-
Equilibrium Cycle Works
The story of my path to frame building
It started very unexpectedly, once upon a time in London. All of the sudden I noticed gorgeous slim steel frames on the streets. Very soon after this, I bought an old Raleigh made from Reynolds 531. I didn’t have experience with racing bikes, and was surprised that the Raleigh pushed me to the edge all the time. I discovered new horizons with my new steel friend that never let me down.
The feeling of a freedom and simplicity of being made me think that a bicycle is one of the greatest devices ever invented. I was attracted to the simple lines and aesthetics of a steel frame. Almost from the first day of my romance with steel, I wanted to experience what it would be like to build one from scratch with my own hands. This was 7-8 years ago, but that desire never disappeared.
Later on I got sick with “fixed gear disease” and started to experiment with different parts, frames and materials, swapping around components, repainting frames, building the wheels etc. I spent a lot of time on the internet studying the cycling history and bicycle makers. In London, I met my future wife who was Japanese. She had to move back to Japan after her visa expired and I followed her a year later. To Japan I brought only myself, my fixing tools, and undisturbed belief that I’ll make a living from my passion.
For a while I stayed at home, learned some Japanese, and checked the internet for the cycling bargains. I sniffed around shops trying to figure out if there was chance I could become a part of the industry. I found a source in Italy with a huge vintage bicycle collection and started to bring them to Tokyo. I cleaned, fixed, and customized them on a tiny balcony in our one bed room apartment. I didn’t care about the space and circumstance; I’d sleep with a bike just to be able to keep on going.
Along with selling the bikes, I used to take them for the spin comparing different tubing, set ups, and brands. After a couple of years working on my balcony we moved to another place where I could have a separate space for my workshop. It was then that my desire to become a frame builder started to grow even stronger.
I looked around for a course or person who could introduce me to the trade. One evening I was walking around our neighborhood and noticed Mr.Ohtaki’s frame building shop. At the first meeting I didn’t dare tell him about my sacred dream, but I had a sense that he was quite open to communication. Fortunately I was able to speak some basic Japanese on a conversational level. After a few visits to his shop and bringing some frames to refurbish, I finally told him that I want to become a frame builder and asked what necessary equipment do I need to start with. Without any hesitation and asking for nothing in return, he gave me a list of tools and showed a place where I could get them. The list was pretty simple: iron surface plate, drill press, bench grinder, a few files, bevel protractor, height gauge and acetylene set up.
I still didn’t have a frame jig, so the first 3 frames were fitted and tacked on Mr.Ohtaki’s jig followed by the thorough explanation of the process. The things that he paid attention most were the strength, precision, and stress free construction. Building for Keirin is a highly competitive ground with the riders being very picky about the slightest detail, such as measurements and ride feel. Sometimes when a rider orders a few similar frames from one builder, he would complain after a short testing that one of them doesn’t feel right and he’ll never use that it anymore. That’s why the NJS stamp on the frame first of all stands for the craftsmanship and skill of the builder.
For me to witness that kind of attitude was very precious life changing experience. My mentor is a gentle and caring person on the outside yet with a strong and undisturbed core like a mountain deep down inside. I could watch his skillful moves forever, never analyzing but trying to tune up and get the feel rather mental conclusion. Nevertheless it was a very important to remember the order of the building process to minimize brazing stress. His approach is to build one joint at a time, starting with TT and HT then ST and TT align it on the surface plate by clamping HT in the fixture , then join DT, make sure all the tubes in one plane and parallel to the surface plate , then BB shell is brazed in. Like all Japanese builders he uses bronze for the brazing lugs and silver for the BB to keep that area with less damage to ensure spring like BB flex.
For the center alignment he uses torch, slightly heating particular areas of the tubes. I use same techniques with some changes because I use mostly silver for all my brazing. I can cut some corners because of lower brazing temperature and less heat distortion compared to using brass. Although I learned the sequence form my mentor, the brazing I do is the result of a lot of practice and experimenting with flame sizes, fluxes, and brazing rods.
I’ve never been rejected when asking for advice or help. I could always use all the tools in Mr.Ohtaki’s workshop. He was always willing to explain whatever I was stuck with. Once I showed up unannounced, and he put aside his own work and was ready to give me a hand. It was a true revelation of real Japanese spirit. I took lessons not only in frame building but also in a way of living.
Our communication helped me to prioritize what was important in building the frame; is it made for the customer to satisfy his needs or do I make it to satisfy my own ego? These days in Japan it’s quite common to see young builders doing all crazy stuff trying to impress each other by using exotic shapes and decorative details. In that respect I’m very grateful to my teacher for setting me up on the right track from our first meetings.
I just want to mention a few words about the concept behind my brand, Equilibrium Cycle Works. It’s a constant reminder to not to get lost on the way and always remember why I’m here. Equilibrium is a state of balance when two opposite parts merge into the One and bring unconditional happiness and joy of living. It’s directly related to what I’m going through and the kind of experience I’d like to share. I build frames because I enjoy every moment of it and never get in a rush to finish it off just to see the final result. For now my goal is to build simple, quality frames and extend my education in cycling.
Despite having a full time mentor, making a living by building frames in Japan is a very hard job; the hardest part is not the making, it’s the selling. The market is very specific and people are used to trusting established names only. Not many can see and understand the craftsmanship of the product. They are fascinated by the heritage and want to belong to the lifestyle of prestige and status.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Some absolutely stunning work shown on the website and the accompanying Flickr pages atmo.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pedaller2009/
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Welcome Vlad. Your work is beautiful, still taking it in. Thanks to you for participating and hope to meet and ride someday.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Wonderful story, wonderful workmanship. Welcome
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
i like your philosophy and also the one behind the brand, and also your courage to step into such a specific market.
and of course your brilliant craftmenship documented in you flickr.
Keep up the good work!
Quote:
Our communication helped me to prioritize what was important in building the frame; is it made for the customer to satisfy his needs or do I make it to satisfy my own ego? These days in Japan it’s quite common to see young builders doing all crazy stuff trying to impress each other by using exotic shapes and decorative details. In that respect I’m very grateful to my teacher for setting me up on the right track from our first meetings.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Too Tall
Welcome Vlad. Your work is beautiful, still taking it in. Thanks to you for participating and hope to meet and ride someday.
Josh , thank you very much for the kind words this forum is a truly amazing place
and I’m honored to become a part of it .
If by any chance you’ll be traveling to Japan - give me a shout , there are lot of beautiful places to have a nice ride .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
timto
Wonderful story, wonderful workmanship. Welcome
Tim I'm glad you enjoyed the story , will keep posting on my progress .
Thanks a lot for embracing .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pippo
i like your philosophy and also the one behind the brand, and also your courage to step into such a specific market.
and of course your brilliant craftmenship documented in you flickr.
Keep up the good work!
Just wanted to express my personal attitude to the frame building -
performance and function , simplicity in construction , looking beyond the form .
Same time I can appreciate any kind of artistry if someone likes to spend and extra hours at the bench I got no objections whatsoever .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Are you still using a minimum of tools in your work?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PLAIN
The list was pretty simple: iron surface plate, drill press, bench grinder, a few files, bevel protractor, height gauge and acetylene set up.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Todd Mosley
Are you still using a minimum of tools in your work?
No , not really . My tool box progressed according to my skill .
But I find being " in the raw " first half a year helped me a lot , it would definitely miss something if I got everything in the beginning , even it wasn't so pleasant experience .
Once my hands started to cut straight and eyes to see I moved forward looking for efficiency in production .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Following you now on Flickr. Those are the nicest fillets!
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Welcome Vladimir
Some interesting phrases/thoughts on your story!
Konnichiwa!
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Nate Zukas
Following you now on Flickr. Those are the nicest fillets!
Thanks a lot Nate ,
I kept an eye on your work already for a while too , you got some interesting solutions and I really like your paint jobs .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Amaro Bikes
Welcome Vladimir
Some interesting phrases/thoughts on your story!
Konnichiwa!
Konnichiwa !
Arigatou for the warm greetings , pleased you liked the story .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2851/...1b33347b_b.jpg
by EQUILIBRIUM CYCLE WORKS, on Flickr
Fine fillet work indeed!
Looking through your Flickr pics and the few shop photos you have - it looks like a relatively small setup and no milling machines or lathes. Are you doing all of your mitering by hand or do you have a hidden machine shop in another corner? Have you "downsize[d] the fantasy"?
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Actually you right my work space is very small I got about 6square meters between the iron surface plate and jig where I do my finishing and brazing ,
but here is Japan and everything is relatively small compare to the other countries I perfectly got used to it long time ago .
I was on the budget when I started but wanted to become a builder by any means and my limited amount of tools didn't bother me much ,
as long as I had some gas to burn and some rod to melt I was fine.
Same time I could use my mentor's machinery if I needed to but anyway was mitering tubes by hand a few first months cause I believed it was unavoidable experience and the basic skill
that one must to master , it takes a time in the beginning but saves a lot afterwards .
There is a milling machine for cutting the tubes just behind the door got it from my mentor a year ago when he bought a new one , it didn't change
that much but on some occasions its very handy to have one .
I'm not against having extra fixtures or some machinery but if the one's hands not on the right place yet all short cuts will be only an obstacles .
My fantasy is huge but the means are small and I like it that way .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
That's how I see it , how much tools one needs to rock'n'roll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-8y6MHjeZs
-
6 Attachment(s)
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
I don't have a thing for handmade stems. These made me stop and stare for a while, however. Beautiful lines and proportion.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Yes. That thing rocks. Especially the rear 3/4 view.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Thanks a lot for the comments guys , will keep on posting :blink1:
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
I love that you are building stems too. Makes the whole bike more complete to me.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PLAIN
Thanks a lot for the comments guys , will keep on posting :blink1:
We want more!
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Good to see your amazing pictures back!
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Aimar , thanks a lot for kind words .
Will keep them posted .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
EQUILIBRIUM Pegasus disc road bike's ride impression :
Time passed from NAHBS and I had a chance to have a test ride on my latest road disc brake bike “Pegasus” .
Building a show model bike was good opportunity to think out of the box and try something new , to experiment with materials and construction . In that regard I chose to use as large diameter tubes as I could find on the market to see how stiff things can get and what influence it has on riding quality .
First of all I wanted to build a allrounder bike that capable to handle different situations , road/off road , long distance riding , nevertheless it has to be as fast and responsive as a proper racing machine .
By choosing lower bb hight 75mm and slightly longer chain stays 415mm and trail of 58mm
the handling was nailed to perfection , outbalancing the stiffness of materials giving a reasonable flex around BB area .
Curved stays played it role as a rear suspension increasing the comfort and traction of the bike , especially when road condition wasn’t perfect at all it glided smoothly over the surface . The rear wheel stayed glued to the road in very tight turns and tricky spots
without compromising stability and balance .
Another thing that pleasantly surprised is how fast I could get on the bike and holding very decent average speed and still staying in my comfort zone over prolonged period of time , seemed the bike responded better to a heavy ratio 52/15-14 at a 85-90 rpm on the flat sections .
Overall performance passed the test for the racing machine with extended usability .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Although I am only speaking from the pictures, gotta say you've produced something so thoroughly modern from traditional materials that really makes me want to know more, are some of the gussets/buttresses an attempt to incorporate aero considerations to the frame.? Is it significantly heavier than a 'traditional' brazed frame?
Love the dropouts and the transition of stays into them, the 'flow' of the lines looks particularly attractive.
Looking forward to seeing where this design takes you......
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Would love to see photos of your NAHBS frame during the brazing & building. Didn't find them on your flickr page. Truly wonderful stuff!
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
corko
Although I am only speaking from the pictures, gotta say you've produced something so thoroughly modern from traditional materials that really makes me want to know more, are some of the gussets/buttresses an attempt to incorporate aero considerations to the frame.? Is it significantly heavier than a 'traditional' brazed frame?
Love the dropouts and the transition of stays into them, the 'flow' of the lines looks particularly attractive.
Looking forward to seeing where this design takes you......
Thanks a lot for your interest ,
The gussets indeed is my quest for aerodynamics and increasing rigidity of the frame ,
however I had no chance to test the bike in in a wind tunnel but believe it or not it felt like moving with it's own inertia , undisturbed at higher speeds .
Regarding the weight all shaping added less then 100gr , the total weight is 2.1kg frame only , for comparison Columbus Max fillet brazed frame with 44mm Paragon head tube
would weight around 2 kg .
For sure will keep investigating the matter and keep on updating .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
one60
Would love to see photos of your NAHBS frame during the brazing & building. Didn't find them on your flickr page. Truly wonderful stuff!
Sorry I was too busy to take any pictures , I finished my other show lugged frame just right before I had to leave to airport .
I have a number of aero frames to build in a near future , I promise they will show up in a building process on my Flickr and here on the forum .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
I saw some photos of the process on your flickr, looks like you there's some steel to give a rough shape and then some sort of sandable filler over top.
I'd be curious what the filler is and how thick you're applying it, I understand though if it's a "secret sauce" sort of thing though.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
I'd reiterate what Corko said - for me this was one of the most interesting frames I saw in all the photos I went through coming out of NAHBS. I had the sense that the shapes, arcs and fill-ins had a functional purpose, not just ornamental. Your write up confirms that. It is a really striking looking bike. I look forward to more detail on your developments as you make additional models.
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rauce
I saw some photos of the process on your flickr, looks like you there's some steel to give a rough shape and then some sort of sandable filler over top.
I'd be curious what the filler is and how thick you're applying it, I understand though if it's a "secret sauce" sort of thing though.
There is no "secret recipe" really , I suppose any kind of two part epoxy filler that sticks to the metal will work fine , the ones meant for the aircrafts
will be the best choice cause they made to withstand the flexion of the structure .
First of all I do reinforce all the joints by the tubes or plates to prevent any load on the filler , so it has cosmetical purpose only .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
j44ke
I'd reiterate what Corko said - for me this was one of the most interesting frames I saw in all the photos I went through coming out of NAHBS. I had the sense that the shapes, arcs and fill-ins had a functional purpose, not just ornamental. Your write up confirms that. It is a really striking looking bike. I look forward to more detail on your developments as you make additional models.
Jorn , thanks a lot for your appreciation .
It was scary as hell to go outside the traditional forms , could end up with tons of man hours wasted to build something with no meaning but after
the first test ride I didn't regret any single minute spent on the frame .
-
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Curious for more insight about the effect of the curved (convex) seat stays you used on the NAHBS frame & a few others. I've read David Kirk's take on his terraplane stays and recently came across the Dedacciai Adamantis tube set with a similar bend.
Beyond the aesthetics, are there riding conditions where you prefer them?
apologies for the poor image quality
Attachment 90843
http://www.airoo.cz/830-2886-large/d...-adamantis.jpg
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works
Quote:
Originally Posted by
one60
Curious for more insight about the effect of the curved (convex) seat stays you used on the NAHBS frame & a few others. I've read David Kirk's take on his terraplane stays and recently came across the Dedacciai Adamantis tube set with a similar bend.
Beyond the aesthetics, are there riding conditions where you prefer them?
apologies for the poor image quality
Attachment 90843
http://www.airoo.cz/830-2886-large/d...-adamantis.jpg
There is no doubt curved ( convex ) stays work very well as a suspension , increasing the rear tire contact with a surface , instead of hoping
over the bums , small cracks , stones , sand , etc. bike stays attached to the surface without loosing the traction - it gives a very smooth ride
and confident handling also the bike will go faster , same effect as having wider rims with a slightly lower pressure tires .
Another application were I noticed a difference was a climbing , in and out of the saddle , seemed like the stays by the vertical flex gave me a push to go uphill.
Overall having a softer tail to my mind is an absolutely win - win situation .
-
Re: Equilibrium Cycle Works