Firefly Bicycles

[anthonymaietta]

Tyler,

Nice picture with Mayor Menino on your tumblr. Way cool. What's the story?

Thanks,
Tony

[Tyler Evans]

Tyler,

Nice picture with Mayor Menino on your tumblr. Way cool. What's the story?

Thanks,
Tony

Thanks Tony,

We had a (ware) House Warming party on Saturday afternoon that lasted until about 2 in the morning (it was supposed to end at 10pm... but it was so much fun we couldn't let it end). The Mayor of Boston stopped by to do an official "Ribbon Cutting" ceremony early around 6pm. It was really cool. The party also totally rocked. We had about 200 people show up, which was pretty good considering the terrible weather that was going on outside. All of those warm bodies actually did warm up the shop quite a bit, given that there is no heat in the main space.

The food was graciously provided by Redbones and the beer was provided by Blue Hills Brewery (right down the street from us), Harpoon and Narragansett (all of this is preempting my future plans for Firefly's Team Beverage). Peter from Blue Hills Brewery did a tasting of all of the beers he makes, which was also really cool, making for a unique handcrafted experience for all. Quite a few Vsalonistas showed up as well which was awesome, some coming from pretty far away. Another great thing was that a lot of local frame builders came to show their support, which meant a lot to us.

Also, thanks for following our purely visual tumblr. It is amazing the amount of web traffic we get via this venue. We do our best to update it with pictures daily of all of the goings on around the shop. I highly recommend that people check up on it daily, as you never know what we will post next...

[Tyler Evans]

Oh yeah... cool article on us just went up on Embrocation Magazine online. Check it: HERE

[davids]

Tyler, et al:

Congrats again. The Mayor's a neighbor, isn't he?

I was aiming to make it to the open house, but life intervened. I'll stop by soon, I hope!

[Tyler Evans]

We just finished a cool build for a great guy.... Details HERE.

livestrong-bike-front-3-4-630px.jpg

[cuda2k]

Seriously sharp looking rig from every angle and every distance. Between the recent Firefly and Maietta frames I've seen, my appreciation of TIG construction is growing steadily. Doesn't hurt that I'm a sucker for the raw brushed look either.

[progetto]

Tyler,
Was just checking out your website and blog and love the articles on construction. What are the heatsinks made out of? Does the material differ between Ti or ss tubing? Do you use a heatsink in seat tube and head tube joints as well as bottom bracket ? How much does a heatsink reduce distortion and does it allow you to keep bottom bracket, seat tube, head tube closer to finished spec to alleviate some post weld reaming ? Do you need to do anything special to purge dropouts ? Hope this isn't too many questions all at once.
Bill

[Tyler Evans]

Tyler,
Was just checking out your website and blog and love the articles on construction. What are the heatsinks made out of? Does the material differ between Ti or ss tubing? Do you use a heatsink in seat tube and head tube joints as well as bottom bracket ? How much does a heatsink reduce distortion and does it allow you to keep bottom bracket, seat tube, head tube closer to finished spec to alleviate some post weld reaming ? Do you need to do anything special to purge dropouts ? Hope this isn't too many questions all at once.
Bill

Hey Bill,

The heatsinks are made out of aluminum, I will ask Jamie (aka brownbird) about the exact alloy and get back to you. I use the same heatsinks for both stainless and titanium, and clean them between each frame I weld. I use heatsinks in all of the welded joints. I have found that there is a lot less distortion to the joints due to the use of the heatsinks, although I still (and always) post machine all areas where parts interface with the frame. Heatsinks are not a substitute for post-weld reaming and facing of the head tube, chasing the threads and facing the BB shell, and reaming the seat tube for the insert. I also use a heatsink/spacer when I weld the dropouts along with backpurging. Ask as many questions as you want, that's why the Smoked Out threads exist.

Tyler.

[csbmo]

Phred asks, is this a s/s fork ( Corner Cycle Cape Cod Inc.'s Photos - Wall Photos | Facebook)

if not, can a s/s fork be had with one of ya'lls framesets?

[Tyler Evans]

Phred asks, is this a s/s fork ( Corner Cycle Cape Cod Inc.'s Photos - Wall Photos | Facebook)

if not, can a s/s fork be had with one of ya'lls framesets?

If you are asking if this is a stainless steel fork, then no. If s/s means something else then let me know. We have no problem using any fork that you desire for our builds, as long as they are well made and match the dimensions in our drawings. This was a fun build... we are awaiting her to show up for a photoshoot with her and her bike.

Funny thing about this bike. I built her Dad (Lefty) a titanium tandem just before Molly was born. Then later I built her (Molly) a titanium tricycle. Then, at IF, we built her a small road bike and now we built her this stainless Firefly. I think we have a lifer! I can't wait to build her more as she grows. It's quite the long term project! One that I really cherish and enjoy.

[MarkC]

Don't need another bike but lusting over the Firefly builds each week in FNL.

Next best thing to owning? Talk a buddy into getting one. Pal from the left coast asked who was tops in metal frames right now and after giving him a half dozen suggestions for different styles he emails: "Firefly looks awesome and they have a fitter (Dario) near me".

Visited, liked what he heard and made the choice. Had his fit done this week and ordered a Ti frameset.

Expect to see pics soon on the Salon!!!

[thendenjeck]

very late pass on this, but just wanted to say thanks for the story. thinking pretty seriously of starting a fabrication business (non-bike) and this is inspiring. also, parts of it mimic my own experience, so it resonates. hopefully when i start turning a profit i can pick up a FF :)

[Digeridoo]

Tyler -- thanks for sharing your story -- go team! Great to see someone else working in stainless -- tricky but rewarding material. We switched from TIG to silver brazing as it resulted in less distortion and people liked the aesthetics of clean fillets. May go back and revist TIG with improved heastsinking at some point. There's no free lunch!
Re quickbooks -- did you get the version that includes inventory control? I highly recomend that. Also, hiring someobody who is good at setting up QB systems can really pay-off down the road; ditto for having someone who knows QB well to come in for a few hours week or even a mo to handle recievables/payables.
If your out this way (Amherst/Northampton area) stop by sometime!
Regards, John
Sylvan Cycles

[Lionel]

Congrats to Firefly. How many frames per month have you been averaging since you guys started? Are you considering yourself at max capacity already?

[Tyler Evans]

Hey John-

Would love to visit... next time I am out that way I'll surely hit you up on your offer. I would like to extend an invitation to you as well next time you are in the Boston area.

Lionel-

We are at about 15 frames per month. With the addition of our 2 new milling machines we should be adding another frame per week, if not a little more. Right now

We always consider ourselves working at max capacity, whether it be designing/making frames, photographing, accounting, maintaining/updating our website (big update in the works right now),... whatever it is, we do our best to work as hard as we can, all the time.

Lead times are out until about Mid-April right now.

Cheers, Tyler.

[Tony T]

Tyler,

Nice "stuff". I've enjoyed viewing your work in "Saturday Night Lights", and a Firefly Ti is definitely in my future!

Tony

[Tony T]

Right now we can build titanium frames that can accept the 44mm inset headset...

Can you point me in the right direction on deciding on a 44mm HT w/Enve 1.5 Taper vs the Std w/Enve 2.0 for a Firefly Ti Road Bike?

Thanks,
Tony

[Tyler Evans]

Can you point me in the right direction on deciding on a 44mm HT w/Enve 1.5 Taper vs the Std w/Enve 2.0 for a Firefly Ti Road Bike?

Thanks,
Tony

Give me a ring.

617-333-FIRE

Lead times are out until mid-July right now.

[fixednwinter]

Lead times are out until mid-July right now.

I'm very happy to hear that Firefly is doing well, with so much work you're out to half a year with your waiting list. That's awesome.

Tyler, you were super helpful to me with my questions on stainless, way back at the San Jose NAHBS (2006) when you were the first to weld the new Reynolds stainless tubing. I never forgot that, and I have a stainless Hampco frame that I'm pretty sure was made by you, when Hampsten was working in conjunction with your previous company. Again, I'm glad to see that business is going well for you.

[Lionel]

Tyler,

Who are the main suppliers you are using for Ti tubes ?

Thanks