What if nobody cares anymore ?

 I'm not talking about custom bikes-although nobody caring about them would leave me with a shop full of useless tools and metal. I'm talking about the sport that really put me on the map as a frame building operation in the sustainable sense. Through luck and hard work I established a style and brand that has stayed popular for over 20 years. Since 2003 I have never been short on work , and most of the time pretty much oversold.  In the sport of cyclocross I found a community that was very receptive to how I build bikes and my willingness to learn from the people that race- they gave me the suggestions that shaped the bikes over all these years. Some comments were glowing, some were harsh but I learned a bit from all of them, especially the criticism. For the last two decades and more I have ridden the wave of cyclocross and it has been-to use a phrase I really hate- a great ride. 

Now it is 2025 and for the last half-dozen years the sport of gravel racing has been getting very popular. In some regions like where I live, it is crushing cyclocross and taking away much of the people that loved cyclocross the same way I did. People now seem fine getting a huge sprinter van , paying $ 200 + entry fees and going to events where the riding will take up most of the day. It is not an intense sport like cyclocross, even if it is very competitive for the few folks that will be at the front of the race. Most people at the event don't seem to race at all- they are there for the riding, the camping and being with all the other folks in their sprinter vans with outdoor showers, micro-brews and folding chairs. It's a hang way more than a race and I am seeing that it is a real thing now. Usually everyone converges at some big campground and there's a big feed and maybe a live band at night. I have been to a few of these and they are well put together for the most part- but it still ain't 'cross. 

While cyclocross might be withering and dying here, there are places where it is thriving but they are pretty far away. I used to be able to get to any number of races within 1-1/2 hours of where I live. Now most of them are at least a 3 hour drive or in another state altogether. I don't like burning up that much gasoline to go racing. And the grave events ? They are usually far away , too- but people will drive all day to get to them. Maybe I'm just old and not moving along with the times.....every sport in cycling has it's heyday and it's decline years. Right now we are in the decline years for cyclocross and I am having a very hard time accepting it-where have all the good times gone ? They have gone away and changed into something else. Peoples tastes have changed and land access for races has gotten difficult around here in the Bay area. It's a collision of factors that nobody seems to control and what I know as cyclocross in Nor-Cal might be on its last legs. 

So what am I doing about it ? Starting in 2015 my team has been putting on an annual race . Starting about 6 years ago, the team took charge of Surf City cyclocross, the longest running CX race series in the country -it was going to die if we didn't take it over and merge it with our race. The only CX races in the county are ones that we put on. The sad thing is that we as a team are starting , after 21 years to lose people to retirement and other sports. We are getting some great juniors but they have hardly any races around here and it takes a lot of time and money to do a full season now. People are getting priced out of participating like they used to about a decade ago. It's a shame, really- such a great community grew up around CX and it is now getting scattered to the winds. There's only so much a handful of people can do to try to keep a sport going if the public at large is apathetic about its survival. For me, the specter of losing CX is sad but since I am nearly 70, it isn't critical for me. If I were 15 and wanting to get into the sport I would have a hard road unless my parents were super fans and willing to drive me all over the state in search of races. Most parents can't do that. I tip my hat to the ones that do- they are raising the next generation of talent that could wind up on the world stage- it has happened, even out of our little team.

So, I have to say that this decline in the sport of CX is depressing for me and regardless of how it effects my business , I don't want it to die. I do get orders for all sorts of non-CX frames so I think I'll do just fine but I would and will sacrifice a lot to try to keep the local sport alive. Wish me luck.......

Sorry, son.....

My annual visit to the Sea Otter classic just happened and I had the usual experience of sensory overload mixed with running into folks who I did not expect to see- always a pleasant surprise. I went with the mission of trying to see how the tariff situation was being dealt with by all of my suppliers. I had a list of nearly 20 companies to visit-I wound up visiting only 6. What I did instead was just wander around and randomly bump into a few folks who really made my trip there worthwhile. 

So what is the state of the bike industry as of 2025 ? Looks like a lot going on- not much has changed on the surface. There's new people coming up- old folks that either have been relegated to 'brand representative' or maybe they are just somewhere else living out their years in peace - away from the grinding world of bicycle commerce. What is my place in all this ? I'm just passing through , taking time away from what I have been doing for decades- building the bikes. I'm trying to think of anyone else -a frame builder of course- who has had a sustainable shop as long as I have-can't think of anyone who was at the Sea Otter. Sure, there's a few scattered across the country but at this circus , nope. All the old frame builders have quit, died or been co-opted to appear in ads or at events like this - no longer building bikes.....they are building marketing instead. It's a good gig if you can get it. 

This brings me to my experience-one that will stick with me , along with all the great chance meetings with old friends. I was introduced to a young man who, upon hearing that I was indeed that aged frame builder from Santa Cruz invited me to come to the booth where he was working - the Marin Bicycle history museum and MTB hall of fame. I have never been to the museum and have been well outside of the crew of folks who are honored there-I just wasn't there when it all began on Mt. Tam....at the time I was a minimum wage bicycle mechanic and hobby frame builder. I got to ride a very early mountain bike and decided that it was not my thing.......guess I was not very open minded at the time. So...when this young nice man said that I should check out the collection at the booth I told him that I had the first MTB (1984) I had ever built and asked if the museum would like to have it for display . The young man was super receptive to the idea and told me that I should talk to the head man ( Really famous guy in MTB history ) and ask him. 

After walking around for another hour I had forgotten about the whole exchange and was trying to find the exit from the expo so that I could beat traffic home. One friend of mine showed up and said "Hey-have you been to the MTB hall of fame booth yet ?" I had not so we made our way over. At the booth we found a number of folks crowded around a small tent filled with the most primitive and historically significant MTB's in the whole Sea Otter. The curator, actually someone I had met a few years earlier -a meeting that he did not remember- was ushered over to talk to me about MTB # 1. The curator held out his hand to shake mine as if we were meeting for the first time- I guess that is indicator # 1 of my lack of historical significance . Indicator # 2 was when the curator kindly said to me that there was no room at the museum for my MTB # 1 . To me it was just another case of not being one of the cool kids- "Sorry, son. There isn't room for you ......and who did you say you were , anyway ?"  Yes- of course I'm taking this like I normally do- much to personally- but it does feel personal. While these folks who are celebrated in the museum may be historically significant-and they really are- I think that the great bulk of them did their main work many years ago for a short time frame. I'm not asking for an award for my lengthy participation in this line of work but a small nod to my existence for all these decades might be nice. I did start building at a time that few if any were doing it. And those few have not kept at it - I guess I get a bit upset thinking that I have repaired and fixed a lot of these famous people's boo-boos over the decades and that all that I have done is nothing compared to the legacy of a bunch of folks honored at the museum. 

Don't get me wrong-I'm not asking for n award-I don't have any illusion about being in any MTB hall of fame-I never belonged there and I know that. But I think that my first mountain bike does belong in the museum as it is one of the very first from Santa Cruz and represents the start of the second wave of MTB design- the period when cross country racing was really getting going and bikes had to steer and be light and lively and not just a copy of a late '40's Schwinn. Call me crazy but Salsa , Bontrager , Hoover and myself were building MTB's that were in our opinion much better suited to the singletrack of our forests than anything coming out of Marin.....just sayin'. Maybe our bikes would be shit on MT. Tam.....didn't matter-we were not riding there. 

So....I guess my bike will not be in the museum. Am I writing way too much about this ? Yes....after the exchange at the Marin bike history tent I left the Sea Otter in a pretty bad mood-I had forgotten all of the great meetings I had with old friends and had also stopped being happy about how lucky I was to be in such a great community of people who dedicate their lives to bikes and making people happy with them. I own this weakness and inability not to take offense when I seemingly get dismissed by someone of elevated fame status in the bike world. This is me keeping me down - not able to see things for what they really are. None of this matters and it should not matter to me. What does matter is that I'm doing my job to the best of my ability and that the people who keep me working are happy with what I do. There's no museum for that and there can't be- the display is the world at large. The exhibit is a road, a path, a velodrome.....anywhere the wheels touch the ground. That's the big display where all the hand built bikes reside- and it isn't static-it is in constant motion- as it should be. The bikes keep rolling.......and so should we all. 

In closing I really need to urge all to check out the museum-there truly are some great things there and really great stories. The young folks that are helping keep the place alive are motivated and very positive. Without the public's interest something like this collection will wind up going away -it's a slice of bicycle history crowded into a small building that is like no other. Am I bummed not to have my first bike there ? Sure, but it's just one bike out of so many that shaped the sport as it is today. You never know.....I might even go up there to check it out- but not if the trip gets in the way of a good bike ride........

 

One minute you're here- the next minute you're gone..

It's late and I can't stay up all night and write so I'll keep this pretty short. What you see in the photo is a nicely organized set of frame building bits that no doubt were assembled and maintained to be at the ready for a journeyman frame builder. There are lots of pieces that come in handy - not hoarder  quantities but a fairly good supply. The builder who owned this stock was certain that he would be using these bits and was careful to keep sufficient numbers of each part. What he didn't have was sufficient years to use them- this builder died from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident a few months ago. I have written about him- his name is Ed Litton. 

So now I am the caretaker of these bits from Ed and other departed builders who were people I knew and admired. Most of these guys died at the age I am currently or thereabouts. I am nearing my 70th so my decades ahead might be few if any. I have had to sort through the shops of several builders in just the last few years. This makes me keenly aware of my own mortality and also a bit worried about the mess I will leave behind when I go. Will there be someone to sort through all the stuff I leave behind - find places and people who will make use of all the bits- bits that I will not live to use up ? Am I one of the last of my generation who actually gives a crap about this stuff and has the knowhow to make use of it ? These are questions that I can't answer, just as I have no answer for people who ask me how soon I am going to quit or 'retire' .........I once told the departed Bruce Gordon when he asked me what my retirement plan was.I said the following: " Bruce, it's the same as yours- "Found dead in shop" - but he was found dead in his house as he did actually find a way to retire. 

So- tune in next week, next month or next year- I hope to still be here, and maybe if I can empty out these drawers of bits and finish some of the projects left behind..... before all of my unfinished projects are left behind. I'm sure there will be a hell of a garage sale.
 

Promise kept

Not sure when I got the idea but I know it must have been a few years ago. This looks like a really clean Masi frame , doesn't it ? Or- maybe a refinished frame ....either way it doesn't have a suspicious look , at least to me. You might wonder why I am putting a frame that someone else built on my blog. Truth is, this is a frame that I built in December of last year. 

The idea I had that I told a few people about was that I wanted to build a fake Masi. I told Bruce Gordon and got a chuckle out of him.....no mean feat. Bruce did see the humor in many things but he also had a lot of sadness from depression- my fake Masi idea was something I knew he would get a laugh out of and maybe it would brighten his day. I also told Ed Litton about the fake Masi project as I was looking for a few old frame building parts to really make the frame and fork as authentic looking as possible. Ed gave me some good leads as to where I might find what I was looking for. 

Unfortunately, both Ed and Bruce died - now my Fake Masi joke is mainly for me but I'm glad that I spent the time to build the frame and fork and to do the best job that I could with what I had and with what time I was able to devote. Really, I had told too many people that I was going to do it so there was no backing out- not only was I committed , I was duty bound to create a really decent fake. In effect, I had made a promise and I wanted to keep that promise. Sure, there's plenty of people who I had told about this project who are still alive but I wanted to keep the promise I made to Bruce and Ed.....not that they really would care- I no longer have any way of knowing that. To me it just felt really important to keep a promise to two people who happen to not be alive any more. Maybe that's my way of making it seem like they are still around, as if we still have a dialog and can still share this joke that I built a fake Masi that likely will be entered in some concours or classic bike show..........what if it wins a ribbon ? What if scores of collectors are carefully looking it over and arguing about what year it was constructed ? What if there's nobody left to be entertained by the irony.......to get the joke. Doesn't matter- I did it anyway-for Bruce, for Ed, for Seth, For Michael, for Roland and all my departed friends who I am sure would laugh if they could. 

 

You can't plan for death- the de-construction of Ed Litton cycles

One day you are working in your shop. You go for a bike ride with your friend and just riding along you have a horrible accident. You are rushed to a hospital where you are given emergency surgery. Then you are transferred to another hospital for further treatment. Then you die.......that is pretty much how it was told to me about the last week of Ed Litton's life.This was a very humble man who had tremendous skills as a bicycle frame builder. Ed did the kind of work that most builders would not take on- restorations and repairs. I no longer do that kind of work except for one week out of the year and it is only on bikes that are part of my own collection.

What you see in the photo above are some of the many frames in Ed's shop that now must find a new home. Ed's work in this shop is over , probably long before he was ready for it to be over. Now , customers who had work in process will just pick up their frames in whatever state they are in and hope to find another Ed Litton- which there isn't. Ed offered the full service- brazing, blasting, painting and assembly-he did it all in this small space. I, and some other folks that either knew or worked with Ed or were his customers came to the shop to buy whatever they can to help Ed's widow and children .

This is the pile that I took away-lots of tubes , some braze on bits, one frame and fork and some bike parts- none of it I needed but I'm next in line. You see, Ed was next in line when Roland Della Santa died. Ed was next in line when Peter Johnson died. Ed was next in line when Bruce Gordon died. Ed did not get the entire contents of the aforementioned departed builders but he did have a quantity of stuff from each of these other builder's shops. I thought that Ed would be next in line for my stuff ....did not work out that way and its me who is next in line for the materials that did not get used , the collection of stuff that comes with decades of being in the craft and the things that come our way because we can't say no to free or cool shit. 

Ed's Mill, one of two that he used will now be sold. Everything in the shop has to go-there's no apprentice or heir to take over the business-it would not exist without Ed-same story for just about every one man shop everywhere. When the old guy dies, it dies too. 

Here's a box of stamped stainless steel lugs. I get the feeling Ed did not like these but for some reason he could not just scrap them-I think I would feel the same....

Cameron Falconer was charged with organizing the same of all things in Ed's shop and having learned the trade while working for Ed he was obviously the most qualified. To do this kind of final liquidation of the shop where you learned what you do for a living you really need to care about the shop, it's history and it's creative force-along with all the contents.
 

Here's a Schwinn Paramount tandem that has probably been hanging up for decades. 

here's the filing cabinet with Ed's collection of restoration decals that he will never apply -I wonder who will wind up with these and what they will do with what they find in all these drawers. Nearly all the contents of the shop were things that Ed had touched, fixed or painted or was about to fix or paint. There were still two fames in his paint booth in process. He left quite a mess when he left this earth , but then he was not planning to leave as soon and as suddenly as he did- it is like many things .......it just happened. When I hear people say "Things happen for a reason " it makes me angry. The only things that happen for a reason are reasons- people try to pin a meaning to a tragic event as if the outcome has some sort of positive aspect. I call complete and total bullshit on that whole notion- Ed's dying was sad, awful and truly unfortunate- there really isn't more to say about it.