a midway bikelog

An evolving list of some local framebuilders in and around the Twin Cities (listed alphabetically). Sketchy info in some cases, but most have websites if you want to know more. Feel free to email me with updated or new info, i like to keep this list updated!

Dave Anderson
St. Paul, MN. Lugged and filet brazed steel and carbon frames. Nice understated style to what looks like the standard paint job.

Pallas Athena Cycles
Dan Bailey
website: www.athenabikes.com
email: dan@athenabikes.com
Currently apprenticing with Paul Wyganowski. Currently building primarily steel frames — lugged or fillet brazed. Road, mountain, cyclocross, and track. Will be adding titanium frames in late 2011. Website in the works, should be up by the end of January 2010.

Bob Brown
website: http://bobbrowncycles.com/
St. Paul, MN. Super custom work such as lugged tandems, repairs and nice paint work. Builds the Route 29er production frames for The Route bike shop, using his own cool fork crown design. Builds lugged, filet brazed and welded steel. One of the (or maybe the) first builders in the country to make lugged frames with the new Reynolds 953 stainless tubing. Does a fair bit of mountain bike and ‘cross racing locally with the Kenwoodies.

Capricorn Cycles
Brad Wilson
Home Phone: 414-238-4393
Work Address: 500 E 36th St Mpls 55408 (Purity Bakery Bldg)
Email: brad@capricornbicycles.com
Website (Blog): www.capricornbicycles.blogspot.com
Apparently an ex-Waterford framebuilder. Has this bike on the FGG, and some nice work on his blog. A wide range of frame styles, beautiful racks too. Nice guy, great attention to detail.

Clockworks
Joel Greenblatt, Minneapolis, MN.
website: http://www.clockworkbikes.com
Filet brazed or lugged steel. Nice range of styles and ideas, like the one-piece stem/bars. I’ve seen one at local CX races.

Vincent Dominguez
St. Paul, MN
website: http://www.dominguezcycles.com/
Apprenticed with Wyganowski, now building on his own. I saw a guy riding a Dominguez fixed gear on the Greenway, turns out it was Vincent himself, commuting home on a beautiful day.

Curt Goodrich
website: http://curtgoodrich.com
St. Paul, MN. Built frames for Rivendell for many years, now works only on his own line of customs. One of the very best framebuilders in the country. Does a nice job with French bikes and randonneuring bikes in particular. All steel, mostly lugged, some filet. He’s been building a fair number of cyclocross bikes lately, and even started a cyclocross team of local riders. Our commutes cross paths some days; i first met him at a stoplight along Summit Ave.

Chris Kvale
website: http://www.chriskvalecycles.com
Minneapolis, MN. More racing-oriented road bikes, has been building since the ’70s. Lugged steel, known for his amazing paper-thin lugwork. Does repairs and repaints.

Terry Osell
612-331-2723 (no web site)
Minneapolis, MN. Long-time local builder, is still building and doing repairs from his home. Still pretty involved with recumbents, tandems and single bikes. Lugged steel for sure, probably filet too. A neighborhood friend has a lovely touring bike from Osell with cool flying buttress lugs.

Peacock Groove
Erik Noren
website: http://www.peacockgroove.com
Odd name, cool bikes. Very custom work, lots and lots of pictures of one very cool bike on their site. I’ve seen two of his bikes this year (2007) at cyclocross races, very nice intricate work. Great use of stainless for the logos. Erik organized Minnecycle this summer (2009), the first showcase of local framebuilding talent. Unfortunately i missed it because of a missed end-of-vacation flight, but i’m looking forward to next year.

Mark Stonich
website: http://bikesmithdesign.com
Minneapolis, MN. Long-time hobby framebuilder, well-known for his recumbents. Now retired into a more specialized career in metalwork and custom fittings. Has designed some very useful tools for 3-speed work.

Paul Wyganowski
763-389-7811
no web site – email wyganowskiframes@yahoo.com, or Wyganowski Frames on Facebook
30127 105th St. NW, Princeton, MN 55371
Trained with Osell and Tim Paterek. He specializes in unicycles but is still actively building recumbents, tandems, children frames and singles.