The process of ordering a bike is very straight forward, simple and intuitive and most often goes as follows –
We discuss the project in general terms and when you decide you’d like to get into the queue I ask that you send a deposit to hold your spot in line. You can mail a check or make an electronic deposit via the Ordering page.
About one month in advance, I will contact you and ask that you fill out a questionnaire that gives me a very good idea of how and where you ride. I will also ask for you to fill out two measurement worksheets – one on your body and one on your current bike – and this info will allow me to start thinking about your design and will no doubt bring up some follow up questions from me. I will also ask for a payment to make up the remainder of the deposit.
Once I have all of your information in hand I will work on a proposal and share it with you for your feedback. It is very important to me that you and I are both 100% comfortable with the design so if there are questions or concerns I want to hear them so we can work them out. I will not start the build until we have a full and firm agreement on the design.
With an agreed upon design in hand I will start building your frame. I’m not a fan of the ‘black magic, don’t look behind the curtain’ aspect of frame building and I would like you to see all the major steps your bike goes through. It takes about a week for your bike to go from tubes in a cardboard box to being a finished frameset ready for paint. I take photos of the process every day and email them to you so you can share in the building process.
When the frame is complete and ready for paint, Joe Bell will contact you directly and talk over all the details of your paint.
Finally, when JB has done his thing, he sends the frameset back to me and I do a bit of finish work on it, build it into a complete bike if you wish, take some photos and then put it into a box and send it off to you. The final balance is due at this time.
