Every Steelman frame is constructed in my Redwood City shop to what many would consider excessive quality standards. Over the years, I have developed procedures, tooling, and techniques that emphasize precision, efficiency, and finished product integrity and performance. I build each frame myself, without the aid of helpers.

I build frames in steel, carbon fiber, and combinations of the two.

Steelman carbon fiber frames are built using carbon tubing and carbon lugs. The tubes are carefully bonded to the lugs using a special high strength flexible epoxy. I hand shape all the lugs to suit the design of the frame as each is unique and custom. Great care is taken to properly miter and fit tubes to lugs. This step is crucial to the longevity and superior performance of the frame. After the bonding process is complete, I hand sand the entire frame to a smooth finish. In all, construction of my carbon frames is laborious and requires additional work over a steel frame.

Steelman steel frames are most often assembled using TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding. TIG welding is desirable for its high strength and light weight, but not all TIG welds are created equally. I start by thoroughly cleaning all the tubes and fittings. Frame tubes are inspected for irregularities in straightness, wall thickness, butting, and surface imperfections. After cutting and machining, just prior to welding, the tubes are thoroughly cleaned again. The tubes are positioned precisely, and TIG tacked, without stress, in my custom engineered fixtures. Before welding, frames are checked for alignment, and adjusted if necessary. Welding is performed to exacting standards using a sequential process that I developed to maintain frame alignment after welding. To ensure weld integrity every frame is internally purged with argon gas during the welding process. This eliminates the possibility of atmospheric contamination of the weld which can lead to premature failure. The care and time I invest in the welding procedure results in precise fatigue resistant frames that are flawless in appearance.

I am also happy to build lugged steel frames if you desire a more traditional look. It was some time ago, but my first 1000+ frames were lugged steel!

Steelman frames are exquisitely finished to order with super durable powder coating. Powder coating is a special process in which a polyester resin is electrostatically applied as a powder to the prepared frame, then baked at about 400°. As the powder melts it forms a strong bond to the metal substrate making it nearly impossible to chip. Powder coating is also environmentally friendly and non-toxic to apply.

Our powder coating vendor, Maas Brothers Tech Coat, has perfected a two stage application process, using both color and clear coats, that rivals the luster and gloss of wet paint.

After powder coating, every frame is treated internally to prevent corrosion with an industrial strength rust inhibitor spray. This treatment can dramatically extend the life of your frame. We recommend retreating the inside of your frame every couple of years.

Thank you for considering my frames and forks. I take great pride in my work and offer unsurpassed craftsmanship and attention to detail.