Amy’s FRC travel bike
I built a packable tandem for Ryan and Amy a while back – since they already had the travel cases they decided to have a pair of single bikes built too. Both bikes share a similar spec and design concept, with differences in fit, geometry and tubing selection to suit each rider.
Amy’s bike is built to allow two wheel sizes – 700×30 (or bigger), with long reach brake calipers. Or 650Bx42 with disc brakes. If she decides to switch to 650B at some point then the fork will need swapping out to one with a disc mount, but the frame has one incorporated already. The rear triangle has the Folding Road Concept system which allows for the frame to fold up into one piece that will comfortably fit into the checkable travel case. The goal was to have a bike that could be raced, but also be suitable for gravel riding. So the geometry is a little off a pure race bike – longer chainstays, wheelbase and slightly more trail. The 30mm tires are complimented by the Ergon passive suspension seatpost, for comfort on rough surfaces. The geometry required some additional attention as Amy has never had a road bike before that either fit her well or didn’t have toe overlap. So we used her fit information from the back of the tandem, and with careful adjustment of stem length, headtube angle and fork offset were able to achieve the requirements for reach, handling and toe clearance.
The powder coat finish, with the decals painted under the clear coat, is by Custom Powderworks, and thanks for the photos goes to Tina Buescher.