While Amber was waiting for her frame to come back from Spectrum Powder Works I threw these tires onto my own 650B singlespeed townie for a test run– they are after all more expensive, much lighter,with a minimal tread pattern so I expected a significant difference in the ride compared to the Fatty Rumpkins that were on there prior. There was little difference.

There’s a lot of talk about lightweight tires and rotational mass and threads per inch, and I’m pretty sure that that it’s all intended to get suckers like me to spend a little extra on lighter tires. Light tires don’t do you much good when you’re stranded somewhere or fixing a flat on the shoulder of a highway.

The moral if there is one lies in that I tried to put up with patching and repatching these tires; searching and digging out the tiniest pieces of glass, quartz, wire, or thorns from the tire each time; wanting each flat to be the last, but it never was. Finally fed up with these tissue-thin Pari-Motos I got a set of Schwalbe Marathons today. They’re a little bit heavier, a little bit cheaper, will take a broken wine bottle in stride, and Amber probably won’t notice any difference in the ride quality.

In defense of Panaracer, the manufacturer of Pari-Motos– they also made the Fatty-Rumpkins on my own bike. I’ve been riding them for over two years now and have sustained only a flat tire or two. There is still enough tread on either tire that I can foresee riding them for another two years. Amber’s tires are coming off after six months. In this context weight seems like a silly thing to fuss over.

The head badge represents the signature of the framebuilder or manufacturer. In some ways it’s a mark of authenticity– to some it hints at the level of attention a builder gives to their work. Each builder brings their own unique take on their stamp, whether they make it themselves or have it made for them it’s part of the art inherent to the complete package.

The badges on Capricorns began as decals. Then that design was turned into a casting for brass and silver badges. I put a fair amount of thought into having the cast altered to “Eugene” after we moved, but I think I was ready for a different approach.

Pictured here is the Capricorn badge in its current iteration. Each piece is cut by hand from brass and brazed to the head tube with silver. The process combines the materials and methods I used to build that frame in a style that I hope mirrors nicely the attention to detail and the aesthetic that goes into my work.

When the frame is painted each of these pieces is masked until the clear coat is applied. The brass shines untarnished for years to come.

Amber {Sketchbook Bags} and I put together this pannier prototype this last week. The bag design is hers: it features a large internal compartment and outer pocket that roll up and are held close by the top flap. There are also two smaller outside pockets protected from the elements by flaps. It’s made from waxed canvas and leather, the interior is completely lined. I came up with the mounting hardware and the idea to use a couple oak strips for reinforcement, rather than the plastic parts so commonly used in panniers. For the first one we both think it turned out well– it’s not an easy thing to execute.

I brazed-up this fork recently for research and practice. It’s built with True Temper blades, their lightweight 1.125″ threadless steerer, and investment cast crown and dropouts. Even with the full-length steerer it weighs in at only 1.6 pounds. If that’s too heavy for your bicycle you’re reading the wrong blog.

The fork’s geometry is well suited for most commercial and imported steel bikes and especially those with medium-reach brakes (i.e.~54-57mm). Length from axle to crown is 372mm, offset is 45mm. The crown isn’t wide enough for most fenders, but the skinny road fenders (35-37mm) will clear with 700×25 or 28mm tires. Fender eyelets are included.

Price is $150 plus shipping, as is, without paint. I can arrange the paint or powdercoat if you prefer not to handle that yourself, but since it’s not paired with a particular bike I wanted to keep that option open.  Please contact me via brad@capricornbicycles.com if you have any questions or would like to purchase the fork.

Few framebuilders, if any, do what they do professionally with the intention of establishing a large company, license their name to a corporation, or make a substantial income. Now more than ever framebuilding seems to have become a solitary, slow-moving adventure in the pursuit of getting yourself known, mastering a craft, developing a new idea, or making a living doing what you love. For everyone that plays their part in this industry of independents there’s art in it, as there should be.

Over the last six years Capricorn has been my creative outlet and an opportunity to put my ideas and skills out in the world to see if they hold up– always with the hope that they would thrive on their own merits or usefulness. What I’m coming to terms with now is that despite my best efforts Capricorn still isn’t really a “brand” in the marketing sense. It’s the collective trials and experiments of a vacillator keen on not falling into a routine or getting pigeon-holed. While this may appeal to some, for the majority it’s confusing, esoteric.

Since we moved to Oregon my creativity has been somewhat stunted– initially due to the stress of the move, crippling back problems, and delays in getting the new shop assembled– but moreover from taking a step back, re-evaluating my work and my opinions on custom bicycle building, and deciding that these things can better reach and serve a broader swath in the spectrum of bicycle enthusiasts. There’s more cyclists now than ever, but there’s also new builders and mass-marketed import bikes popping up like mushrooms. Fortunately there’s still products and services that experienced builders can offer that companies like QBP, Competitive Cyclist, and Specialized simply can’t/won’t do (and vise versa to be sure, but at least the little guys are still actually making the products they put their name on).

As for Capricorn, there’s some new ideas that I’ll be developing soon, new events that I’ll be a part of, a new painter, changes planned for the website in the near future, and ultimately what may become my opportunity to take what the last six years has taught me and make with those lessons the bike that will serve both you and me best. I’ll be getting back into the habit of making at least a regular weekly post on this blog, keeping you, gentle reader, abreast of what’s going on out in the workshop. More to come…

 I have a 54cm Con Brio lugged road frame that’s been sitting in the corner of our “office” collecting dust and bumming me out because it should be out in the world getting used.  Maybe it’s the Holiday Spirit or the potent homebrew I’m imbibing but I decided to take $400 off the asking price.  There more info posted in the “for sale” pages.

The Bazaar features the best locally produced or locally designed (some are made far away)  products, all of which would round out most of your Christmas shopping nicely.  There will be an assortment of Portland’s reknowned food carts and an impromptu cafe and lounge furnished by a local roaster and one of the show’s furniture makers.  Should be a good time, come by and say “hi.”

At a time when one is practically extpected to photograph everything for external validation not having the camera gives me a chance to pause and reflect on the consequences of living, posing, creating, and pausing for the shutter.  Don’t get me wrong, I love taking pictures– I studied photography in school, and my sister was a professional photographer.  But as digital photography evolved and became more and more ubiquitous our little cameras take a hold of the details of our daily lives and work, and cast them out into the world for the evaluation of others.

While I do what I can to take attractive, informative photos of my work and my world photography is not my art.  Documentation is fine and important but as a collection of evidence it has a way of replacing the reality of a person, place, or thing.  As little as five years ago I kept my favorite pictures, taken with my Mom’s 30-year old Canon FTb, in a photo album that I only shared on rare occaisions and with the people close to me.  Many of those photographs I manually developed myself.  When that camera stopped working I took it to a store that’s now a Dunn Bros. coffee shop and they replaced a spring and it worked again.

Photography now is more compulsory and impulsive.   Especially now that I am in the business of making stuff and have a Flickr account I there’s an obligation I feel to keep contributing to the public’s demand for photographic proof.  When I don’t post fresh pictures the website shows my numbers going down– the human reaction to that is to keep posting, to maintain the feeling that I’m doing something important.

Framebuilding as a process is pretty interesting, and the people interested in that process tend toward a fascination with it.  It’s because of this that Flickr is lousy with my colleagues in the Coalition of Hammer and Torch, and why we update our pages as much as we tend to.  After all it’s easy to get a few hundred people seeing your newest project while you get to spend the day working in blissful solitude.  The result is like a drug though– immediate and thrilling.  But ultimately the reality of each of the bikes that I build takes off from where I stop photographing them, when they’re out in the world with miles before and behind them, with smiling riders and spilling cameras.

 Steve J. from New Jersey just posted pics of his Capricorn Wilder as it is now a complete bicycle.  The build features a stately set of components including a Brooks saddle, Nitto quill stem, and the polished Paul Components “Racer” brakes: all of which compliment the aesthetic scheme and purpose of the bicycle nicely.

{Steve’s Flickr Set}

{Build Shots from the Capricorn Workshop} 

The Wilder is a bicycle made for long rides.  It combines a mid-weight tubeset, long wheelbase, and comfortable riding position to embody what a steel bicycle does best.  It’s also built with plenty of room for generous tires, so it will feel right on all types of road surfaces and trails.

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