Recommend a West Coast'ish builder well versed in low trail

[livesadventure]

My friend has a custom Fitz low trail built for fenders and racks. It is stunning and he loves it and raves about it every day. Seems like a great option

[hollowgram5]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

maybe give the elephant guys a call and see if they want to make you a custom frame? I know they were focusing on off the peg but maybe they are not so busy anymore and doing custom again.


also 333fab, seattle based.

I was gonna suggest 333Fab as well.. maybe talk to Kirk007 about his experience with the AirLandSea..

(At least I think he's got one)

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

No personal experience, but I'd check with Fitz and see if Elephant would do a custom for you at your size; Glen might be willing to do custom if he knows the stock bikes won't fit you.

Seconding the Elephant (Glen) and Fitz recommendations.

I have an Elephant NFE and it's lighter than everyone expects. The new ones supposedly have thru-axel dropouts, too. I feel the NFE is already pretty darn refined, and if anything, you just need it in a larger size.

Fitz was another choice of mine 2-3 years ago, but my friends talked me out since he wasn't as well known back then and didn't do that many discs. Now Fitz is the darling of the Bay Area rando scene. He's also based in Santa Rosa, so not too far from you.

Originally Posted by livesadventure

My friend has a custom Fitz low trail built for fenders and racks. It is stunning and he loves it and raves about it every day. Seems like a great option

Is your friend a Swede?

[EricEstlund]

Im not on the west coast anymore, but the bikes go all over.

[oldpotatoe]

Mark Nobilette-
http://nobilettecycles.net/(look at bike on website!!)

Mike Kone
http://boulderbicycle.bike/

Richard Schwinn(who makes a lot of Kone's frames)
http://www.waterfordbikes.com
http://www.gunnarbikes.com

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

have you seen the Henry Wildberry youtube videos?

Something about those videos reminds me of Mister Roger's, in a good way...Henry chats to the viewer in that same even and unhurried sort of way.
He kind of lost my attention on the very long detailed discussions of his custom bike project, but most of the episodes are lightly entertaining.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by donevwil

Looking for a builder in the greater Northern-Central Cal, Western Nevada, Southern OR, PDX or SEA areas. Probably an under the radar builder as I'm limited to the $4-5k ballpark all in for frameset, custom racks, etc.

Mitch Pryor, Jeff Lyon and Hahn Rossman all meet your criteria.

[northbend]

Corey Thompson in Olympia

https://thompsoncustombicycles.com

[Mzilliox]

Jeff Lyon, done

[Mzilliox]

Originally Posted by EricEstlund

Im not on the west coast anymore, but the bikes go all over.

this guy, super done in style

[bearcrawl]

This build would be right up Curtis' alley.
http://ingliscycles.com/
Can't say enough about the person and the bikes.
Local too

[donevwil]

Thanks for all the recommendations, however, if I weed out those who don't meet the criteria I laid out in the OP (frame, fork & racks, $4-5K all in, West Coast'ish, discs and thru axles) most fall by the wayside.

This is merely an exploratory thread, if I venture beyond these geographic limitations I'll be talking with Eric Estlund first. He's been at the top of my list since his days in OR.

[adampaiva]

I'd be curious how many of the builders that typically build more traditional randonneurs would be willing to venture into the disc brake world.

Especially Lyon. My rando bike slot is filled with the L'Avecaise but assuming I get a year end bonus in two months I'm going to get on a builder's list for a disc brake bikepacking/monstercross s&s couplered sort of thing. I'd love to borrow some of the ride qualities I like from the L'Ave and apply it to this new bike, if that's structurally feasible.

@Mzilliox think he'd get weird on a bike like this?

[unterhausen]

a disc rando is a really good idea if it's going to actually be used for randonneuring. We ride in all sorts of weather and being able to stop in heavy rain is definitely a requirement. It's on my list. I don't think it would be my primary velo randonneur though.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Mzilliox

this guy, super done in style

i might have to agree