The Pull

On this week’s show, my guest is framebuilder Brad Bingham. He’s been called the finest TIG-welder in the world. Bingham rose to international prominence as a result of his work as a welder for Kent Eriksen Cycles. He has won the best welding award at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show for each of the […]

Phil Cavell wants to help you. He’s spent an entire career as a bike fitter, philosopher, researcher, teacher, racer, writer and connector of specialists across the cycling spectrum. His first book, The Mid-Life Cyclist, examined the current generation of middle-aged cyclists, literally the first generation to attempt to be good at bikes well past its […]

Allen Lim has spent his career guiding athletes to their best possible performance. From the UC Davis Cycling Team to grand tour riders, Lim’s career as an exercise physiologist was focused on helping solve problems athletes had. Nearly accidentally, Lim began making his own drink mix to help athletes, and out of that effort Skratch […]

This week I interview 2018 NAHBS Best in Show winner Gabriel Lang of Altruiste Bikes from New Brunswick, Canada. Lang won with a long-travel 29er that was truly unique among the bikes shown at the show. In this, our second episode, we talk to him about his background as a builder, how he got his […]

I’ve been interviewing framebuilders since 1992, the first time I called Richard Sachs up on the phone for a piece for Richard Fries’s wonderful regional rag, The Ride. My many interviews with framebuilders over the years have all lost something in translation from the conversation to the printed page (or pixels). I spent years dissatisfied […]

You don’t know Julian Wall. You’ve never heard of him. But if you’ve watched pro racing over the last decade plus, then you’ve seen his work. Not only is he co-director of London’s Cyclefit, one of the premier fit studios in Europe, but he also fits pro cyclists across the spectrum, including the EF/Easy Post […]

Of the many builders I’ve met over the years, I don’t think I’ve met any with a more unusual background. Bryan Hollingsworth is a New Englander who cut his teeth working for Seven Cycles. He may be the only builder I’ve ever met who has fabricated frames from carbon fiber, titanium and steel. I’m reasonably […]

Of the many frame builder who can capably be called masters of the craft, it is distinctly possible that no one has been at the bench longer than Mark Nobilette. His credentials are impeccable. He was trained by Albert Eisentraut in the first frame building class that Eisentraut taught, which was held in Chicago, before […]

In this second part of my interview with Toby Stanton, we discuss his team of juniors and what the ingredients are that has made the team so incredibly and consistently successful. Hot Tubes riders and stars and stripes jerseys are kinda like peanut butter and jelly. There are other things you can do with peanut […]

I first met Toby Stanton at a mountain bike race in 1991. He was coaching a team that included future cyclocross supahstah (this was in Massachusetts, mind you) Jonathan Page and their kits were white with red, yellow and blue dots, signifying their sponsorship by Wonder Bread. A year or two later I sent him my Canadian-built Miele frame to be repainted and to have a second set of bottle bosses added. I would go on to ride in his VW Vanagon helping him provide neutral support at some races in New England, gradually getting to know the intense builder, painter and coach. For as long as I've known him his life has revolved around cycling: building frames, painting them and shaping some of the finest young riders the U.S. has produced.For anyone who has done serious time in national-caliber juniors racing, the Hot Tubes name is as respected as it is feared. With 115 national championships to the team's credit, Toby Stanton is the most successful coach in U.S. history. It's a distinction of such superlative achievement, I can't find another coach who has even five years of coaching juniors; Stanton has been doing it for 29 years and he's been operating Hot Tubes for just as long. Because our conversation went on for two hours, I've split the interview in two halves, one that deals with his business and one that deals with his team. The start is a little unconventional because when he picked up the phone we were immediately into old friend catchup mode and I never really had a chance to do the traditional intro before we were off and talking about his business. Oh, and be forewarned, there is plenty of salty language in this interview.