This build is fairly personal to me- I rode this Kiyo around for a bit after my favorite frame broke.  When I finished building myself a new ride, I began looking for a good home for this Kaisei 8630 asphalt scalpel.

Amos was the perfect adopter- he rides hard every day, sprints like a beast, and instantly showed a great deal of attention towards the more subtle aspects of the build.  We took care to pay homage to the Japanese racing-bred component industry- no-longer-available Suntour Superbe Pro hubs and cranks were sourced from the land of the rising sun.

A Nitto SP72 post, RB-018 pursuit bar,  and Pearl stem complete the Keirin flavor.  Velocity Razor NMSW hoops got a 2x rear/radial front treatment to the high flange hubs courtesy Wheelsmith 2.0/1.7mm DB spokes.

We don’t actually own quality handmade bicycles- we are just their caretakers for our brief lifespans.  Ride fast, Amos!

Beautiful photo credit goes to Eric Baumann, as usual.

I first met Tony Maietta though an organizational oversight.  Last fall while organizing BAHBE, a local framebuilder showcase that served as the kick-off bash for the Bicycle Film Festival in Boston, I emailed a long list of the area’s local bicycle craftspeople, set up a show at the Fourth Wall art gallery, and got ready to throw a party.  Two days before the BFF started, I received an email from Tony, introducing himself and asking to be part of the exhibit.  A quick look at his qualifications and recent work led to a shade of embarrassment for having overlooked such a dedicated and skilled builder in my research and a scramble to make space for a beautiful Maietta ‘cross bike in the show.  Since the show, we had been trying to make plans for me to pop by and see his space, and this last weekend photographer Eric Baumann and I made the trip out.

It’s clear that Tony’s veins run full of layout dye.  A life-long tinkerer and builder, Tony graduated from WPI with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2004.  Through some serendipity and perseverence, he scored an unpaid internship at Hot Tubes, which was then located in Worcester.  Master builder and painter Toby Stanton taught Tony the intracacies of bicycle design, fabrication, and finish over the course of Tony’s last years at college.  Tony eventually set up a shop in Shirley, MA, across the hall from Hot Tubes’ new location, and the teacher and student continue to be close friends and share tips and tools.

Tony is now an engineer at Simonds, a tool company whose motto is, fittingly, “Never yield to steel.”  One of the company’s products is the line of hole saws Tony uses to miter tubes on his array of Nichols horizontal mills. It’s quite obvious, standing in Maeitta’s space, that this is the realm of a meticulous engineer who knows his tools and capabilities and is constantly progressing both.  Which brings me to the shop.

Tool envy is not a pretty thing, folks.  Ten minutes after stepping though the door and making a pass around the small but uncramped workshop, under the Celts banner and past the Pink Floyd poster, I began to have serious doubts about my ability to ever make anything, ever again.  How could I when I didn’t have such an impressive collection of impeccably-maintained American made vintage machines?  Or his obviously perfectly-thought-out sense of order and fabrication flow?

Or a mouth-watering pile of Anvil fixturing? Or anything even close to Tony’s pegboard jujitsu?  I’m not even going to get into the 1600 lb. labratory-grade granite inspection table with .0001″ tolerance that sports the beefiest custom-machined heat-treated steel BB post I’ve ever seen.

I’ve got to come clean, though.  This case of tool/shop envy was simply a displaced sense of skill jealousy.  Tony’s shop speaks to his engineer’s understanding that your work can only be as good as your tools are.  (When I worked as a chef, this axiom was, “The kitchen is only as clean as the sink is.”)  The products of Tony’s studies and tutelage and long hours of work and progression are the impeccable bicycle frames he welds and paints in his brick-walled studio in Shirley.

Tony’s welds look like the world’s smallest brass fillets that have been finger-sanded by perfectionist elves.  No dime-stacks here, no utilitarian joints, just pure filler sensuality.  For the first time in my life, I looked at a TIG weld under bright lights and though “I want to learn how to do THAT.”  Following his focus on performance, Tony personally specs a variety of top-shelf steel tubing for each client and proceeds to build a frame that appears to be a perfect universal Platonic object.

It almost seems a shame to put paint over the top of this level of work but the PPG Tony is throwing in his custom booth in the corner only adds to the overall impact of his work.  Fades, polychromatic pearls, and multiple hand-buffed layers of clearcoat leave his stunning frames gleaming.

Tony, like many other local builders, is hustling hard to get ready for the trip down to Austin for NAHBS.  If you find yourself at the show, be sure to stop by his booth and admire his work.  He’s got a few special tricks and new techniques (I couldn’t publish pics here) that will be revealed at the show.  If you find yourself in the market for a meticulously-fabricated custom bicycle, no review of local builders is complete (as I now know) without Maietta Cycling on the list.  You can contact him here.

Thanks, Tony, for the hospitality and inspiration.

(Cred to Eric Baumann for the sexy B&W photog skills.)

Having put in for a transfer to lovely Austin, TX after enduring three Boston winters, Jon wanted a road bike to take though sunny Hill Country while the rest of us were snowed in here in the Northeast.  We discussed various off-the-shelf options and spent a few months scouring eBay  and various Craigslist amalgamators looking for frames to build up from.  Coming up empty-handed,  we started talking about a handbuilt frame.  Jon agreed that he would get the features he wanted and the fit he needed with this avenue, and that’s where everything got (wonderfully) complicated.

Jon is no stranger to the custom bicycle process.  You may recall, reader, Superbike, Jon’s extremely personalized Geekhouse urban assault bike that was completed last year after almost two years of frame design and redesign, component roadblocks and change-ups, and fabrication miracles. Looking forward to the road ahead, we went though the list of local builders, considering materials, methods, and lead times, and Icarus satisfied all of Jon’s requirements for a handmade frame.  Ian Sutton is a mutual friend and Jon had always been awed by the polished work coming out of the Icarus workshop, so it was an easy choice.

Anyone who knows Jon is aware of his ability to drive complex projects to a coherent completion.  Jon had a certain vision in mind and the amazing end result speaks to his attention to detail and his sincere involvement in the process of fit, design, and component selection.  Jon understands the relationship between possibility and participation when it comes to the collaborative creation of a unique object.  First off was fit.

Jon had been having some knee pain on his other bikes- he consulted with physical therapist and fit expert Greg Robidoux at The Cycling PT and worked with him to develop some parameters for his new frame.  Taking into account Jon’s biometrics and fitness, intended riding style and terrain, and past injuries, Greg produced a BikeCAD Pro file with dimensional specifics of frame and component geometry for Ian and myself.

Mr. Sutton is a master of the fillet-brazed steel frame.  He steered Jon towards True Temper OX Platinum as the tubeset that would best deliver the stiff but comfortable ride Jon was looking for in the bike.  Design elements included an all-brass brazed frame, Henry James dropouts, and internal rear brake cable routing.  Jon wanted to push the envelope a bit, however and suggested carbon seatstays.  Ian, with his prior carbon finishing experience at Seven Cycles, was stoked on the thought of the first Icarus with carbon integration.  A suitable Columbus wishbone offering was found and the die was cast.  Ian set to work getting the main triangle tacked and brazed and Jon and I started sorting out the component kit.  We had about 4 weeks until Jon would be in town again so there was a bit of a deadline, but all involved were confident it could be pulled off.

photo cred: Keena Photography

In matching the performance and aesthetic of the components to Ian’s frame, we sought a blend of high-tech and a classic aesthetic.  Campy’s Record 11 Compact fit the bill for the drivetrain and braking system: enough carbon and future-stuffs to keep it all light and modern, clean lines all around, and Campy’s flawless function (more on that later).  Macon, Georgia’s overall-clad machinists supplied the Thomson post and stem, and Salsa Poco carbon bars had the wing design Jon wanted and the narrow width and short reach that the fit specified.  The Selle Italia SLR saddle is becoming a modern classic and Jon found it comfy.  The Edge (or rather, ENVE) carbon fork turns on a black sotto-voce Chris King headset.

photo cred: Keena Photography

photo cred: Keena Photography

photo cred: Keena Photography

photo cred: Keena Photography

Jon said he wanted carbon wheels and I laughed for a good ten minutes.  Then we sat down over the catalogs and discussed a serious wheelset for the bike.  We looked into a few “system” wheelsets but we both understood the advantages of a handbuilt set from “standard” components:  better selection of parts, easy component replacement and truability, and the ability to tweak the ride and weigh characteristics for Jon and his new bike.  The end result was a super-strong, remarkably light weight, completely serviceable set of hoops.  DT Swiss 240 hubs, with their indestructible and elegant freehub design, were paired to Velocity Aerohead (front) and Aerohead Off-Center (rear) black-ano rims.  We chose the Aerolite spoke (also from DT) for it’s minimal weight and wind-slicing qualities (the spoke is essentially a DT Revolution “supper-butted” spoke swaged flat to a 2.3mm x .5mm aero profile) and laced the wheels with a 24 spoke, 2-cross drive side/radial non-drive side rear pattern and 20 spoke all-radial front pattern.  Jon and I handbuilt the wheels and repeatedly stressed and incrementally trued and tensioned throughout the process to ensure a solid set of worry-free wheels.  DT’s new racheting composite skewers hold the pair on the bike.  Challenge tires are some of the last handmade rubber available, and offer and incredibly supple ride and accurate roadfeel.

photo cred: Keena Photography

photo cred: Keena Photography

Meanwhile, the frame was getting close and Ian was tackling the logistical hurdles that come with adding carbon fiber to an object made primarily of brazed steel.  Jon and I started talking about paint.  Inspired by some of the recent work coming from Vanilla and IF, Jon picked a satin Ferrari red wetcoat with a bold black detail running up the inside of the fork blades and along the underside of the downtube, splitting and continuing on toward the drops. Brian at Circle A in Providence has been Ian’s go-to painter for a while now and we were sure they could handle the project.  The frame was finished and rushed to Rhode Island.  Circle A was feeling the pressure after Jon and Ian explained their wants.  Satin finish?  Haven’t done it before, gotta test it out first.  Hand mask those lines?  Gonna take a while.  Black feathers with internal tracing?   You’re a pain in the ass.  The final request of Brian and Chris at Circle A was that the frame be completed in two weeks,  when Jon was due back in Boston to finish the build.

photo cred: Keena Photography

Needless to say, Brian pulled the paint off like none other, working evenings to complete the job (twice!) and looking super smiley and proud upon delivery.  The frame was picked up and rushed back to Boston. Don’t be fooled, friends, making a bike frame look this good takes mindblowing skill and tons of time.  Brian at Circle A had this to say about the process:

“When I cleared it the first time, I cleared it like I would normally do the glossy clear. And with that, there’s a delicate balance between a glass-like finish and a sag or a drip. After painting hundreds of bikes, I got that standard clearing down pretty good. Well, the satin additive is a thick, milky, substance that has some actual material in it to give it texture. I found out (the hard way) that if you apply it like normal clear, you won’t get any sags but the material in the additive will settle in areas and create this white splotching effect. An effect I definitely didn’t want! So, to fix it, I had to wet sand the entire bike (and down to the original clear on the carbon wishbone), and then re-mask the frame to paint it for a second time. The second clearing went much smoother because I knew to do about 4 light coats with long flash times so no problems would arise. Good to know for the next time.”

After Jon picked up the painted frame, we oohed and awwed for a solid night over the perfectly-executed handmasked paint job and hand-sanded satin finish, and on a sunny afternoon the next day, we got out the box of parts and made a complete bicycle.  It took longer than we thought, what with a defective left brifter (FYI- Campy is pulling some Shimano-style shit with 11s and isn’t offering small parts or supporting user rebuilding as they have with 8, 9, and 10s) but after some head-scratching and exploratory dis- and re-assembly, we got it working and did the bike-building thing: installed bearing assemblies, bolted on parts, ran cables, taped bars, dialed a few things, and stood back to admire our work.  The following day it was in a bag on a plane headed back to Austin.

John Watson from Prolly is not Probably shot some pics of Jon in his new hometown.  The Icarus looks happy in its natural environment.

photo cred: John Watson

When Jon got this pic, he whipped up a little Photoshop magic and produced this composite with the original fit specs:

Jon reports that the ride is superlative.  After all of the time and care spent in the design, fabrication, and build, I’d be surprised if it rode otherwise.  A custom bicycle is more that just getting the paint job or lugs or tubing decal you’ve always wanted- it’s about participating in the production of a completely unique object.  Jon certainly could have walked in to any high-end road shop and let a salesperson he’s never met before sell him a mass-produced race bike made in Tiawan by assembly line workers and designed around a set of numbers in a ergonomics reference book.  Instead, he commited to involving himself in every aspect and piece of the bigger picture, and the pay-off was a beautiful and functional machine made both for and by him.  As Walter Benjamin once noted, “the uniqueness of a work of art is inseparable from its being imbedded in the fabric of tradition.”  The story of this Icarus bicycle is a narrative of passionate and skilled individuals working together as a community that carries on and advances the craft of bicycle-building, and the result is very truly a work of art.  Cheers, Jon.

It was a joy working with Jon, Ian, Greg, and all the other fine folk involved.  Big thanks to Justin from Keena Photography for the amazing studio shots of the built bike.

Bryan at Royal H Cycles really outdid himself in keeping the frame classy while still adding his signature touches.

Velo Orange was a go-to in the build spec- Grande-Compe centerpulls, VO fenders, Nitto front rack, and PBP rims all added to the contemporary-classic feel.

White Industries provided the highly-polished Campy-compatible hubset for handbuilt wheels.  American-made parts are worth the coin, atmo.

Vicenza, Italy powers the drivetrain- Campagnolo’s new Athena 11 offerings are old-school in looks and cutting-edge, tech-wise.  God bless Campa for keeping it real in the age of euro-trashy carbon-look everything.

Thanks to Eric Baumann at Baumann Photography for the beautiful pics!

Last year we finally built up Jon’s Geekhouse Superbike.  This bad machine was years in the making; I’ll let Jon describe it:

“I needed a bicycle that would take me back to being 15 years old, when I was smashing my S&M Challenger through trees and trails and stairs and rails. I needed a bicycle that could pop me through traffic and manual across the raised divider. I needed a bicycle nimble and quick, sturdy and strong, and light enough to flick through the streets. I needed a bicycle to get me to the booze store and back again in comfort, something I could put miles on around town and still be able to stand up straight afterwards. BMX wasn’t gonna cut it, nor big bikes or a fixed bruiser, and trying to hack a Surly Steamroller into my dream ride wasn’t working out. I needed a bicycle built for the city and it needed to have balls, and there was nothing on the market that even came close.

“Joshua and I sketched out the necessities and went to Marty Walsh, of Geekhouse Bikes, and said “we need you to build this super bike.” Marty said “I’ll build the bike, but let’s add all this other cool shit to it, too.”

“Please, now, read about my super bike.

“Specs: 55t CDS chainring/22t cog/113mm belt, Profile BMX Race crankset & spider, Deity Decoy pedals.

The seat stay split and bolt that allows the belt to slip in. Hope Pro II rear hub.

The Phil Wood eccentric bottom bracket that’s necessary for belt installation, removal, and tensioning. Note the mountain bike chainstays.

Deity Fantom stem, TWENTY14 bars, LEAN grips (for small lady-like hands,) and King headset keep me connected to homebase (Portland, OR.) Paul Love levers for grabbing.

Yo Marty oversized fork + Greg Melms super-badass custom 20mm front dropouts. Hope Pro II front hub. Avid mechs @ 160mm.

Marty Walsh’s through-the-triple-triangle internal brake cable routing. Nuts, totally nuts.

Notes, after 3 weeks:

• rides like a BMX. little, like me, and can be thrown around like it’s nothing.
• 22lbs 9oz
• belt drive is silent and snappy and my right calf stays nice and warm all snuggled in my non-rolled up pant leg
• chukker 32h rims are steady. they love stair drops.
• flat matte black powder from sugarcoat…twice. i’ll let Marty tell that story!
• deity components are holding tough. stem and bars are very lightweight, but otherwise standard faire. the pedals and grips, though? i’m never going back, they’re balls.
• single speed spacer kit from Rennen Design Group, made here in MA, made the belt drive alignment way easier.
• vintage turbo saddle donated by joshua makes my ass happy

“So, after 18 months (yep, one whole year plus one half of another year) of scheming, planning, and building, I finally have my bicycle. And yes, I’ll totally let you ride it.

“Edit: forgot to mention and say thanks to Justin Keena for the awesome photos.”