Here's an old letter from Yoshi Konno, maker of 3Rensho frames in Japan. We met in 1980 at the International Cycle Show that used to occur each February at The Coliseum at Columbus Circle, and had our own little mutual admiration society thing going on from day one....

Here's a picture taken at the Tour de l'Abitibi in 1982. For three years in the early eighties we drove the junior team up to Absolutely-Nowhere, Quebec for the race. The paved roads ended north of Montreal and after about 5 hours of driving you'd arrive in the...

I used to advertise a lot. A lot. I had contract insertion orders in most of the mainstream cycling periodicals in the pre-internet era. That was then atmo. One of my self-imposed standards going back to that first ad in 1975 was to only present information, and to...

To those who think the internet era gave birth to people having strong opinions, I'm here to offer a counterpoint. This note to me from Dick Swann is from 1970 when I was still a student at The Peddie School with only a mild interest in bicycles. The page is in reply...

Here's a gem. I was already home from a year in London, now living in Connecticut, and working at Witcomb USA. But I still had my third frame from Bill Hurlow on order and being prepared for paint. Data point: WBH 1.0 was from circa 1971, and I ordered the second one...

I can't believe I once paid retail for any of this. I'm so glad I got my trade union card early on. .

Who. Would. Have. Ever. Thought. Atmo. I count at least nine Specialized bicycles in a row at the front of a critical alpine stage in the Giro D'Italia. ‪#‎TheUniverseIsExpandingAlvy‬ Racing improves the breed. Unfortunately, many of my predecessors, mentors, and...

Cross Branding atmo - Selle San Marco has been an official supplier to the Richard Sachs Cyclocross Team and Richard Sachs Cycles since 1999. Here are two full page ads they produced at the turn of the century that speak to our long alliance. Who needs Mad Men anyway,...

I’m taking a break from writing. Until it’s over, I’ll add content here labeled Did I Really Say That? The most difficult aspect I seem to have is seeing that the filler hasn't made it to some part of the shoreline. <cut> It's not about seeing, it's about...

Almost immediately upon graduating from The Peddie School, and certainly in the years following, I felt a stronger connection to my days on campus than when I was there. I wanted to redeem myself for the havoc I wreaked as a student. It took leaving to realize that I...

I like the internet. It’s made the world smaller, but in good ways. Imagine the longest magazine rack just a few inches from your nose. It’s a cocktail party that never ends. It’s your own personal library. You can learn, be entertained, meet pals, or be alone. It’s...

1) A new day. The next order. A chance to start fresh. And to get closer. Maybe to get it right. Yeah - a chance to get it right from end to end. To finally get it right. 2) The material is laid out. Flux is the right consistency. Torch tips are clean. The files are...

I’m taking a break from writing. Until it’s over, I’ll add content here labeled Did I Really Say That? Which TDF team bikes do you like most for 2014? It is nice to see the Colnagos there, doing well. They are (he is...) the last connection to a time when the bicycles...

This is a bicycle I made in 2002 as a 30th Anniversary Model. All the metal fittings and steel parts in the frame were from the 1970-1972 period. Nervex, George Fisher, Reynolds, Columbus. The Campagnolo components are stamp dated 1971. There is nothing on the bicycle...

Twenty four years ago. That's when Christopher Koch and Michael Furman spent three days with me, the result of which became the cover story in Bicycle Guide. I didn’t know what direction the project would take. Consumer magazine articles were typically about products;...

I enjoy the conversation about framebuilding's twists and turns, even the ones about how the barriers of entry and many of the design elements have devolved over generations. But I care far less about it than some might think. At any point in my years at the bench, I...

I often emphasize the importance of having a relationship with the sport in order to improve what you do at the bench. Heck, I’m evangelical about it, to the point of not understanding how anyone can make bicycle frames without the experience of pinning on a number....

I’m taking a break from writing. Until it’s over, I’ll add content here labeled Did I Really Say That? Did you see the public hanging Rttyerg Wkgkw is getting at the Ktnlng;t;g Forum? Yes. There's a certain breed of cat who uses his precious internet time to throw...

I'm taking a break from writing. Until it's over, I'll add content here labeled Did I Really Say That? I know that Richard sizes his frames for a setback post and I've seen a few negative comments about bikes with zero offset posts. Can someone fill me in on the...

I'm taking a break from writing. Until it's over, I'll add content here labeled Did I Really Say That? All you do is make frames. How do you get pleasure from doing the same thing over and over? I don’t have a pat answer, except that when I got involved with this I...

I'm taking a break from writing. Until it's over, I'll add content here labeled Did I Really Say That? Do you think there’s room in the cycling industry for all the new builders popping up? Looking at all the classifieds, I sense a growing number of people actively...

I'm taking a break from writing. Until it's over, I'll add content here labeled Did I Really Say That? Are there any long-term plans, or will you continue to make Richard Sachs steel frames until you retire? Folks will laugh, but the truth is I have very little...

Try to imagine the Philly Bike Expo or NAHBS being held in the Borscht Belt or the Poconos. At night in the lounge, you could possibly hear Henny Youngman tell a joke that would go something like this: Comedian: How many framebuilders does it take to change a light...

Nothing stays the same. Dealing with change is now my full time job. When I look in the mirror, I often think, “It’s not you, it’s me.” So, for personal growth, do I get rid of me, or do I get rid of everything else? It's clear that some of my things should have been...

A good vacation enhances the routine you come back to. I just spent eight days in northern New Mexico and enjoyed the change of pace, scenery, and time away. For the first time in a very long one, every turn and step was new. And the most delightful moments were...

I rarely have a recurring dream. The few I can remember arrive with no warning, haunt me for a bit while I’m horizontal, and then disappear. Lately, a new dream is visiting my darkest hours. In this one I'm younger, perhaps a thirty-something. There’s this trove of...

Everyone has a space for rent; the schedule and rates are up to us. People come by, they enjoy themselves, and we all finish with more than we started with. It’s not about the money. Sometimes it is. I have a rotating tenant list, as do many of my peers in the trade....

Knowing what to take and what to leave is an art form. We can fool ourselves into believing we’re practitioners. Mastering it takes discipline and is a life’s work. Playing catch-up is a full time job. I'm fact-checking, proofreading, and editing my personal code. At...

Write what you know about. That’s good advice. I've made it part of my routine. For as long as I’ve been popping off online it’s been a steady and exhausting string of anecdotes based on what I do, how I got here, who and what stood in my way, and how I made it to the...

I juggle for a living. If I throw four balls into the air, seven may come back down. Hey, I didn’t say I was good at it. But somehow I’ve managed to eke out a career and keep myself clothed and fed. My daily routine includes finding motivation, working efficiently,...

I can tell this story three ways and still have five endings. Yeah we moved from Chester to Warwick; from a village of 3,000 to a hamlet of 720. We left attitude for solitude. TLD and I traded a Main Street address for five acres on a dead end, dirt road. We won’t see...

When you come to work and your one and only concern is improving on what you did last week, all that matters is that you try to improve and that you believe you have improved - that is, until next week comes. This is the framebuilder's work ethic. Framebuilders answer...

What a waste of fucking time. I finally get the passwords and links, figure out how to log in and stalk folks, and only now realize how much time I've wasted. Yeah sure, I’ve made pals and also had chances to get on the soapbox. But is this where it all leads – to a...

After a decade at the workbench, nothing in my trade inspired me. By the early 1980s, I was already restless and bored. Then I saw a film on a local PBS affiliate about a luthier. It was called The New Yorker Special, Handcrafting a Guitar. The storyline...

I've had a recurring dream lately. But it doesn't come in the evening. I have it during the day when I’m serving lunch. The dream revolves around security, success, and happiness, what they mean, and how they're related. Security is something we'd all like to have. It...

I am an ISFP. That’s code for Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving. I only know this because I was interviewed for a book about personality types. The premise was that the more intimately you understand how you're hard-wired, the easier it could be to walk down an...