As someone who love bicycles and, of course, riding them, I always thought it would be cool to build one from scratch. I don't mean buying a frame, and some parts and putting it all together. I mean, actually building the frame, out of steel, from scratch. It's something I've often had a hankering to do, but had never really given any serious thought. A google search here and there, and some day dreams is all I ever really put into it. But after getting back into the bike industry last spring, I've started thinking about it more and more.
A month or so ago, I started looking into frame-building classes; they're all the rage at the moment, it seems. It's as if every frame builder and his brother - no matter how successful or qualified - offers a class. The problem for me, though, is that these classes are all either A) too expensive; B) too far away, or C) both. However, one thing nearly all of them have in common is that they use the Paterek Manual as a guiding text. The book itself is of course much, much cheaper than the class. So, I sold a few bike things on the eBay that were collecting dust, and used the funds to send for the manual and some supplemental instructional DVDs. It wasn't cheap, but it only cost me some stuff I wasn't go to use anyway. And really, I suppose if you consider it a text book, it was down right reasonably priced.
I still don't know if I will ever actually get to the point where I build a frame, but I figure this is a good first step. Maybe I'll end up taking a frame-building class down the road, maybe not. But in that case, I already have the manual. And in any case, I'd like to build a nice, simple, solid, lugged road bike frame. The next step is to peruse the manual, watch the DVD's, start gathering tools and what-have-yous, and see where this goes. I have no time frame, really, other than "spare time." Not that I have a ton of that, but I'm kinda excited.
