass that I am I came up with a bag design that matched my "steppin' out bike", but I didn't stop there....

I requested a large Baileyworks SuperPro with six pockets sewn into the back panel with a thin foam pad hidden behind it. Each of these pockets needed to fit a bottle of beer.

I called up our buddy Seth over at Harpoon and asked him if he would like to stuff my bag with beer and he obliged. He brought over a case of regular sized ale bottles as well as another case of big 22oz bottles, which, to my surprise, also fit in the bag, due to the elastic cinching sewn into the top of the pockets.

I stuffed the bag full of all of my goods, loaded it up with the bottles, put it on and was amazed at the high level of comfort I experienced. I think we have a winner! Call it what you will... the beer-do-leer, the booze-bag, the alco-hauler, that is for BaileyWorks to decide. Regardless this thing is the shit!

Toni and Jenn over at BaileyWorks were also kind enough to send me some process shots of the bag while it was under construction.

Thanks for making my dream a reality.

Lookin' good and feelin' good, that's the way it should be. XOXO, Tyler.

Gahden Green 29'er

Finn's new 29'er singlespeed... new frame with his old sweet parts on it. Instead of the normal gloss clearcoat, Finn asked Clint to apply a matte finish. This gives the frame a real soft look and beckons your hand to touch it.


The frame is painted Gahden Green and the logo treatments and masked elements are painted in Quetzal Green. The green on green makes for a bike that looks.... well, green. We had hours of fun around the shop asking Finn "what kind of frame is that, I can't tell", to the point at which I think he actually got mad. Ahh.. the joys of torturing a comrade, there really is no better fun.


Detail of our rigid fork's disc brake tab.


Stainless steel slider dropouts with polished faces and reinforcement strut.

Purple Planet Cross

Reduce, reuse, recycle... the 3 R's of being a good citizen. So when my wife wanted a new bike for gravel roads and inclement weather, I tried to do the right thing and reuse an existing frame to build her a cross bike. Beautiful bike, it just didn't fit quite right. Cue the quips about the cobbler's kids having no shoes...

So after a semi-fun biking trip to Acadia, semi because my bike fit perfectly and hers didn't, it was obvious what I needed to do... what I should have done in the first place... build a frame designed specifically for her.

Note to all you guys out there who haven't yet figured out the key to a happy marriage... it's all about her, and that means that you get the hand-me-downs, and she gets the good stuff... even if she isn't going to really "use" it, because that isn't the point.
Lucky for me I got a second chance, and she chose this purple, not realizing the similarity to the classic Fat City color.
Top mounted cable routing... just in case she gets the urge to race it...
A lot of action on the seat tube of a properly designed cross bike; the brazed on noodle provides for efficient brake cable routing...
front derailleur barrel adjustor, and
a pulley provides for clean derailleur cable routing and smooth shifts
SRAM Rival cross kit with 42/38T front rings
Silver King head-set along with a silver Thomson steam and seat post, silver Fizik bar tape, and silver Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels all match the silver decals
So I'm out of the dog house, and what of that pearl white Planet Cross? Well it turns out that it will fit Leah's good friend Jen, who recently broke her cross bike during a race. It's all good... karma.

IFRider: The owners Club: Picture Swipe: 04

Another installment of complete Independent Fabrication bicycles from owner submitted pictures swiped directly from IFrider.

Independent Fabrication is a bicycle building company. We are not just a a builder of road bikes, nor just a mountain bike builder. We don't prefer titanium, carbon fiber, steel or stainless steel. We prefer to be recognized as one of the most flexible custom builders in the industry, making a full range of models out of the best materials available.

This becomes super evident when browsing the IFrider site. The sheer variety is a little overwhelming. Every single one is different.... and there are thousands of them.

If you are an owner of an Independent Fabrication and haven't put your bike up on IFrider you are not doing your duty to the club. It's like a family photo album.

Each bike is as unique as its owner.

But usually not as complicated... wink, wink...

So, if you haven't already, snap some pics of your bike...

...upload....

...and share.

Welcome to the club.

IFRider: The owners Club: Picture Swipe: 03

Slay the woods on a Ti Deluxe.

Be a pimp in the woods on a purple nurple rigid steel Deluxe singlespeed.

Go fast on a Factory lightweight.

Go anywhere on an Independence.

{Canti's need all they help they can get}

Stay tuned for more sweet ride pics swiped from IFrider...

...and again, thanks Cris, for all of your hard work showcasing all of the IF owners bikes.