New :: Ink on Fabric

Bike people like t-shirts, probably as much as music people do.

Spring may finally show up here in New England, so it was time for some new tee's. While we do lots of different colors and spins on IF logo shirts, we were struggling to come up with some fresh designs that reflect the personality of IF. After trying to generate some ideas through third party designers, and even a lame attempt on an internet bike forum, we simply looked internally, both for inspiration and for someone that could make our ideas come to life.

Enter the talented artist Alessandra Mondolfi, Tyler's lovely wife. She helped us pick out a bunch of tools and objects that we like, and then rendered them in awesome line drawings that became our new t-shirts.

When Tyler isn't making bikes or doing most of the heavy lifting on this blog, and when Alessandra isn't out on a movie set, the dynamic duo team up to form TEAMcreative. See examples of their work here.

First up is the paint gun in a blue ringer tee. Clint can tell you the specific model, it's the LM100 Wuppa Wuppa something, but all I know is that this gun sprays color, and not bullets, and the world needs more color and less bullets.


Sticking with the tool theme, this is one of our Bridgeport vertical mills. Bridgeports are the Swiss Army knives of machine tools, and a hallmark of the once proud US industrial base. The right materials and skills, and you could probably build this machine from this machine. Silver on black...


Bikes and music go hand in hand, so we had to amp it up. And yes, like Campy and Spinal Tap, this one goes to eleven, in black of course. Classic twin reverb meets bike fabrication. Check out the production process laid out on the knobs... cheeky detail.

2010 represents the 15th year that IF has been making bikes in Massachusetts, so it was only fitting that we honor our anniversary with a vanity plate. Vanity plates are generally lame, but we think this one is an exception. We don't need no registration... still living the dream in a white ringer tee.

Last but not least is the trike. Most of us started on three wheels, and some of us could still use the third from time to time. We really like Alessandra's old school three-wheeler in classic IF yellow and green.

They are available here.

Thanks Alessandra!

NAHBS Postview :: Bike 5 :: XS Club Racer

The final bike we brought to NAHBS was an XS Club Racer. This bike was designed to use the Paul Racer Brakes and to accommodate the stainless steel Honjo fenders that we painted and pinstriped.

The seat cluster lug had to be specially made just for these brakes.


This a picture I snapped during the fabrication showing the asymmetrical structure of the seat cluster lug.


The build: Stainless steel King cages, EDGE bars, seatpost, rims and stem, Campagnolo super record gruppo, White Industries hubs, White Brooks saddle, Paul Racer brakes, Challenge Roubaix tubular tires, Honjo stainless steel fenders, Chris King headset, Nitto M-18 rack, and a custom BaileyWorks rack bag, all mounted on a titanium lugged frame with carbon fiber tubes.... and of course a custom IF Club Racer fork.

NAHBS Postview :: Bike 4 :: Wounded Warrior Project

The fourth Bike in our NAHBS series represents a project we are working on for the Wounded Warriors Project. A complete bike (very similar to this one) is being donated by IF to help support the cause. Each time you purchase a $10 raffle ticket (HERE) you get a chance to win a fully custom, built just for you, version of this bike, and you help support a great cause that helps a lot of people.


The frame that will be built for the lucky winner will be a Crown Jewel SE and it will completely built with a very similar (if not identical) parts kit. The frame we built for NAHBS (featured here in the blog) to showcase the project is one of our SSR frames made with a tubeset graciously donated by Columbus tubing.

Help us help them by purchasing a raffle ticket. The more tickets you purchase the better your chances of winning!! The drawing will take place this summer (2010).

NAHBS Preview :: Bike 3 :: PWXL 00/40

The 40th anniversary Phil Wood bike. We will be making 40 of these titanium frames for Phil Wood, actually 41 if you count this one, #00, for Peter who is THE MAN over at Phil Wood.

We cut the tubes and sent them over to Phil Wood headquarters to get polished, then we tacked and welded them all together and sent the completed frame back to them for a final polish and build up. They just sent the completed build to us today to bring down to NAHBS in Richmond, VA.

We couldn't help but to snap some pics for our NAHBS preview series.

So while you digest the following tasty treats we will be building up the final 2 bikes. Hopefully we will have time to shoot them before loading 'em up into the van.






Rumor has it that they are sending us a different saddle for the show... something special from France. Oui! Oui!

PWXL-00/40. See it in person at the IF booth at the (S)NAHBS.

Paper Labels :: Recap

Thanks to all that came out for our show last Friday night, it was a blast. The Paper Labels Project was huge fun for us and our co-conspirators. Out friends from Highsnobiety came by our factory to find out more about the project and our man Stebs from Quarter Productions was there to make a little video.

Independent Fabrications X Bodega X BaileyBag Works from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

The FourthWall Project has a great space for an event, nice lighting all around and plenty of room to show off the bikes.



We would like to send out a special thanks to Jason for being our DJ for the night, he did a great job setting the mood and keeping things lively.

All of our bike hanging hooks were still there from our party last year in the space, making setup a breeze. Each of the three project packages were displayed together. Above is the Mellow Fellow and the Higgins and below is the Duck Hunter.


The 3 vintage cans on the left were the inspiration for the project, the can on the right was made just for the project.

NAHBS Preview :: Bike 2

As part 2 of our 5 part preview we have another bike going to NAHBS this year. This is a Titanium Deluxe 29'er set up for winter riding (or shredding as the case might be).

Safety and durability were 2 of the main concerns we wanted to address when undertaking this project. The high visibility paintjob and reflective decals and accessories make for riding at night much safer, which also happens far more frequently this time of year.

The studded Nokian tires also make for a much more stable ride on the ice that is everywhere this time of year (especially here in New England).


The internally geared SRAM i-motion 9 speed rear hub keeps those gears shifting even when the drivetrain is covered in icy sludge.

Simple and minimal full cable housing keeps the muck out of the lines.

Disc brakes also make for more predictable and powerful stopping.

This bike also features full size stainless steel fenders to keep you dry and a waterproof BaileyWorks rack bag (also with a highly reflective element) to keep your spare pair of socks dry.