A sneak peek of the custom frame designed for Cyclocross Magazine’s custom series. © Cyclocross Magazine
With the 2013 North American Handmade Bike Show (NAHBS) starting tomorrow in Boulder, Colorado (stay tuned as we bring you all the great cyclocross bikes from the show), we figure it’s a good time to talk custom, hand-built cyclocross bikes. [Update: Mosaic Cycles wins Best Cyclocross bike at NAHBS 2013]
In that spirit, with round 1 of our “Considering Custom” series in our print magazine finally coming to its conclusion in Issue 20 of Cyclocross Magazine, we wanted to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the stunning final bike from our custom experience with Mosaic Cycles. Since Issue 17, Clifford Lee and Andrew Yee have had the tough job of taking readers through the experience of getting a custom bike created, and how the final products measured up to the many cyclocross bikes that they’ve had the chance to review in the past. In the series, we covered Mosaic Cycles, Alchemy Bicycle Company, Protek Bicycles, Calfee Design and Zancanato Custom Cycles.
Mosaic builds its frames in Boulder, Colorado, in titanium or steel. Barcheck’s personal cyclocross bike at NAHBS 2012. © Cyclocross Magazine
After Issue 18, which featured custom bicycles from Protek, Calfee, and Alchemy, the Mosaic and Zancanato frames arrived and we have reports on all five in our continuing multi-part series called “Considering Custom.” We’ve been hard-pressed to get our publisher, Yee, to ride anything else since getting his hands on the Mosaic, and in Issue 20, he’ll be detailing his full experiences with the rig. But before that hits the shelves, in the spirit of NAHBS, we wanted to bring you a sneak peek at the bike. We profiled the Mosaic offerings at the show last year, and that was the impetus for including them in our Custom series.
An integrated seat mast on the custom Mosaic Cycles titanium cyclocross frame. © Cyclocross Magazine
And don’t forget, NAHBS 2013 is just around the corner and we’ll have some reporters on the ground scouring the booths for the latest and greatest in handmade cyclocross goodies. And if you’re in town for the show, make sure to stop by the Mosaic booth and check out the steel and titanium offerings they’ve been cooking up.
Some stats on our custom Mosaic build:
- The material: Brushed titanium frame with a built-in seat mast, PF30 bottom bracket shell, IS mount disc brake tabs
- The weight: 3.44lbs or 1561g, including Chris King 44mm Inset headset cups and the integrated seat mast (accounting for the cups and a standard seatpost, that’s the equivalent of 1250g frame)
- A few geometry highlights: Short 42.0cm chainstays, low 7cm bottom bracket drop, generously oversized, 44mm head tube, 56cm top tube, 73 degree seat angle, 71.5 degree head angle, and oversized PF30 bottom bracket shell
For full specs and our ride impressions on the Mosaic Cycles custom titanium cyclocross frame and the other custom builds, be sure to check out Issue 20, coming out soon!
