44 Bikes

[fortyfour]

[fortyfour]

[Simonhi]

Not only your bikes but your photography is a fine art Kris.

I think you must be using a very adjustable tripod head to get such symmetrical photos, it really shows off the precision of your fabrication and the way in which the tubes are bent and connected is stunning.

I have serious workshop and skill / design envy.

[Amaro Bikes]

I have serious workshop and skill / design envy.

Envy? I simply hate all of them deep as hell! Kris, Tyler, Mike, Drew... all those Tignotic humanchines of bead-ass skills! they make me feel so miserable ;)

[fortyfour]

Not only your bikes but your photography is a fine art Kris.

I think you must be using a very adjustable tripod head to get such symmetrical photos, it really shows off the precision of your fabrication and the way in which the tubes are bent and connected is stunning.

I have serious workshop and skill / design envy.

Thank you for these kind words. A nice way to end my week. I take these to heart.

You are correct, I use a tripod: I have two. One that lives in the shop that is kind of a P.O.S. and another that is a Manfrotto. Oddly enough, sometimes I prefer that P.O.S. because of how the head adjusts in both planes easier than the Manfrotto. The Manfrotto has a bit more mass to it so it's a bit more stable and can actually be adjusted so it's literally laying flat on the floor to get some dramatic angles. But often times, I find that I have to shoot the shot tilted a bit as the bike is leaning a tad in one direction because the floor is not exactly flat with all the cracks and such.. So it's a chore in some cases to get things all lined up. The floor is far from smooth too so you can't scoot the tripod/s around so precisely. But it's taught me to work with what I have and get the most out of what little I do have. If/when i finally pour a new floor, it will make photography setups SOOOO much easier!

[fortyfour]

Envy? I simply hate all of them deep as hell! Kris, Tyler, Mike, Drew... all those Tignotic humanchines of bead-ass skills! they make me feel so miserable ;)

Hate's a strong word Aimar :) Each time I pick up the torch, I tell myself that this is just another day of practice. Another day to get better. Another day to make the bikes better. Some days I move too slow, others I'm on the shaky side with too much coffee in my veins. The filler's balling up. My timing is off. Cut that tube twice and it's still too short...

But some times though, planets align, coffee and H20 are finely balanced and things just click. Those are few but I set my own standards pretty high and I try to get there each time. Sometimes I'm there and sometimes I'm not. What I do love about all this is the process. Right down to finishing a weld, flipping the lid, and inspecting my work and thinking what can be better, what did I do well, what did I not do so well and how will I do it better with the next go. It's a constant evaluation wether it's conscious or subconscious. I don't know how much others spend time on this, but I know for me it's a huge part of the entire process. I don't dwell on it, but it's something I spend a good amount of brain power on.

[Amaro Bikes]

Hey Kris, please do not take my comment "seriously", of course Hate is a word too strong to be used in a serious way, I was just joking on how much do I appreciate and admire any of the great master's work. How could I hate gifted people who are always willing to share knowledge wide open? Vsalon would be almost nothing if none of you were around here to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

About the process, I know all those feelings... sometimes really gets deep inside as a kick in the guts, (mitering all tubes by hand is not the easiest path either), and for sure you perfectly know the capricious female spirit of tig welding, sometimes you're so in the zone that all flows almost by itself and you could weld 1000 frames in a row, but other days is like you never got a torch in yoru hands and the metal-torch-hand-mind connection is lost in difuse gaps of misunderstanding.

And yes, this is why I love this work so much, each day matters, endlessly. I started all this adventure more captivated about what bikes I could create, but after allt his time at the bench, it's all about the process which grabs you deep inside and traps you forever in a challenging labyrinth of learning experience.

Cheers

[fortyfour]

Hey Kris, please do not take my comment "seriously", of course Hate is a word too strong to be used in a serious way, I was just joking on how much do I appreciate and admire any of the great master's work. How could I hate gifted people who are always willing to share knowledge wide open? Vsalon would be almost nothing if none of you were around here to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

About the process, I know all those feelings... sometimes really gets deep inside as a kick in the guts, (mitering all tubes by hand is not the easiest path either), and for sure you perfectly know the capricious female spirit of tig welding, sometimes you're so in the zone that all flows almost by itself and you could weld 1000 frames in a row, but other days is like you never got a torch in yoru hands and the metal-torch-hand-mind connection is lost in difuse gaps of misunderstanding.

And yes, this is why I love this work so much, each day matters, endlessly. I started all this adventure more captivated about what bikes I could create, but after allt his time at the bench, it's all about the process which grabs you deep inside and traps you forever in a challenging labyrinth of learning experience.

Cheers

Hey Aimar - I knew you were joking. Stuff get's lost in translation over the internet. So much is process driven and it's good to hear we share that same passion for the pursuit of process!

[fortyfour]

It's taking tremendous will power not to grab this one by the horns and shred...

[dgaddis]

Classy!

[fortyfour]

[devlin]

^^ This bike for me will a bench mark for perfectly built to the design brief package. So many good things about this bike.

[fortyfour]

^^ This bike for me will a bench mark for perfectly built to the design brief package. So many good things about this bike.

Thanks. I'll add that the last line on each brief states: "Made to Shred™ That's Guaranteed..."

[fortyfour]

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[Nierman]

Even your raised-and-sent-out-into-the-world bikes inherently know how to lie down on the trail for their photo.