The Pull: Mike Desalvo of Desalvo Custom Cycles

My guest this week is frame builder Mike Desalvo of Desalvo Custom Cycles. Desalvo is part of what I refer to as the second generation of American builders, those craftsmen who got their start as builders in the 1990s. Many of these builders learned their craft in part or in whole from the builders who were working in the 1970s and ‘80s. Desalvo stepped into that tradition of builders teaching builders by becoming a frame building instructor for United Bicycle Institute. With more than 25 years’ experience as a builder, Desalvo is clear not only on his process, but on what he does best and that clarity comes through in our interview. And as a craftsman, he knows his stuff; he is a three-time winner of the Best TIG-welded frame at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show.