Remember when I said we weren’t likely to ever see another fillet brazed Bike Friday? Well, I take it back.
Eric Estlund (bad picture), our brazer, has been commissioned to do a special project: yet another one. You can see the work in progress on his blog.
Note that his blog is not personal, but commercial– for his business Winter Bicycles. He’s got quite a bit of experience hand brazing steel frames and I can tell you that seeing the work up close in progress he knows what he’s doing. I would recommend his work whether it be on a Bike Friday or not.
One thing I can say is that we are not likely to do this when things get busy so if you want one, now is the time! And no, they’re not cheap. And no discounts. 
The finished product can be found here.
whoo, fillet brazing is absolutely beautiful. I’m sure that the price tag sure isn’t though xD
Naw, it only added $1100. A nice round number.
Those brazed joints are smooooth, sweet and exactly what I’ve been hoping to have on my future BTO Tikit. That’s a STEEP upgrade price but I guess I’m glad it’s even a possibility. There sure are more brazed joints on a BF than a regular road bike. Does the $1100 price hike include fillet brazing the entire frame, fork AND fillet brazing a custom stem?
Please tell Eric, “Nicely done, sir!” for me.
Fillet brazing, a Rohloff Speedhub (next gen.) and disc brakes are three of the four pieces of the puzzle I’d like for my BTO Season Tikit. The fourth, and still missing piece (for me) is…………………wait for it………………a Gates Belt Drive System! An IG hub and a no-grease drivetrain are a low-maintenance Holy Grail. From what I’ve read, Gates & Rohloff have been working on the Rohloff-compatible rear cog for a while now but it’s not yet a done-deal that such a combo will ever see the light of day. I’m waiting on this shoe to drop before ordering a Tikit (maybe by next winter!)
It is steep, but consistent with what Rivendell charges– for a standard design frame I might add– so maybe not. It does include frame, fork, and stem, yes. Sweet, huh?
Will pass the word on.
So you can get the Rohloff and the disc, as you know. As for the Gates cog, I heard recently that this was a done deal. Just had an inquiry about a Gates fixie. Maybe if all goes well with that, we’ll be ready for you, Tom.
Cool beans! I’ll be sure to keep checking in
Thanks, Walter.
-Tom
Thanks for getting this up Walter! Fun bike, fun project!
Thanks for the kind words folks. If you are interested in seeing more of this bike being built and finished, take a peek here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22538785@N05/sets/72157613201422681/
Ooh didn’t see those pix before. Nice!