Richard Sachs Cycles

RICHARD SACHS CYCLES


HOME	ABOUT	CONTACT	ARTICLES	GALLERY	SACHSTOYS	RIDERS	LINKS

The Art of the Framebuilder
by Chistopher Koch
Photography by Michael Furman

Stays Richard Sachs is a foremost practitioner of the high art of building steel frames. We asked him to show us how it is done.

I'll usually prepare the forks, chainstays, and seatstays in big quantities because they don't vary much from frame to frame. If I built each frame from start to finish I'd go crazy, because there's so much grunt work.

Building a main triangle is by far the hardest part of making a frame, because you've got four intersecting tubes that are being held with lugs to various geometries, and it's hard to get all that dialed in. So I'll have all the components to build the rear end ready in big batches, and then construct rear triangles to match the various frame sizes and plug them in when the main triangle is completed. Doing it this way allows me to concentrate on the main frame and make sure that's built correctly before I attach the rear end, which can be easily aligned.

[ - Continue - ]

The above article (including prices) originally appeared in the June 1990 issue of Bicycle Guide, reprinted courtesy of Christopher Koch.

Richard Sachs is a craftsman framebuilder who has been refining his skills for over a quarter-century.For more information, please contact:

Richard Sachs Cycles

Chester, CT 06412
(860) 526-2059

[ - Back to top - ]