Ben when I mentioned a competitor on the thread it was in regard to the Instagram thread where portus cycles took it upon themselves to school us on what we should be doing. Rather annoying when we didn’t ask for it and it was totally public. (I was replying to a comment above yours)

The raw brazes might not to be everyone’s taste. But they are not for you. As you said a bit of filler or, what most people do grind them down. We don’t want to do that. Our customers don’t want that.

People keep talking as if I’m here brazing them.

Once again in block capitals

BRYAN JACKSON FROM DOWNLANDS CYCLES (the master frame builder / tutor) IS BRAZING THESE FRAMES.

One of the interesting things is some of the fancy brazing posted on page one, is very pretty but potentially won’t have nearly enough penetration in to the joint to do what would be needed on a Bicycle.

Our frames are out through an over and above level of testing mechanical failure testing. They have been raced in downhill races, through half a season in the Enduro World Series been horribly mistreated by some rowdy riders. – we offer a full and complete lifetime warranty. We even offer a check and powder coat for our clients (we recommend every few years of hard use)

I call fibs on the wanting to help. If you or anyone else did, you would have contacted me personally. Hell im easy to find. This was a nice little fest in a safe space and I saw it.

You know why I don’t go round commenting on other brands stuff guys? Cos it’s none of my business is it?

I shouldn’t have to come here to defend myself on a bi weekly basis. You guys could just nut up and ask me.

A lot of belittling as you guys think we are new and stupid. I’ve been racing bikes for 30 years guys, this isn’t new to me. You know why I know so many people in the industry? Time. I took a break from it to have my kid and get her comfortable in school. But the same people are still in the game.

You don’t have to support us but probably time to get used to the fact we are here to stay.

As always

Direct questions

Jordan@sickbicycle.co

Number of emails so far from singletrack commenters 0

Let’s change that.

I know next to nothing about welding or brazing.

But I do REALLY like the look of those raw Sick frames. If it’s strong enough it’s good enough.

(for balance I also spend too much time staring at all the weld porn photos that the BTR boys post up).

I don’t particularly want to get into an argument with you, or slag off a framebuilders I don’t know – but when you make images public, then you have to expect that people who do know about this kind of thing will comment on them. The brazing frame shown in the first link is quite amateurish – the fillets aren’t regular, there’s pitting and gaps. If you ask other framebuilders they’ll say the same. That’s okay, my brazing was like that a decade ago, nothing I built then ever broke.

If I were you, I’d delete those pics and not put any more process pics online.

Once again people are looking at our Instagram and not happy with our terms and language, stop winding yourself up

Take own advice put down forum.

Opinions are like arse holes everyone has one. Here you see some like some don’t like. You will never please everyone your wasting your time trying to defend against all angles.

I’m not sure why you think Ben’s out to have at you. He doesn’t build anything remotely like yours he’s just offering advice as someone who fabricates and builds his own frames and other tube based products in house for sale.

Just to complicate things further – theres a bit of tig-brazing on page1 (im currently playing with some Sif #8’s)

I think Sick Bikes must be one of the most talked about cycling brands on STW right now!

I barely take an interest in cycling these days, but this is a brand that I’ve actually paid attention to recently.

All publicity is good publicity apparently, so inciting the STW forum should be no bad thing.

I think your next T Shirt design should feature a picture of a road cyclist with the word “Bender!” written underneath in a bold font, that’d go down a treat on here.

I’m not sure why you think Ben’s out to have at you.

I thought that may have been aimed at my “peasant crushing vs Molotov cocktail” remark. If so, probably fair enough really*: I did labour the point somewhat, but that’s me 😉

* I started thinking the same but the edit window closed while I was trying to unlabour the point

a picture of a road cyclist with the word “Bender!” written underneath

Top joshing 😉

IGMC

I think your next T Shirt design should feature a picture of a road cyclist with the word “Bender!” written underneath in a bold font,

I think a picture of bender on the jah drop and the word roadie under neath in bold would be more inkeeping with the rehtohric. 🙂

Our frames are out through an over and above level of testing mechanical failure testing.

Out if interest, what do you mean? You test-ride them? or that you give them destructive fatigue testing a la CEN?

Top Tips…Don’t post at midnight when you’ve had a skinfull.No one comes out of it looking good.

Tip 2, if you only accept comments you like on your instagram account, maybe put up a notice, to send all comments in by email so you can edit them first.

And that brazing is RAF, that’s Rough as ****.

Given that reading this thread is the first time I’ve heard of sick bikes, I took myself over to the website to see what other bikes they design for someone else to make. Bear in mind I don’t do instgram, twitter and very occasionally faceache.

Do sick bikes actually ‘do’ bikes? Purveyors of clothing – yes, lots of t-shirts and socks. Americanising the seasons – yes, it’s **** Autumn in the U.K. , not ‘fall’. There was one picture of a sold out frame, but no specs and certainly no gallery of previous frames sold.

Perhaps their usp is to make it as difficult as possible for a potential customer to glean any information. Made me feel a bit sick actually.

Their business plan is to design slightly obscure bikes, get them built in short runs and then sell them out.

It’s not to design one frame then get 1000 of them made so you can pop along and buy the same thing time and time again.

Saying you know nothing of the brand then mocking them for not following the traditional market formula is a bit rough.

Nicolai welds win for me. For finished ie smoothed out brazing Demon is unreal and for unfinished Curtis.

Jordanchaos must be “sick” Coming on here all the time answering the sceptics/keyboard warriors/numptys etc 😉

@thepodge – my intent was not to ‘mock’ them, nor was I referring to any traditional marketing formula. I was merely stating that when looking for some useful information as to what their track record is, purely in terms of a portfolio of past work, from which I could glean an insight as to whether I like the cut of their jib, I couldn’t find any such information.

Call it old school if you like, however as a specialist carpenter, potential customers always appreciate being shown some actual examples of my competence and capability. Although it seems now that all I needed to do was design some artwork for some items of clothing. Not quite the same legacy as say a wooden boat or an oak framed building.

So how big can Sick get? Tim says: “We want to rub shoulders with the big boys. We don’t want to be some niche, cliquey brand, my aspiration is to be something like Specialized, or Trek, or Brooklyn Machine Works without the stopping.”

Having owned a Merlin (weld porn) and currently racing a Barry Chick fillet braised Shorter (look him up), I’d say if those are still your aspirations, it’s time to smarten up the finish on those joints.

They’re a marketing company, really – the ‘drop’ idea is an interesting one, get people enthusiastic about buying a frame from you because you’re you, without telling them what the frame is. Then make a batch of them, and release them on a fixed date to the eager hordes.

I’ve never seen it in the bike industry, but some other niche craft businesses do it very well. There’s a guy who makes little titanium tools who does this, and his stuff is ridiculously sought after: http://www.atwoodknives.com

Thanks Ben, do the eager hordes pass their credit card details over without knowing how much will be taken before they take possession of their unknown quantity?

Makes me think that either money is too cheap and plentiful, or its value is dismissed by certain sections of society or a particular generation.

I actually think it’s a pretty good idea – we all know, secretly, that lots of bike frame design is fashion-led anyway so it could be argued that the actual design you buy matters less than the fact that you believe you’re buying something really fashionable.

People often put themselves on the list to buy the latest iPhone or sports car without seeing it first.

Reminds me of Bontrager on road bikes – Buy the one that’s a colour you like.

Handmade decent frames built in the UK by a builder with years of experience and a back catalogue of work. Have you emailed sick to see examples from their first run and prototypes? Or emailed and or called to see some of the builders non-sick bike co work?

Some really ridiculous comments on here.

I’ve spoken to them and they’ll chat all day long about materials, geometry and anything at all. Comments that they are a clothing company and marketers only is patronising to say the least.

I like Sick Bikes and what they’re trying to do, and it’s clear that they enjoy winding up folk, and that’s part of the fun. But as a company that’s aware of the power of marketing, releasing pictures of (at best) OK brazing is a weird choice.

90% of buying a custom(ish) bikes is the bragging rights. You can bang on about the welding or angles or whatever, but all of us are secretly small boys at heart, and these sorts of bikes are the jokers in the pack of bike top trumps, and that’s why folk buy into all this stuff, and that finish doesn’t say “don’t worry, this will last forever” at me.

So being thin skinned about some ill advised photos of friday afternoon brazing is odd, and like ben I’d not have posted them. They might appeal to the core of folk who love the attitude of “don’t give a ****” but getting frosty when other folk then point out they’re a bit mleh is a bit playground

Comments that they are a clothing company and marketers only is patronising to say the least.

Just had a look on their website. More clothing than bikes….in fact very hard to find info about frames what little there was hard to enlarge to get closer views of frames. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.

I’ve spoken to them and they’ll chat all day long about materials, geometry and anything at all. Comments that they are a clothing company and marketers only is patronising to say the least.

And yet their website would suggest that is the case…

I’d probably not buy from them based purely on the childlike ranting on here.

They do small batch frames. They can send you more pictures or you know, talk it over if you want.

They have sold out the first batch .. I’m sure when the next are ready to be sold their website will show more of their frames and details.

You guys might be missing the frame link on their website 😆

Obviously I am, care to link to it.

All I can see is a sold out HT and drop site that tells me nothing apart from email for more info.

Comments that they are a clothing company and marketers only is patronising to say the least.

You’ve added the “only” to what I said. There’s nothing wrong with being good at marketing – in fact it’s arguably a more important skill than being able to braze. I’m rubbish at marketing.

Ben
I also follow you on Instagram. Your posts are enough for me to know should I need any work done you would be my first call. Your “marketing” has worked.

And with that I finally withdraw from singletrack and leave you to it.

My parting words

I am so relived you won’t buy our frames.
That’s my nightmare from now on.

Btw avoid mbr, mbuk, Cranked and singletrack magazine for a while if you don’t like my stuff you are gonna be all frothy

bencooper – Member
Comments that they are a clothing company and marketers only is patronising to say the least.
You’ve added the “only” to what I said. There’s nothing wrong with being good at marketing – in fact it’s arguably a more important skill than being able to braze. I’m rubbish at marketing.

I was making reference to the thread as a whole.

Although I find it very surprising that a fellow builder would criticise another in such a public way to be honest.

I also follow you on Instagram. Your posts are enough for me to know should I need any work done you would be my first call. Your “marketing” has worked.

You’re the second person in two days who’s said they follow me on Instagram – I don’t think I’m on Instagram!

Jordan, don’t be so touchy – I’m trying to help you out.

Although I find it very surprising that a fellow builder would criticise another in such a public way to be honest.

Don’t have a look at any frame building forum, then 😉 It’s constructive criticism, I’m trying to help him out – because for every person on here who says that the brazing looks amateurish, there could be 100 people who think it but don’t say it. So best not show it.

And with that I finally withdraw from singletrack and leave you to it.

Btw avoid singletrack magazine for a while if you don’t like my stuff.

Thanks for the heads up. Luckily I cancelled my print subscription this week.

Meant FB obviously 😳

Ben

It’s not a frame building website though is it. I’ll agree to disagree. We could go on forever and im sure you have frames to build and i’ve got bikes to ride.

Have no connection to a sick nor have I bought their frame (I think they are nice though).

This thread shows STW at its absolute worse – Ben you haven’t come to “help”.

Maybe some people don’t like the fact that they’re being successful. Good on them.

This thread shows STW at its absolute worse – Ben you haven’t come to “help”.

Do leave off. Hypersensitivity to legitimate criticism, followed by a flounce speaks volumes.