Learning, and being the best I can be - Bohemian Bicycles

The past couple of months has been great. LOUE bicycles is up and running now, and the fit lab is taking off slowly but surely. Next month, we will be setting up our new office and our website will also be up soon. Exciting times ahead!

Other than keeping myself busy with business and cycling, I constantly seek to improve myself. Knowledge is always good. You can never learn too much. I certainly hope to learn as much as I can in my field to be the best that I can be, and to give the best I can give.

Earlier this month, I was in Muenster Germany for a bike fit-related workshop. I will write about that in another blog post (so stay tune).

Right now, I am in Tucson, Arizona, near the South western border of the USA. As some of you might have known, I got a frame building scholarship from Bohemian Bicycles upon submission of a video that my brother made for me. (http://vimeo.com/65924071) This is a 2 week class and a great opportunity for me to learn more about framebuilding and build my own custom frames in future.

Tucson is a nice city. I have been here for a week now and have gone out riding quite a bit. It gets really hot here in the afternoon, but the motorists, roads and terrain are generally good. I have lots more riding and exploration to do for sure! 

Some huge cactus along the road side.

David Bohm of Bohemian Bicycles has been a professional frame builder for almost 20 years. After spending a week here learning from him, I can really feel his passion for bicycle frame building (and also tubes, machines and files!). He is truly knowledgeable and a master of his trade. It is no wonder that his work space is so well equipped and organized. Besides Dave, Doug is here from Brooklyn, New York too. This class is catered for two people and I am happy to have some company for this 2 weeks.

Dave.

Doug.

The first week is mainly theoretical stuff with some practice and we will start building some frames in the second week. I am excited!

Brazing some lugs.

From my first week here, I have learnt heaps. Bicycle framebuilding is indeed a mix of art and engineering. It is no wonder that these rare breed of people are called craftsman, and I hope more people around the world respect and appreciate their work and profession.

Sometimes, cyclists just cannot find a frame that fits, and even if they do fit, it often requires a short stem or something that compromises handling and other stuff. Building a custom frame is not simply about cutting some tubes to fit a bike of ideal geometry to fit someone and after which put on some fancy paint and artwork. This is just part of it. It requires planning and a good thought process goes a long way in finding out exactly what your client wants, in terms of ride quality, and executing it with a plan. This plan requires a good understanding of materials and tools that the frame builder works with, including their properties etc.

With mechanical engineering knowledge, a good understanding of bike fit, and a cyclist myself, I look forward to making some of my own fine custom frames in the near future.

I will put more pics up as the week goes along. Till then, ride safe and be well.

American craftsman.

Twiggy-the-cat keeps me company sometimes.

Climbing Mount Lemmon tomorrow.