Sklar Bikes LLC

[adarn]

Very well, where do I begin…?

I like bikes a lot because bikes are really fun.

I was fortunate to grow up in Boulder, Colorado where I was introduced to the mountain bike around the age of 14. I picked it up fast and was hopelessly addicted. Before long I was racing lots, but mostly riding every chance I got. I often wish I could ride as much as I did then. During my time in Boulder I also spent several summers as a mountain bike coach for an awesome kids program (If there are any Boulder people here, send your kids to SMBA!). This is where I learned a LOT about bicycles. There is no R&D like 8 hours a day, 6 days a week all summer long in the saddle. I rode the first frames I built while coaching and had many hours to hone some of the things that still shape my design philosophy today.

Anyhow, In 2011 I moved to Bozeman, Montana to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering (that I will be finishing in just a few weeks). While Montana is full of many completely breathtaking mountain bike rides, it is also where I learned to love exploring long gravel roads and linking up cool routes through the large valley in which we reside. I also stumbled upon a blooming cyclocross scene which I jumped into wholeheartedly.

In Bozeman I met my most influential mentor, Tom Jungst. Tom is best known for his status as the “Godfather of extreme skiing”, but he was also building some of the first purpose-built mountain bikes in the world at the same time as names like Tom Ritchey and Steve Potts. While I worked in his shop I was passed an enormous wealth of knowledge for which I am very grateful.

Dave Kirk is also located here and has been very nice, not to mention Carl strong who quite literally lives “down the street” from me. He lets me stop by often to pick his brain and I have learned a lot from him too.

Anyhow, that is the history part. I now work in my own shop right here in Bozeman where I focus on building the best bikes that I possibly can from the ground up. While my mountain bikes and more specifically, plus sized mountain bikes have gained attention, I also love building cyclocross bikes and really any project that can solve a customer’s needs.

It is great to be here on Smoked Out and I hope that folks will feel free to ask away and start the dialogue.

All the best,
Adam Sklar

[Too Tall]

Sounds like you have the passion and some really fine mentors to lean on.

Who is your customer?

Ray Ban or Vaurnet?

[edoz]

It's good to see some fresh meat added here, welcome to the party:) Your stuff looks good, I like the head badges.
What are your plans when you have that engineering degree in hand? Are you going to get a full time engineering gig and build on the side, or are you all in to the niche?

[adarn]

Sounds like you have the passion and some really fine mentors to lean on.

Who is your customer?

Ray Ban or Vaurnet?

Hey, thanks Josh.
That's a good question.

My customers are typically people who are serious about fun, performance and nicely made things. My background is in mountain biking and adventure-style riding, so I attract a lot of customers who relate with that as well.

As for the glasses, I'm an Oakley guy myself.

Cheers,
Adam

[adarn]

I'm going to go ahead and stick some photos here for folks who aren't familiar with my work.
If you are interested in learning more about Sklar, you can check out Sklarbikes.com and also follow along on Instagram or Facebook

[adarn]

It's good to see some fresh meat added here, welcome to the party:) Your stuff looks good, I like the head badges.
What are your plans when you have that engineering degree in hand? Are you going to get a full time engineering gig and build on the side, or are you all in to the niche?

Hey Eric,

Thanks! I have always liked your stuff too.
I already do some consulting part time at a product design firm. It balances bikes nicely as I get to work on some different and more complex design problems. I plan to continue doing that, although the build queue is going to be keeping me very busy for a while to come!

[Amaro Bikes]

Welcome and keep it up!

[Too Tall]

Elegant work sir :)

[dgaddis]

Hey Adam, I really like the look of your bikes!

Talking MTBs: geometry/ride characteristic wise, what would you say is your signature style/feel, or do you have one? Are your bikes typically more of laid back, shred the descents type bikes, or more head down a$$ up XC race rigs, or a happy medium between the two? I'm sure it varies based on what the customer wants (and from photos I've seen it looks like you do some of both) - whats your personal favorite?

[Rody]

Welcome to SO Adam.

Lets flash forward 20 years from now...what do you hope folks will say about SKLAR as a company?

rody

[adarn]

Hey Adam, I really like the look of your bikes!

Talking MTBs: geometry/ride characteristic wise, what would you say is your signature style/feel, or do you have one? Are your bikes typically more of laid back, shred the descents type bikes, or more head down a$$ up XC race rigs, or a happy medium between the two? I'm sure it varies based on what the customer wants (and from photos I've seen it looks like you do some of both) - whats your personal favorite?

Hey Dustin, Thanks!
That is an awesome Question, I was hoping someone would ask something like that.
I will start off by saying that I certainly do both of the styles you mentioned and everything in between.

If you look at the bikes that I ride myself, and the ones that really get me excited, they are pretty different from your traditional cross country bike, and that is no accident. In a world where everyone seems to be going to 6" travel trail bikes my proudest moments are when customers describe the bikes I built them as "Way more fun than my full suspension" or "Way more agile and flickable than I thought possible". I get really excited about MTB geometry.

That said, I got into bike riding through XC racing, and I enjoy the challenging of mixing those two schools into something perfect for each customer I work with.

Cheers,
Adam

[Too Tall]

What you just said about geometry makes me frickin' happy.

[Matthew Strongin]

Hey Adam, great to have you doing SO. I'd love to take that orange number up there^^ and get it dirty. Any backstory on the curved top tube that seems to be a signature? Did it evolve that way based on customer request, a vision you've always had for your bikes, or maybe something else?

Also, this is sweet...

[adarn]

Welcome to SO Adam.

Lets flash forward 20 years from now...what do you hope folks will say about SKLAR as a company?

rody

Hi Rody, Thank you!

Not sure if you'll remember, but we met at NAHBS in Denver in... 2013?

Anyway, that is a cool question!
I have the advantage of looking up to some builders like Carl Strong and Rick Hunter, who were pretty much at the same point that I am now, 20 years ago.
There are certainly things that people say about those two that I hope some might say about Sklar, but I have to imagine that the framebuilding world is going to be changing a lot between now and then.

I think being young I have a lot of tools at my disposal to learn and stay ahead, and that is what I plan to do. So to get to the point, I think some things I hope people might say about the company specifically are: "You need to get a bike from Sklar, they are the best bikes ever" or "Dang, that guy nails it every time". Or maybe - "Wow, that guy gets to live such a nice lifestyle being a framebuilder, I wonder how he is so successful". Ha!

[adarn]

Hey Adam, great to have you doing SO. I'd love to take that orange number up there^^ and get it dirty. Any backstory on the curved top tube that seems to be a signature? Did it evolve that way based on customer request, a vision you've always had for your bikes, or maybe something else?

Hey Matthew,
Thanks!

The curved/shaped top tube has become a signature. I can't say that I'm sure my aesthetic will stay this way forever, but I am pretty happy with where I have settled into for now.

I very reluctantly did my first curved top tube by customer request. I ended up doing lots of experimentation and finding that ovalizing the top tube as well lead to some cool ride qualities, it's also nice for shouldering.

A lot of work goes into a custom bike frame, and I think if you're going to put in all that work, you might as well make it look sweet!

[adarn]

Also, the Fall newsletter just went out yesterday, you can read it here!

[adarn]

I moved into a new shop in July and it's been slowly getting built out, but getting closer all of the time. I haven't properly shot any photos of it yet, but I went through and found a couple that give the idea:



Shop by Adam Sklar, on Flickr

Welding Brody's Frame by Adam Sklar, on Flickr

Kyle's CX by Adam Sklar, on Flickr

[dgaddis]

I wanna see more of the shop! Did you paint all the OSB in the first pic?

I'm still kicking around all sorts of ideas on how I want to do the interior of mine....

[adarn]

I wanna see more of the shop! Did you paint all the OSB in the first pic?

I'm still kicking around all sorts of ideas on how I want to do the interior of mine....

I will try and take some more photos tomorrow. None of the OSB is painted. Planning out a shop is fun and really, really challenging.

[adarn]

Shop night last night. Making a couple bar-stem combos, a couple forks. Some good stuff.

Sklar Bikes by Adam Sklar, on Flickr