The following article was originally written for FrameForum.net, and appeared in December 2006.  All references should be kept in that context.

Back in the early '80's, Ed Stevenson wrote in 'The High Tech Bicycle', a glossy, coffee-table showcase of (what was then) leading-edge bicycle design that:

"American framebuilders are beginning to gain some significant recognition - especially among American riders. One of the most respected of the recently emerging Americans is Richard Sachs."

Fast-forward 25 years, and Sachs is now recognised as one of the leading lights of framebuilding not only in the USA, but worldwide. In his one-man Connecticut workshop, Richard constructs full-custom framesets of exemplary quality and refinement. He crafts in a style that echoes the '70's "golden era of framebuilding", but thanks to his in-house designed lugs and fittings plus own-specification custom-drawn tubes, are expertly constructed from up-to-the-minute steel frame materials.

Richard remains true to the skills he acquired by travelling to the UK and Italy in the early '70's in his quest to build the best. You won't find a lathe, Dynafile or CAD/CAM station in his workshop - here handbuilt means hand built. Frames are designed using eyes, ears and experience; tubes are cut and mitred with hacksaw and file. Forks are hand built too; there's no place for off-the-shelf carbon forks in the Sachs ethic. His frames are built to fit the rider, not the fork. In other words - 100% custom.

For this latest project, Richard returns to the stuff he cut his framebuilding teeth on. This is a 'back to basics' build using traditional materials, skills and methods in short supply in the current framebuilding scene. With a spec list that includes the names Reynolds 531, Columbus SP and Nervex, Richard is constructing a track frame true to 1970's and 1980's materials availability. Other components include keirin-approved Nagasawa crown and BB, and Samson dropouts. The build is already underway, and you can keep up to date with its progress in the latest of the e-RICHIE®™© photo-essays here:

As you can see, there's nothing basic about the build quality on show. The level of expertise that's evident in these photos is something you'd be hard-pressed to see anywhere else. The fine gold-coloured outline to the finished joins indicate a lug that's been brazed with just the right amount of silver - not too much and not too little. Added to this, like the brush strokes of a great artist on canvas, the grain left in the metal by Richard's emery cloth speaks volumes to anyone who's ever shaped a lug or dropout by hand. That's world-class work on display, period.

As for the finished article, you'll have to get yourself along to NAHBS in San Jose next March to see it. The project will be among the RS stable of thoroughbreds unveiled at the show.

A 'must-see' for all attending!

Richard Sachs is a craftsman framebuilder who has been refining his skills for over 30 years.  For more information, please contact: