Ellis Cycles

[YiPsan]

Dave,

Thanks for sharing.

What kind of bike do you like to build most? And why so?

What influenced your lug cutting? as in the art side of it.

Thanks,
Renold

[armagh]

Ryan, thanks for the nice compliments!

You're more than welcome to stop by anytime, but don't bring beer, I'm not a drinker. I like Mexican Coca-Cola though! It's chock full of the white stuff!... Pure sugar.

Dave

Wait, what? I got two bikes from a man that doesn't drink? Man, you can not tell my family that. I'll be excommunicated, or ostracized, or something..

[Dave Wages]

Dave,

Thanks for sharing.

What kind of bike do you like to build most? And why so?

What influenced your lug cutting? as in the art side of it.

Thanks,
Renold

Hi Renold,

Just from an aesthetic standpoint, I love track frames since they're not going to have all the cables and other bits obscuring the work. Even when I was at Waterford I loved the pure simplicity of a track frame and I'd spend a little more time sweating the details since they required less braze ons and other work that a geared bike would get.

I guess Dave Kirk really influenced my early lug cutting as I was trying, (not successfully) to copy some of his work. He also taught me the tricks and quite a bit of the technique for it as well.

From the art standpoint, I guess I've tried to take in all the lug designs I've seen over the years and distill down the things I like into what I do now as Ellis. There's not too much out there that hasn't been done before, but the challenge is to find my own niche and really take the execution to as high a level as I can.

Dave

[Dave Wages]

Wait, what? I got two bikes from a man that doesn't drink? Man, you can not tell my family that. I'll be excommunicated, or ostracized, or something..

If I'm ever at your family reunion I'll bring a flask with my special Coke! No one has to know anything!

[Lionel]

Dave, congrats on your work. Just beautiful.

I have a question regarding fork crowns. You seem to use many different types on the various road bikes I looked at. Do you let the customer pick that, do you have a personal favorite?

[Dave Wages]

Dave, congrats on your work. Just beautiful.

I have a question regarding fork crowns. You seem to use many different types on the various road bikes I looked at. Do you let the customer pick that, do you have a personal favorite?

Hi Lionel,

I pick the fork crown for each bike dpending on a couple things. Firstly, is the frame 1" or 1 1/8". If it's 1 1/8", then there's really only a couple choices. On 1" frames, I try to match the crown to the lugs as much as possible and it also depends on the bike's purpose. I've got a really nice little tubular arched crown I like, but it'll only take about a 25c tire, so it's not gonna cut it on a randoneer frame.

One of my favorite lug/crown combinations was this one,

2-19-10%20Atomic%20Orange%20Road.jpg

I really like the way the crown mimics the look of the bottom head lug.

Cheers,
Dave

[Lionel]

Got it, I like this one too. I guess the bike called lugged 953 on your site uses a 1 1/8 steerer, even though that fork crown is simpler it also looks nice. I suppose no flat crown exist in 1 1/8.

BTW, do you have a picture of your own bike. Just curious.

[Dave Wages]

Got it, I like this one too. I guess the bike called lugged 953 on your site uses a 1 1/8 steerer, even though that fork crown is simpler it also looks nice. I suppose no flat crown exist in 1 1/8.

BTW, do you have a picture of your own bike. Just curious.

Actually, you've got it reversed. The 953 bike has a 1" steerer and that's the nice tubular crown I mentioned in my earlier post. for 1 1/8", I've got a very nice flat crown or a more sloping internal crown that I've just used for the first time recently. I don't do straight bladed forks, so the offset crowns don't do me any good, but there's still quite a few to choose from.

As for my personal bike, here's the one I've been riding lately.

phpfxSHB2AM.jpg

I built it up for NAHBS with a 1991 Campy Record kit. Those Delta brakes and the rest of the kit are just for special occasions, here's a shot with some slightly more modern parts.

phpygVYJsAM.jpg

[edoz]

What do you check on the alignment table, and what are your standards?

[Terry D]

I was in the Chicago Patagonia store a couple weeks back because I saw a bike in their window.
At first I thought it was an older classic, given the parts build, which had me thinking Campagnolo had re-issued the group.
Upon closer inspection I realized this was a new bike. I then googled Ellis and found your site.

I read some more info about you and Mr. Kirk and thought you guys might have been involved with two Serottas I own.
I've got a Colorado lt and a Colorado II. Probably not but I do see elements of these two bikes in your current work.

Don't be surprised if I end up with one of yours in my collection. And don't be surprised if I drop by some time.
The Real Coca-Cola is easy to find here in Chicago, I'll bring some with me if I show up.

That bike of yours at the Patagonia store really got me stoked.
I sent a bunch of my friends over there to see it. Everyone thought it was a real beauty.

Terry

[RudAwkning]

Mr. Wages in action!

[suhacycles]

Mr. Wages in action!

Very nice... Dave, your cats are so photogenic!

BTW, what's that smoke around 1:52 when you're denting the chainstay? Something being heated?

[Dave Wages]

Hey Terry,

Glad you enjoyed it, that was a special bike for me too, managing to find that old Record stuff that I had lusted for back in high school and then building a really special frame to hang it on. Nice to know other folks are into it as well.

As for the Coca-Cola, you're welcome to stop by anytime with some, and thanks to Eric, (EDOZ) for that real sugar Dr Pepper he dropped off at the Ellis Cycles booth in Austin!

Cheers,
Dave

[Dave Wages]

Very nice... Dave, your cats are so photogenic!

BTW, what's that smoke around 1:52 when you're denting the chainstay? Something being heated?

That smoke is from my super high tech wood block that I use to back up the chainstays while "bumping" them. Some stays can be dented cold, but with heat treated stays, I anneal them a bit before I dent to minimize the chance of cracking them. So, when I load the hot chainstay into my wood block it burns it just a bit and creates that wisp of smoke you see.

Dave

[ron l edmiston]

congratulations on your centerfold in "cog" rag...
luv them delta brakes...

ronnie

[Dave Wages]

congratulations on your centerfold in "cog" rag...
luv them delta brakes...

ronnie

That was a fun bike to build! For folks that aren't familiar with COG, here's my blog post with links to COG and my pals at Ben's Cycles where you can get a copy; Ellis Cycles: COG Magazine profile

[false_aesthetic]

Dave's got a great interview here: The Pull: David Wages of Ellis Cycles | RKP

Worth the listen.

[colker]

Interesting question.

The last bike I built for myself was this one;

Attachment 20828

I showed it at NAHBS with the 1991 Campy Record kit. This was my "dream" bike from around the time I got seriously into cycling, I managed to find the kit last summer at Ben's Cycle in Milwaukee and I knew I had to build this one. Since the show I've taken the NOS Campy stuff off and I'm riding it with some less precious parts.

Attachment 20829

The next bike will probably be a new 29'er frame. I built one for myself in the winter of 2008, showed it at the 2009 NAHBS and at the Cirque du Cyclisme. A few weeks after Cirque, a guy who'd seen it there called and asked if I'd sell it, which I did! I kinda miss it, but I didn't have a lot of time last summer to build a new one, so I got a cheap Spec. Rockhopper 29'er to ride until I get to building one. That's the only bike I have other than an Ellis.

Thanks for the question Paul, you know you're welcome to stop by the shop in Wisconsin if you ever find yourself up this way!

Not that folks from Chicago ever go to WI!

Such a beautifull bike. I love everything about it.