Portrait of a Project Bike in Flames

by admin on March 16, 2012

This bike went down in flames. Our client, a business person from Taiwan, saw some of our Flame Lug designs through the years and needed one to match his special fit requirements. The entire frame is built in stainless steel. Let’s walk through the build process:

As with all Waterfords, we collaborate with our dealers through four stages of design: function, fit, feel and finish. Once a work order is complete, the details are confirmed through the local shop. In this instance we worked with Modus Velo in Tai Chung. For this frame, we began work by crafting the lugs:
After crafting the lugs, we machined the frame materials. We then fixtured the frame for brazing. EJ is shown here brazing the head lugs.

Brazing stainless steel lugs to stainless steel tubes is one of the most challenging demonstrations in the art of frame building. The especially large size and ornate profile of the Flame lugs present demands to the builder as well. After brazing, the frame is cleaned in preparation for inspection:

Then it’s off to the polisher for a mirror finish. Here are some samples of the finished bike:

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