Steel Bicycle Frames
The first bicycle frame I made was steel. In the class, we are only allowed to use steel for our first bike — mainly due to steel be substantially less expensive than titanium. Needless to say, after I was given the go ahead to start making titanium bikes, I jumped on the opportunity. Nevertheless, steel is great material for bicycle frames due to its flexibility and dampening. As the old saying goes, “steel is real.”
The Rapscallion
The Rapscallion was the first frame I built at Iowa. For my first frame, I was encouraged to replicate and modify an existing frame geometry. I chose to base my first frame off of the Surly Lowside — a fun loving 27.5 wheel hardtail. Essentially, this bike is a slightly grown up version of a BMX bike. Unlike the Lowside, I wanted this bike to clear 27.5x3.0” tires. I had the privilege to display this bike at the 2023 Bespoked hand built bike show in Dresden, Germany.
The idea: build my own take on a Surly Lowside.
To allow for a dropper post, I created an internal routing port by machining a small piece of steel with a long opening for the cable to go through. I then cut a channel into the seat tube and welded the port on.
To finish the bike, I splatter painted a section of the down tube and covered the rest of the frame in a matte grey paint. My idea was to use deep colors that could be found on vintage children’s toys.
Library Cargo Bike
This frame I helped make for the Iowa City Public Library. They reached out to Professor Steve McGuire for a custom cargo bike that can be used as a mobile library. The design of the frame was a design Steve had used before; however, we decided to alter it to clear 26x4.0” tires. The idea was that it would be more comfortable to the rider, and better fit the ethos of the university bike class. With this frame, I got to work closely with master fabricators. During this time I learned how to properly bend tubes and create frames with unique geometries. My contributions to this project were what gave me the confidence to pursue my ambitious second frame, the Scallion Pancake.
The idea: build a mobile library for the Iowa City Public Library.
Before fully welding the frame, we fit a test wheel into the rear to ensure the frame could clear the desired tire/wheel size.
