The first unconventional bike I was able to get my hands on in the last couple of moths, was one made by a Pearson. I absolutely loved the way it looked, but unfortunately the frame ended up being too small for me.
After countless hours searching the web for possible options for a build without any results, I decided it was probably best to have a custom frame built. Finding a builder who was willing to do something different, was easier said than done though.
The frame I had in mind, was something similar to Graeme Obree's Old Faithful hour record bike, only fit for use as a regular road bike. Many variations to his design have been made by various builders. A vintage example is the one below by Dutch builder RIH. More recently Cherubim built a more artsy interpretation.
The first builder who was willing to give my idea a shot, was Kajak Custom. The owner, Malik, has done several really nice custom builds so far, so I am confident that he is the right man for the job. You can find some of his work on his Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kajakcustom/.
After sending countless e-mails back and forth discussing which design and tubing would be best for the frame, we settled on 38.1 mm straight 0.9 mm straight gauge tubing for the main tube and the seat tube, and aero chain and seat stays. The frame will be filled brazed together. The frame will feature an integrated seatpost with a Thomson seat clamp. Cable routing will be external, in an effort to keep the main tube as strong as possible.
Here are the first pictures Kamil sent me of the build in progress.
