Shamrock Cycles

[hmbatrail]

Well, I guess it's my turn at the plate. My name is Tim O'Donnell and I am Shamrock Cycles. Many of the builders you have read about, and will soon read about in the coming weeks and months, are single man operations. I am no different. I build em all and paint em as well. Some of these builders found themselves working in a shop building because they had a passion for building and chose that path. Richard is a perfect example. Other builders, like Zank, discovered building a bit more organically. Life was headed in a different direction and events or serendipity intervened and they ended up leaned over a bench with file in hand. I am one of the latter.

My father worked construction for 38 years. He worked his entire life outdoors in mud and shitty conditions because that was the only thing he knew. He accepted that and he busted his ass to be the best he could. The old man taught me carpentry, brazing, welding, etc. I started building furniture in college. Largely out of necessity. I had no money but an apartment with nothing to put in it. While nothing terribly impressive at the time, I took a staggering amount of pride knowing that I had created something. I continued to build furniture, and my skills and abilities slowly grew. To this day I still build furniture and virtually every piece of furniture in my house came from my hands. Once my wife put her foot down that our house could hold no more furniture I started restoring old motorcycles. I knew jack shit about what went into restoring a motorcycle. In 2000 I bought a basket case 1966 Triumph Bonneville and set about bringing it back to life. I enjoyed the process and ended up restoring a few others. The process re-introduced me to metal work, painting, and torch brazing (something I hadn't done since high school).

At some point around 2002 I had moment of clarity. I was still riding and racing bikes, I had mechanical skills, I had torches and bottles out in the shop . . . it was the time to try and build a bike. I built a lugged frame for myself, which I still have and ride. I continued to build frames and continued to do things the right way and strive to improve. Flash forward to now and building frames is what I do. I am supremely fucking proud of what I do. I look forward to my day and I sleep like a baby at night knowing I am exactly where I want to be in my station in life. I don't want to be all things to all people. The bikes I build are bikes that I would want to ride and those folks that agree with me will find me.

[WadePatton]

i'm one of those who agree with ya tim (you knew that), but i'm no bike buyer any more, i have to build my owns...

kudos to your off-road involvement man. the roadies often don't know/understand/care that we have to work for our trails. ('tis not effb-ing, but i know it's a part of you).

now for the richie-esque q: what's the part of your day or building process, or even client relationship (from initial contact to shipped) that presents a thorn or maybe just a roughness needing polish in your operation?

cheers!

[hmbatrail]

Thanks Wade. My heart is in mountain biking. When I trashed my knee playing baseball my freshman year in college I started mountain biking as rehab. That was 1991. I had a man crush on John Tomac. I fell in love with mountain biking and I haven't played a day of baseball since. I have been involved on the advocacy side for about a decade now and it is an important part of who I am and what I do.

To your question. The customer part I actually look forward to. The interaction between client and builder is crucially important. I try and stress the journey of having a custom bike built. A high level of communication and discussions with the client helps them invest more than money into the frame. They are part of the process.

One of the issues I still struggle with is being polite, yet short, with folks that don't want to actually buy a bike. They just want to talk about bikes. I enjoy speaking with them but it is also a massive time sink. I need to figure out how to politely end a phone call or an endless stream of emails asking about everything under the sun without ever really committing to a deposit.

[WadePatton]

I need to figure out how to politely end a phone call or an endless stream of emails asking about everything under the sun without ever really committing to a deposit.

easy- 1-900-tim-talk!

[YiPsan]

Tim,

Good to learn of how you got here.

Can you tell us more of how you promote your business? any marketing plan?

Cheers,
Renold

[hmbatrail]

Tim,

Good to learn of how you got here.

Can you tell us more of how you promote your business? any marketing plan?

Cheers,
Renold

Renold,
By and large I rely on word of mouth. I also have the website, which gets decent traffic. Lastly, I help sponsor the local cyclocross series as well as sponsor a cyclocross and mtb team. Beyond those avenues I don't really do much.

I plan on doing some print advertising in 2010 and that will be the first time I have done that.

[Craig Ryan]

Tim, nice to hear from you! It looks like you've done a great job of getting through those first tough years. Now that you've gotten established, how do you see your shop/business changing? Is it time for a deep breath and to hunker down, or are there any plans for growing in a new way, material, process, design, or business?

As a total newb I visited you for some help and was overwhelmed by how generous and encouraging you were. Your attitude has helped me keep chugging along, thank you!
Craig

[steve garro]

One of the issues I still struggle with is being polite, yet short, with folks that don't want to actually buy a bike. They just want to talk about bikes. I enjoy speaking with them but it is also a massive time sink. I need to figure out how to politely end a phone call or an endless stream of emails asking about everything under the sun without ever really committing to a deposit.

Ask for a deposit! I give people three E-mails tops. as soon as you start talking specifics you are, in effect, designing the bike.........your brain is your most important asset you have - charge people to use it. It's not rude - " I can build what you want no problem. the cost is...............tenitive delivery date would be..............to continue further in this discussion i must recieve a deposit sent to:................. as we are entering a client/builder relationship. your stuff looks awesome. you are one of the guys I root for {and you are still 1st in line for spring cleaning sales} just keep doing what you are doing. carry on. To close with a question: where do you see 650B going in the off-road world? - Garro.

[edoz]

I love your work, the bikes you had in Richmond were amazing.
You do lugs and fillets both very well. Do you have preferred joinery method, and does/did one come easier than the other?
I also think its awesome how you call your off white "Irish Suntan"

[hmbatrail]

I love your work, the bikes you had in Richmond were amazing.
You do lugs and fillets both very well. Do you have preferred joinery method, and does/did one come easier than the other?
I also think its awesome how you call your off white "Irish Suntan"

Thanks for the complement. I am somewhat agnostic on lugs vs. fillet. Both offer their benefits and downsides. I find that if I have a long succession of builds in fillet or lugged I start to miss the type I am not building. If I have to build several fillet brazed in a row I start to think I like lugged better. Vice versa. I think that reinforces the idea that I don't have a preference.

Anyone who has seen my legs in the high of summer can attest to the fact that tan is not in my vocabulary. Damn you all of Mediterranean descent with your ability to tan. A pox on your house.

[hmbatrail]

Ask for a deposit! I give people three E-mails tops. as soon as you start talking specifics you are, in effect, designing the bike.........your brain is your most important asset you have - charge people to use it. It's not rude - " I can build what you want no problem. the cost is...............tenitive delivery date would be..............to continue further in this discussion i must recieve a deposit sent to:................. as we are entering a client/builder relationship. your stuff looks awesome. you are one of the guys I root for {and you are still 1st in line for spring cleaning sales} just keep doing what you are doing. carry on. To close with a question: where do you see 650B going in the off-road world? - Garro.

Steve,
I knew I could count on you to be the voice of reason. Actually, I was thinking of you as I typed my response. Super friendly, knowledgeable, but doesn't suffer fools gladly. That tightrope is sometimes tough to walk.

I think you and I are in agreement on the idea of 650b. I think there is significant advantage of 650b over 26" Especially for shorter inseam folks. The gripes I often hear about 650b is the lack of parts but I disagree. Tires are easily found with plenty of excellent all-rounder options available from Schwalbe, Panaracer, Kenda, Pacenti, et al. Wheels are no problem as well. Pre-builts from Sun and American Classic as well as plenty of rims if you want to build your own. Forks really are where people complain the most but a 29er fork works just fine. If you want a 650b specific fork I use both a Whits Brothers Fluid and a Magic and love them.

Can the market support a third wheel option in the mtb market? Only time will tell but the benefits are there and the more people try 650b the more that others will agree.

[conorb]

Tim,

Great story, thanks for sharing.

It sounds as though your father really instilled in you the vocational/shop skills required to get you in a position to work with your hands. Was this process at all formalized? By this I mean, was there a series of projects that he helped lead you through with each successive project adding skills or tools to the mix? Or was it more; "well today son, we're fixing the X" and that would be that lesson.

I guess I'm jealous, my Dad, while well intentioned was awful with tools and fixing things. Once he replaced the switch/rheostat in the stove and it worked completely backwards after he was done. Same thing with the hot and cold water in the shower. Hot was cold and vice versa. Friends and family that stayed with us often got a rude awakening the first time in the shower.

You also mentioned college and furniture making. Did you finish college/get a degree or did the desire to be "doing stuff" pull you out of that?

Thanks,

Conor

[Don Walker]

Tim,

Do you have any one bike in particular that you made that in your mind stands out as "the best" you have ever built? Or is that yet to come?

On a racing note, what is your favorite type of race?

DW

[hmbatrail]

Tim,

Do you have any one bike in particular that you made that in your mind stands out as "the best" you have ever built? Or is that yet to come?

On a racing note, what is your favorite type of race?

DW

Don, ideally the best bike is the next one. I never want to feel I have "peaked". I don't want to be the greyhound that caught the hare. I keep chasing it.

That said, the white 650b road bike I built last year stands out as one of the better looking "complete packages". I also really like how the orange CX bike I had on display at NAHBS Indy turned out.

I race just about every type of discipline except track. I always wanted to since the velodrome is four miles from where I sit but I just haven't done it yet. My favorite type of race is 24 hour mountain bike racing. The race is incredibly hard as an individual but you are part of a team. Part of something bigger than just you. I like that feeling. Plus the vibe is unbeatable. Everyone is going through the same pain as you. You feel like you are part of a tribe. Empathy runs high even when spirits run low. (3:00 AM in the rain with a busted derailleur). It is the most positive, encouraging, painful, exhilarating racing I have ever done.

[Fourflys]

I also really like how the orange CX bike I had on display at NAHBS Indy turned out.

that bike was freaking awesome Tim!

[hmbatrail]

Thanks man. Actually, this year's team CX bikes will look just like it.

[hmbatrail]

Team Update:

This has easily been the most fun and successful race season I (we) have had in quite some time. MTB season has come to a close with five of the six team members participating throughout the Spring/Summer/Fall campaign. Several top 10 finishes, a few podiums, and one BIG win with Amanda taking first at the Mohican.

Cross season is in full swing and the joy of success is a very close second to the joy of participation. Nearly a dozen top tens and five podiums so far. I have long been an advocate that the best vibe is at a mountain bike race but this season is starting to skew my perception. We are having a great time, we try to be encouraging to others, we try to be approachable by all, and act as ambassadors to the sport. I hope we are succeeding in that because it sure as hell feels like we are. We are, by anyone's definition, a team. And that is harder to pull off than you may think.

At the end of the day this is still a business enterprise for me and I want/need to see a return on my investment. That is starting to happen. Beyond just awareness by a greater audience, I have taken orders that I can attribute in part or whole to the fact that the customer was able to walk into my tent at a race and touch/feel/ride the bikes.

To those of you who have teams and provide the bulk of the support (Curt, ER, Mike, et al) I wish you all a very successful Fall/Winter campaign and hope that you are having as much fun as we are.

Pictures tell a thousand words:
Shamrock Cycles Racing - a set on Flickr

[e-RICHIE]

Team Update:

nice to see you back here tim atmo.

[Curt Goodrich]

Tim,

Thank you for the well wishes. The team is having a great time. Congratulations on your team. The bikes and riders look great! I'm really glad that all of your hard work in fielding a team is paying off at many levels. Well done and well deserved.

[YiPsan]

Congrats Tim.