Framebuilding 101 - The 2 Year Anniversary
Framebuilding 101 course #015 has just ended, and this is the 2 year anniversary of Yours Truly, Paul Brodie, teaching it. Every student has walked away with a finished frame. People ask me, "Do you like teaching Framebuilding 101?" Yes! I REALLY do enjoy sharing my knowledge. I'm never bored, and it can be challenging. My students are the best: they really do want to be there. Class #015 had three students that travelled from Australia, Winnipeg, and LA. No one locally. In other courses students have come from Calgary (3), Toronto (2), Bozeman Montana (2), Chicago, Bellingham WA, Germany, and of course, the Lower Mainland..
Below are four frames made by students. Most students have never brazed or welded in their lives, so there is a lot to learn in two weeks, and most students agree that time slips by very quickly. They build all kinds of frames: road, track, 29ers, cyclocross, an electric cruiser, and of course, Justin and his variable speed unicycle > http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92919 Basically, if you have an idea for a steel hardtail, I can help you build it!
This is Dimitris' frame. He wanted straight seatstays and to Tig-weld them to the seat tube, so I suggested he bend the tops inward to make a little more room for the Tig torch and to give a different look. I'd never done that before, so I get to learn too..
This is James' frame. We talked about S-bend seat stays, and he liked that idea. However, after bending them he reversed them, and this is what he got. He's running skinny 700 X 23 tires on this commuter / do it all bike, and they fit nicely.. Never seen anything like that before, but I do like it!
Quite a few times a student will want some feature, and I will say "well, we've never done that before.." Then I have to figure out how to help the student make it happen. Did I mention this is the perfect job for me?
Other news: UFV has signed up for NAHBS next March in Denver, CO. Guess I'll have to build another bike...
All the best,
Paul