Sunday, October 31, 2010

TiFLW :: V2 :: Wicked.

Fresh out of the Indy Fab Special Ops department: the new Titanium Factory Lightweight. Inspired by the original Factory Lightweight muscle cars that came out of Detroit in the 60's. These hot rods were defined by their high horsepower and all-out determination for maximum speed.

This is a strict racing machine, designed and engineered for sprinting, climbing and fast criteriums.

There are lots of new features packed into this model including an integrated seat mast featuring the all new IFtop secure saddle adjustment device.

Our new ISP is completely and ridiculously secure with a rider weight limit of 500lbs (all muscle of course) with bolts tightened to 10Nm.

We worked closely with aarn_wrks_dsn to do the final 3D drawings for the IFtop clamp.

When the height limit is reached a fluorescent indicator will appear in the relief hole on the back of the IFtop.



The large diameter head tube is designed to accept the new Inset 44mm headset standard.

The oversized bottom bracket shell was designed exclusively for use with the new Press Fit BB30 bottom bracket, shedding lots of weight and making it possible to stiffen the frame up considerably. This new BB in combination with the oversized head tube made it possible to use a 44.5mm diameter butted down tube. This, in combination with a few other things, delivers the maximum amount of your horsepower to the rear wheel.

Special dropouts were also made just for this model. Featuring a smaller overall size, drilled out faces and an engraved backside. Visible, both above and below, are the new single bend chainstays, stiffer and lighter than ever before.




This marks the introduction of 2011's new script decal selection. The decals are not made yet so on this bike they have been painted in. Look for them to appear as an option in the coming months.

13lbs 13oz as shown.

The TiFLW will be available for sale shortly. We are steadfastly working on finding a reliable source for the titanium tubing we need to make the head tubes. We are also working on some new fixtures that will help us to integrate this frame into our production flow.

Happy Halloween!

p.s.- Hey MADFIBER, thanks for the wheels!

- t.e.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Club Racer :: EFM :: Life

I.F. employee Shawn "E.F.M." Estes has built himself a new Club Racer out of Columbus Life tubing. This frame features a secret bottle opener, safety oriented paint scheme and a painted to match pump.



Shawn opted to go with a single chainring up front, for now...


The parts consist of a blend of new and old robust componentry destined to be slayed by the long dark and salty winter commutes back and fourth between Somerville and Burlington.

This will be his new rainy day friend. All it needs is a name...

- t.e

Monday, October 25, 2010

Steel 29'er :: Best Wedding Present Ever

My good friends Jon Frederick and Kathryn Grant got married this past weekend. Congrats you two! It was a beautiful weekend.

Katie asked me a few months ago about having us build a custom IF for Jon as a wedding present. Jon's been lusting after an IF for years, and developed a habit of describing his dream paint job to me. His best idea yet: a toned-down Gulf Racing paint scheme based on a Tag Monaco watch.

Asymmetric stripes. Orange on one side...

Baby blue on the other.

We pulled off some super secret spy missions to get the fit just right. Katie "lost" the keys to their garage twice so I could get a close look at his other bikes.

Groomsman and IF Racer, Todd Yezefski, gave extra feedback about Jon's fit on his current mountain bike. We turned that into a frame design and left the steerer and cables a little long to give room for fine tuning.

IF crown "number plate".

Katie presented the bike to Jon on Friday night. Jon was literally speechless. It's pretty great when a surprise really works.

Jon didn't let go of the bike for practically the rest of the night. Rubber donuts kept the paint safe. Blue zip-ties really tie the whole look together (nice!).

So much more fun than a watch.

Congratulations again, Jon and Katie. Here's to a wonderful life together. Cin cin.

- k.w.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Corvid :: Ed Viesturs



Many of our customers are athletes in sports other than cycling, but use cycling as a key part of their training regimen.

Ed Viesturs is one of those. A world class athlete and a good friend, he is the first American to summit all 14 of the world's tallest peaks without the use of supplemental oxygen. Ed is also an environmentalist, a talented speaker, author, guide, devoted father and husband, and game enough to guide my motley crew up Mount Rainier a few years ago, so I had to repay the favor and build him a bike worthy of his talent.


We tinted the carbon on his Corvid blue, Ed's favorite color, probably because he has spent so much time in true blue skies above 26,000 feet.

Ed is no stranger to great gear, providing design input to numerous equipment makers including First Ascent, so when he sent me a note saying that, "this was the coolest thing that he'd ever received", I knew that we'd hit the mark.
Look for Ed's interview in the December issue of Bicycling magazine, where he talks about the role that cycling plays in his training, and grab a copy of his latest book, K2, Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain.

g.s.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

03 TiCJ :: Boss Repaint :: Yatsugatake

This 2003 Titanium Crown Jewel came back for a new paint job.

This frameset features the colors: 2011 Boss Blue, Vanilla Shake and Black with exposed shotpeened titanium rear end.

At this point they thought it would be a good idea to upgrade their fork to a new ENVE 2.0, painted to match. (good idea)

It still has the original seat collar...

... and the original Steling Silver headbadge with 7+ year old patina.

Good as new... maybe better.

- t.e.