[IOLO]

hello all....
as some of you know i needed a big fun very random trip ....
so in mid april i flew to vancouver, was homeless ... bought a crappy old dodge van and lived in it for the summer...
i rode trials alot, and downhill at whistler, and skateparks.dirtjumps etc too...
i also drove south along the coast to near LA, then came back inland with some friends over a month...
i then traveled round Vancouver island and the sunshine coast too...surfing and riding lots
then i made my last trials video...(iolo in canada)
then i moved into a small lorry (climbing the property ladder )
then went on another amazing trip south and east to Wyoming and then north through the rockies and back to vancouver..
a huge amount has happened in all that.. without sounding stupid, it really has been the trip of a lifetime, and im still on it !!!


then i was well and truly skint !!!!!!!! well below skint i suppose...
so had to find work for the winter..
im now living in my lorry on a small island called 'quadra' off the coast of Vancouver island.it feels quite remote. (yes its so f**kin cold i had to build and install a wood stove into my van.)

and im working for a custom bike building company called 'naked bicycles'
im sure those who know me will realise this is basically my dream job.... after running iolobikes.com its been really nice to learn alot and refine skills too.
naked bikes has alot to its name ! considered one of the best bike builders in the whole of north america. also won alot of awards for show bikes..
sold bikes to quite a few famous people (including Lance Armstrong ! yes !!) and produced bike for shimano to display new stuff on at shows..

two main big projects for me lately have been designing and building a road frame myself for a friend in my spare time.
and at work we have been putting in effort to get a full bike worth over 1200 can dollers finished, its basicalyy the most bling custom bike in the world. haha

so heres some pictures of the frame iv just made,,
i cut holes in the front to make it less boring than a usual road/touring frame
and made my own lug for the front end.
also polished the hell out of the stainless dropouts so they look chromed. (just wanted to see if it could be done)
and after 11 and a half hours of polishing, yes the dropouts were done. hahaha (holy crap !!)
i also put an internal cable guide in the top tube for the rear brake. this goes in on the second big hole though the tube, then out in the usual way.
im really proud of it ! for my first frame build in a few years . throwing some Pearly dust into the first two layers of clear coat paint made the whole thing look way better too.
so heres some pics....

 dropouts.JPG (244.84K)
Number of downloads: 66
 headtube.JPG (162.17K)
Number of downloads: 50
 sparks.JPG (177.14K)
Number of downloads: 28
 tig.JPG (158.7K)
Number of downloads: 39
 miter.JPG (131.93K)
Number of downloads: 46
 holes_chopped.JPG (149.18K)
Number of downloads: 62

more to come 1 sec...

forgot to mention the frame is nearly all TIG welded with a bit of brazing, but TIG is way nicer !!! haha

 slot_cut.JPG (141.82K)
Number of downloads: 45
 jig.JPG (209.97K)
Number of downloads: 65
 brass.JPG (132.21K)
Number of downloads: 34
 alighnment.JPG (130.68K)
Number of downloads: 34
 sand_blasting.JPG (77.12K)
Number of downloads: 27
 painting.JPG (131.48K)
Number of downloads: 66
 after_paint.JPG (132.43K)
Number of downloads: 187

and a couple more....

[mr kenny]

Hey man,

Ali was telling me about the job when i was over at work the other week, glad to see you are enjoying yourself!


they look good!

Kenny

[IOLO]

 pearl_clear_coat.JPG (132.8K)
Number of downloads: 43
 frame1.JPG (335.74K)
Number of downloads: 45
 frame2.JPG (175.05K)
Number of downloads: 78
 frame3.JPG (85.15K)
Number of downloads: 37
 frame4.JPG (205.1K)
Number of downloads: 67

to see pictures of the super bling expensive bike go to ......... http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakedbikes

this bike features an upside down headset , so the fork crown clamps like the stem would.
so... we could put a headlight inside the stem. (one piece bar and stem)
also features super bling wooden mahogany grips and pedals ( with mother of pearl inlay)
and a rear mud gaurd made of stainless and stretched rubber (with rear light )
has wooden rims built onto chris king hubs etc...
ohh and alot of chrome and polishing here. and a good few layers of clear paint.. and some more polishing.

and our website is . . . . . . . www.timetogetnaked.com

all comments welcome.. and sorry its not trials...
though we do build trials frames.. as well as bmx, dj,freeride, dh, road, timetrial, touring, etc etc... everything !!
im sure im be building a trials frame int he future when i have funds..

miss you all in the uk.
iolo.

[craigjames]

Looks absolutely amazing, time and detail thats gone into that

Sounds like you've had an awesome time too, i know what you mean by remote too, i stayed on Quadra fora a few days the first time i went to British Columbia, not a lot going on but i guess thats part of the appeal..

[LordMersey]

That looks amazing!!!! Would the trials bike have wooden rims?

[LukasMcNeal]

Wow! Good effort with those drop outs they look amazing!

[Phatmike]

Stunning, Aran.

The light-stem looks absolutely excuisite! Top effort, man.

[Will Arnold]

really good stuff aran! didn't have a clue thats what you are up to. really jealous truth be told!

[T.McMillan]

amazing stuff there, i love the built in stem and light, that is like my ultimate riding to work bike, looks so cool, and love the work that you have done on your frame too.

[Ullapool Trials Rider]

Got some good stuff there. It takes a huge amount of skill to build frames. By the looks of those photos, your doing a good job.

[Bionic Balls]

Awesome story and top job on the frame

You really look like a lorry driver with that shirt on by the way..

[Rush]

That looks seriously awesome. Very nice job.

[psycholist]

That fantastic work - It's inspiring to see some proper artisan bike building and this is a cut above anything I've seen recently . Couldn't justify the cost of anything other than the stuff the far east churns out the way I treat bikes though - time spent polishing is time that could better be spent riding ...

If there's anything in a long travel XC hardtail with a nitrided finish I'd consider it though ...

This post has been edited by psycholist: 20 December 2009 - 01:44 AM

[terratology]

Woooaaa dude! Like your skills and the workshop you get to work in, i'm well envious as the most i can do is weld extra gussets on frames to make them stronger. Looks like you've landed lucky on the job front.....good luck!

[walker]

Now that is something special Iolo!! Truely unique, Top craftmanship.

Sounds like your having a blast of a time over there, fair play for sticking the winter out.

The UK is missing you man! Peace

[CoppellStereo]

wow, thats awesome!

[tomturd]

Very nice, good to see you're getting back into it

Did you start the courier service? Or was that someone else..

[IOLO]

yea tom , i did start the freight bike courier service in manchester
did it for a year or so.
was hard going,,, but a really good experience .

massive thanks for comments !!!


i just need to save up lots and then hopefully at some point i can order a titanium tubeset for a trials frame.

miss riding with everyone in the uk... see you soon,, well sometime,, erm at some point.

iolo.

[eskimo]

Beyond belief. Speaks for itself really.

[totaltrials]

That is one absolutely goegeous bike.

The original Pace RC100 had the upside down headset clamping, far ahead of it's time, gives the stem such a clean look.