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Thrive Cycles
I offer my own story here not because I think it is extraordinary, but rather because I feel it is common. I entered into the world of framebuilding in this millennial midst of time where things crafted are attractive, authenticity is valuable, and entrepreneurship looks romantic, empowering, and obtainable. Even with my doe eyed gaze fixed upon building bikes, I knew in the beginning it was not going to be any of those things.
Just like many of you, my love connection with the bicycle was founded at an early age and has only continued to prosper, as I have gotten older. Riding and racing eventually led to a wrenching job at our local bike shop. I spent more time fixing flats and repairing department store garbage than building up high-end machines. I didn’t mind it though; I was doing something I loved. It was but only a matter of time before my passion and ability would align. I had to learn.
Using my hands to create is where I am most comfortable. I have fabricated a lot of things, but building a bicycle was somewhat uncharted territory for me. I have also been misplaced and have lived the majority of my life in Missouri. There really aren’t any builders nearby that I could beg for table scraps. I gorged myself on all things framebuilding. Blogs, forums, e-mails, books conversations, and pictures were just a start. At the bench is where I had to apply it all. I even took on the task of building all my own fixtures in hopes to gain a better understanding of the process. Most of my hands on experiences resulted in what not to do and in moments of frustration even rethinking the whole endeavor. Teaching myself only seemed to remind myself of how far off I was. However, in those unexpected moments of persistence, repetition, and even ignorance the answers would slowly reveal themselves and the motivation would swell.
I am new. I am also uncertain of when or what makes that feeling go away. Regardless, I have been building bikes for barely three years. The majority of my professional career has been in metrology and calibration. I am always obsessing over decimal points and precision. I can’t help but pour that same mindset into the frames I produce. In a sea of budding and aspiring new builders all I truly care about offering is the ability to do it right. My deliberately simple approach takes it back to the basics and puts focus on construction, design, and quality. It is my desire that over time that my commitment and consistency will result in a reliable choice for customers wanting a hand built frame. In the meantime, I will keep the torch burning, relentlessly strive to build better bicycles, and hopefully thrive in doing so.
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