The Race Across America bicycle for Pete Pensyres.
For the 1986 RAAM, I built Pete Penseyres 3 bicycles. The first was a lugged steel rig to be sure of the fit and handling. Pictured here is one of the 2 bonded 7075 aluminum and carbon bikes.This was new tech back then. Downtube shifters were still the norm and therefore shifter bosses were needed. I made this sleeve to be epoxied onto the downtube. It has a cut-out of a map of the US. I left a line which was the race route.the bottom bracket is 7075 aluminum, with internal sockets to which the kevlar/carbon tubes were glued. the seat lug and headtube were made in a similar fashion. after tig-welding thes lugs, they were heat treated to T-6 and age hardened.Obviously, this bicycle was branded Raleigh because that was the corporate sponsor for Pete. Full Campy Record. He later added his own version of the now-ubiquitous TT bars.one of these days i'll get a better copy of this poster and plug it in here. He crossed the US in 8 1/2 days.Pete was nice enough to send me this note after he won.....
this time-trial bicycle was built for Greg LeMond. it's 7075 aluminum from Easton. the tubes are bonded to custom welded 7075 lugs. the fork-crown was a sand casting.this is the head-tube on a steel TT frame.i've always been a fan of this type of seat-stay attachment. Classic. it's light if done without the use of solid end caps. You can tell if it's a solid end-cap or if it's a "spoon" end by looking at the vent hole. if the vent hole is below the 'spoon' it's most likely a solid cap. the droputs are another detail that most decent framebuilders will put extra effort into. Accurate slotting of the stays and good, clean, full brazing is the key to getting them sculpted well.
A couple of bikes built for the the corporate sponsored LeMond
This bicycle was built for Michael Earliwine and the "RackPackFoundation". It will be used in local races and rides to help gain awareness for their website and foundation.front view. On this bicycle, the gear cables run inside the downtube. I like to cross them in a manner that allows the front derailler cable to enter the downtube on the right side; rear cable enters on the left. this routing prevents the cable housing from hitting the head tube. clean.The seat-tube panel has graphics which appear on the foundation website. I especially like the butterfly with the 'ribbon' as the body.nice detail of the headlugs.carbon rear stays with aluminum droputs.the carbon seatstays are wishbone style.
built for the Rack Pack Foundation.  Carbon and steel.
This is a replica of a Mario Confente bicycle. In 1976 i went to the International Bicycle Show in New York City and met Mario. It was there that i realized that building bike frames was what i wanted to do. Mr Confente tragically died at an early age, but his bicycles are highly sought after. I acquired a set of original Confente decals, which are a varnish application and incredibly difficult to handle---especially considering they are 35 years old. i also was fortunate enough to acquire a set of lugs from Mr. Confente's shop---the seat lug and BB shell have original Mario-cut spade cutouts. I matched them on the headlugs, which are also original from his shop. The top-tube cable guides also from the same shop.Of course the BB shell is engraved with the term "replica" because although the frame components are out of Mario's shop, the actual building of the frame was done by an admirer. I truly hope Mr. Confente is not insulted by my build.the seatlug, as mentioned, is handcut by Mario Confente.Mario Confente added many details on his frames that really set them apart form other builders of the time. The slotted dropouts are one such detail. He also drilled holes in the shifter bosses and had an unique vent hole in the seat tube. I recreated all of these details on this frame.drilling the 'lightening holes' in the shifter bosses.Mario Confente wouldn't simply drill a single vent hole---he drilled 4 in a pattern. Replicating a bicycle like one of his demands precision or it would not be much of a replica.
A Mario Confente replica....for sure he was an inspiration to me.