As kids, we all encountered a Fauxnago or two in the neighbourhood, but this is the real deal. Sergio Fauxnago was employed at the Colnago factory during the late 70s, before he was frog-marched off the premises by Ernesto himself, over an artistic disagreement.

Sergio wreaked havoc on the Italian racing scene by plastering his own decals over random frames in an effort to undermine Ernesto’s credibility, but he also produced a few frames of his own—from Columbus ‘Tubo Idraulico Speciale’.

Jokes aside, this is the epitome of the improvement that can be made to a cheap frame—if you already own a small amount of technical skill and can match your bar tape and cable housing to your decals. Andy ‘FYXO’ White took a standard Charge Plug and a budget of $900 to apply his own style.

For a full feature on his well-read FYXO website, Andy outlined the steps and components required to turn a generally mediocre bike into a ‘Super Commuter’. After scoring the ubiquitous Plug on eBay for $599, Andy stripped the frame and sent it off for powder coating.

Cyclomondo supplied the decals, designed with a satirical touch. A ‘Regalesque’ saddle was sourced via eBay and tires, bars, levers and tape were also found online, including the H Plus Son TB14 wheels. The original stem, headset, bottom bracket, Sugino crankset and brake calipers stayed.

The cake’s icing was the indomitable Cycle Underground chain ring. Andy has been selling the BREV. FYXOMATOSIS edition for years and they’ve been extensively field-proven. Here’s an exclusive offer: enter ‘cycleexif’ on checkout for free postage WORLDWIDE including Saudi Arabia.

All orders include free FYXO sticker packs. Overall, the Fauxnago is an impressive machine. After selling back the bars, levers, post, saddle, wheels, freewheel at the Bicycle Swap Meet, the entire cost came in at $935. Quite inspirational, for a fun, rock solid and weather-proof bike.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

There was a time, not so recently, when the only bicycle to be seen dead with was a Japanese Keirin frame built up only with NJS-approved components—that is, the manufacturers of the wheels, seat post and saddle, drive train and cockpit had been ordained by the Nihon Jitensha Shinkōka, the governing body of the sport.

That may no longer be the case, but at least there’s more people riding bicycles as a result, seeking out bikes more suited to everyday needs. In some cases, those magnificent racing machines have been re-configured in a more practical, albeit oddball, format. The purists are still out there, so it will be interesting to observe the reaction to Pratama Radityo’s 3Rensho frame.

If you’re not attending regular racing events at your local velodrome, it only makes sense to stick a rack on the front to assist grocery-getting or a pub run, and Jakarta’s Pancalen Cycles, a husband-and-wife operated bicycle shop, took care of the installation. Luckily, Pancalen Cycles specialize in high-end rebuilds and anomalous requests.

The new format started with a fork by Wound Up Composites that supports a Gamoh rack. There’s still a few NJS stamps here and there, appearing on the Superbe cranks, Sugino Aero Mighty chain ring and Nitto seatpost. 3Rensho roughly translates as ’3 Victories’, referring to the rare occurrence in when a racer would place first on 3 consecutive days of racing: qualifiers, semi-finals and finals.

Find out more on the Pancalen Cycles website. Special thanks to Rangga Panji for the photos.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

It’s encouraging to witness the growing interest in the handmade bicycle. Especially when you come across a first-time builder, someone like you or me, picking up a torch and creating a perfectly functioning bike. Tom Arbisi is a Californian industrial designer who, although he has access to a well-equipped machine shop, possesses a great deal of the most essential ingredient: passion.

Technical knowledge is important too, but with forums like Velocipede Salon, that’s always accessible. Tom assembled his porteur frame from True Temper tubes, joined with cast Henry James lugs. Utilizing his experience, Tom designed his own dropouts and bridges and manufactured them himself. Transmission is via an Alfine 11-speed rear hub, turned by Sugino cranks.

“Using cues from classic road bikes for the frame geometry,” Tom tells us, “I built the bike as a speedy round-towner, for picking-up groceries, commuting, and just zipping around for the sheer pleasure of it.” The frame and forks are finished with gun bluing, allowing Tom’s craftsmanship to show through. I’ll wager there’s few pleasures greater than zipping around on a bike you’ve built yourself.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

Some of the most beautiful bikes seen on Cycle EXIF were photographed by Will Goodan. Originally from Los Angeles, Will has been based in Tokyo for the past few years, heads a multi-faceted design boutique and has developed a deep appreciation for Keirin frames. After riding brakeless track bikes around the city, Will built himself a capable commuter in the same vein.

Will fills us in: “I’ve been riding brakeless fixed gear for 6 years now and decided it was time to get a bike I can get around Tokyo with to pick up groceries etc but with a bit of flare, not just some cheap beater bike I don’t feel good about riding. As well as something I could wear any sort of clothing with, including any sort of shoe, as toe clips made it difficult.

“The main objective was to get a rack that would match a hand-polished and classy vintage look. Pass and Stow in SF helped me out and I had one made to fit with track dropouts on the fork. In Japan the classic commuter bikes are called mamacharis and I wanted to take this concept but make the Cadillac of mamacharis.

“Flashy and everything hand-polished. The dense rainbow flake under the candy metallic paint helped boost that concept. I also had never ridden vintage Campagnolo components and it fit with the whole visual. You really have to see the paint in the sun, it’s wild. The omamori on the seat stands for ‘traffic safety’ since its my daily commuter.”

Massive thanks to Will for the photos and story. Check out his photography portfolio and Kanzen Lazer for more of his work.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

They may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s nothing like a wooden bike to pique the interest of any onlooker. Most ‘serious cyclists’ are dubious until they discover the advantages of a wooden frame and how it’s made. By then, most ‘serious cyclists’ are nothing short of impressed. At the recent Sydney Classic Bicycle Show, I had the pleasure of meeting Nic Roberts, who built this wooden bike for his final year high school project.

Nic is 18 years old and for his Industrial Technology major, designed, constructed and documented a frame made from Tasmanian Oak, Jarrah and Rock Maple. Built from a series of processes including laminating, weight pressing and vacuum forming, Nic had the frame completed well inside the designated time frame. Dependable components were selected but aesthetic upgrades include wooden rims and handlebars by Italy’s Cherchio Ghisallo.

While there isn’t any plans to go into production, Nic’s wooden bike is a testament to his skill and dedication. I trust he got top marks. Massive thanks to Nic and his dad for the photos and story.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

As you’d expect, he who designed a bike as special as the Bridgestone X0-1 should have fairly relevant things to say about cycling. Grant Petersen is that man; former manager of Bridgestone Cycles USA, now head honcho at Rivendell Bicycle Works, “purveyor of lugged steel bicycle frames, smart parts and accessories, wool clothing, leather saddles & good advice ever since 1994.” This is the All-Rounder, an early Rivendell, built by one of the company’s previous builders, Curt Goodrich.

The US frame building family tree is an old, complex plant and Curt is a prominent branch. He started his apprenticeship under Seattle’s Dan Wynn in 1995, moved to R&E Cycles where he learned TIG welding and then on to the Match Bicycle Company. There, he met Grant Petersen and built Rivendell frames while Martin Tweedy built forks. The All-Rounder frame was just that, perfectly at home around town as off-road. It was also a prototype, of sorts, for the Rivendell Saluki.

As mentioned, Grant knows what he’s talking about when it comes to riding bikes. Last year, he released Just Ride, a collection of micro-essays on riding less competitively without feeling less of a cyclist. If you like the look of a Rivendell, or even if you just like riding a bicycle, it’s definitely worth a read. This All-Rounder found its way into the hands of a highly talented photographer by the name of Sasha Eysymontt, who took these photos—you can see more on his flickr stream.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

One of the biggest stories to emerge from the 2013 North American Handmade Bicycle Show was the new collaboration between two of Portland’s most renowned custom builders, Ira Ryan and Tony Pereira. Ira and Tony have joined together to form Breadwinner Cycles: six models of the most essential and beautiful bicycles you’ll ever want or need.

There were six bikes presented at the NAHBS: the JB Racer (a 29er inspired by Tony’s great mountain biking friend, Jeff Bates, who was, sadly, taken by cancer), the Hole Shot (a champion cyclocrosser), the Continental (based on Ira and Tony’s experience with building frames for Rapha), Aufderheide (the ultimate tourer), Arbor Lodge (the perfect Portlander) and the Lolo (the modern club racer).

Tony and Ira share 15 years of frame building experience between them, producing elegant, sturdy and award-winning frames. They’re both hard cyclists, having covered thousands of miles on—and off—road. Each of the bikes by Breadwinner Cycles represent a genre in which they both have extensive experience riding and building frames for.

Lolo

Arbor Lodge

Aufderheide

Continental

Hole Shot

JB Racer

All of the bikes are showcased on the slick and functional Breadwinner Cycles website, but their true background is that each are built by two of Portland’s most dedicated builders. Whatever the path you choose to ride, there’s a Breadwinner built for you. Frames start at $1,795 and ship in eight weeks or less. You can also follow along on the Breadwinner tumblr, Facebook page, twitter and Instagram.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

Lamborghini fans will recognize the dark metallic gray of this commuter Tom Donhou built for Luke, it’s called Grigio Telesto — a standard paint option and a refreshing change to the Gulf Oil scheme we see so much of. Around London’s streets, however, Luke’s Commuter is a much more effective mode of transport than any four-wheeled throaty gargler from the Italian marque.

Luke was inspired by Tom’s two-speed belt-drive commuter that won the the Reynolds ‘Best of Show’ award at Bespoked Bristol 2011, and Tom obliged, albeit with a few variations. This version is a single speed, tensioned by an eccentric bottom bracket. The Bespoked Bristol show winner ran a Gates Carbon Drive Sytem, which was also brought into service for Luke’s Commuter.

The spec list is solid and reliable: Tom engineered post mounts to carry the SRAM Elixir hydro discs with internally routed hoses, there’s a splash of Thomson, H Plus Son rims and a Hope headset. The pierced-style fillet brazed bar/stem combo appears on every townie Tom has built — an embellishment that ensures every ride is a stylish one.

Special thanks to Tristan Conor Holden for the photography.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

Broadly speaking, bicycle and furniture design aren’t too distantly related, as both rely on successful ergonomics. But while the Dutch were very accomplished in the design of both, their bicycle design stopped evolving at the Omafiets while they continue to make very beautiful furniture. Dick Zonderman is an expert in both fields and his quirky roadster looks perfectly at home against the backdrop of vintage Dutch armchairs and sideboards.

Dick named his creation Kopfjager (German for ‘headhunter’) — built using a handmade Koga Miyata frame from 1970 as a base. Koga Miyata is actually a Dutch brand, a portmanteau formed from the names of the founder, Andries Gaastra, and his wife, Marion Kowallik, in 1974. The Japanese Miyata brand were brought on as a partner to facilitate construction and parts from Shimano. Kopfjager is a conglomeration of NOS, new and vintage parts to become an experiment in texture and form.

Perhaps the inspiration for the name comes from the practice of scalping, as grotesque as it sounds: the Maison Martin Margiela tail hanging from the vintage Brooks Colt saddle certainly gives a tribal impression. Dick turned a Titan handlebar and stem upside-down to achieve more of a path racer geometry and trimmed it with NOS Bakelite grips. A Parisian porteur rack was incorporated, with handmade elastic straps and clips and it’s all rolling on NOS Rigida rims with Continental rubber.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

The British ‘handmade bicycle family tree’ is almost as gnarled and twisted as the Italian, with builders moving from one brand name and family business to another, as they either went broke or were bought out by larger ones. The story of William Frank ‘Sandy’ Holdsworth is a particularly knotted branch and one person who could tell it well is Melbourne’s Andrew Blake, a vintage enthusiast who renovated this Lady Mistral, Holdsworth’s top of the line mixte circa 1982-83.

Blakey has restored bikes from numerous obscure builders, including a few by Claud Butler. The Claud Butler name was bought out by the Holdsworth Co Ltd in 1958, adding to its domination of the market. Mostly producing ‘bread and butter’ bikes, the Holdsworth shop also released a number of exceptional custom frames to order. The ledger book was mainly filled with road and track frames, including a few touring frames with all the braze-ons for custom built racks and carriers.

The Mistral was Holdsworth’s top of the line racer, launched in 1963 and continuing to be a mainstay of the company’s catalogs throughout its varying fortunes and guises. The Lady Mistral was announced in 1982, “…craftsman designed and built for the girl who prefers a ‘mixte’ to the conventional diamond frame”. Blakey built up the Reynolds 531 frame with period wheels, Bluemels guards and even Holdsworth’s proprietary Allez! brand rack.

See more details on Blakey’s flickr page. Big thanks also to www.nkilgariff.com for an indispensable fountain of Holdsworth history.

PS: 2013 has well and truly descended upon us. Have you ordered your 2013 Cycle EXIF Calendar yet?

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

Only a city like Paris could provide the right environment for the evolution of the character known as a flâneur, but you will find them in every city in the world. There’s no English equivalent for the term, it basically means stroller, saunterer, drifter — neither of which are accurate. But if you’ve ever taken a ride through the city and felt completely alive, invisible and one with the environment, then you’ll understand the inspiration behind Andreas Maas and his Brother Cycles.

Inspired by the minimal look of the urban track bike, the timeless combination of honey leather and British Racing Green, Andreas purchased a frame from Brother Cycles. Deciding the over-saturated colors were too clumsy, he powder coated the frame in the black-green shade of RAL6012. To complement, he hand stitched the bar tape in antique-brown leather sourced from a local tanner. Classic and reliable components from Nitto, Brooks, Campagnolo and H Plus Son completed the build.

Susan Sontag described the camera as the ideal tool of the flâneur, but Andreas created a bicycle to rival that title. Ironically, he’s a passionate photographer himself, so perhaps it’s a draw. It’s a nice bike to finish the year on, too: I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the builders, photographers, bloggers and sponsors who have helped make Cycle EXIF such a great experience over 2012. Our community is full of incredible people and I’m looking forward to bringing you more of their stories in 2013.

Most importantly, thank you to every rider and reader of Cycle EXIF. Happy New Year!

PS: Have you ordered your copy of the 2013 Cycle EXIF Custom Bicycle Calendar yet?

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

Traditionally, Japanese have a deep respect for that which is well-crafted, requiring patience or meditation to master. They also highly consider that which has aged beautifully, which they describe with sabi — the quality of a rustic patina. One of our favorite British artists, Death Spray Custom, recently collaborated with Satoshi Ugawa on a pre-60s Triumph bicycle that still preserves great sabi.

Restoring vintage Harleys is the usual domain of Satoshi Ugawa, but he also works on bicycles from the same era under the moniker of Bell 45. The Triumph project was a contract for the owner of the Delight Cafe & Bar in Tokyo. The badly rusted original was bought on eBay, dismantled and repainted by the London-based DSC studio, while Toshi restored the components and sourced some new parts.

Toshi installed a Raleigh Grifter saddle, along with rare Bakelite Bluemel‘s grips. The 26″ Weinmann rims received special attention, rebuilt and shod with vintage, English-made Michelin whitewall tires. The old Pletscher two-leg kick stand is period correct but is also reminiscent of the old-world motorcycles Toshi loves. See and read more on the Bell 45 blog. Big thanks to DSC for the tip.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

While the United Kingdom has an age-old and rich tradition of custom frame builders, it also has a number of very talented and passionate young builders. Tom Donhou is one, located in Norwich, in the east of England. His work attracted the attention of Alanna, a Berlin rider who required a fitting replacement for her beloved, but aging, town bike.

Alanna supplied numerous style references, but one item that really stood out was a favorite bracelet of hers, a vintage silver Art Deco piece with emerald green inlaid bands. It’s easy to see the influence in the bike Tom created for her, which is just as much a piece of jewellery. The frame is a combination of fillet brazed and bi-lam construction, with internal routing for the brakes.

“The twin seat stays take inspiration from the Art Deco period and also help replace the stiffness lost from the lack of conventional top tube”, Tom writes. The real standout is the custom chain guard and stainless steel shifter for the Alfine 8 hub. It’s been a busy year for Tom, building some very smooth bikes and getting published in the Made in England book and the 2013 Cycle EXIF Calendar.

Tristan Conor Holden took these brilliant photos of the final result, but head to the Donhou Bicycles website to see more details.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

If there’s one thing to be said for Martin Renwick, ex-Pro racer, now design guru behind Australia’s Vuelo Velo: he doesn’t do things by halves. This is the Copenhagen — the stylish commuter cousin to his Twisted road bike and Di2 Vuelo. As with each Vuelo Velo, an innovative frame is featured, dressed with the finest components available.

From the cast head badge to the Paragon Slider dropouts, the titanium frame is a picture of optimum cycling pleasure. The Copenhagen is somewhat of a celebrity, having done the rounds as a show bike at the NAHBS and Interbike. It’s now available to purchase, for the best offer. The truss forks offer a compliant ride quality, coupling the forgiving nature of titanium with superb response.

The frame is kitted with the best of German engineering. Tune provided the cockpit, front Princess hub and Schwarzbrenner tubbys, driven by the ultra-reliable Rohloff internal rear hub. The hub is powered by a Gates belt and an XTR drive train, which means a silent and grease-free ride, deftly moderated by Hope disc brakes. For the weight weenies, the frame weighs in at around 1300 grams.

Vuelo Velo’s Copenhagen is the commuter to last a lifetime. Make an inquiry by contacting Martin through his website. For more of the finest bikes Australia has to offer, be sure to come along the the first ever Australian Custom Bicycle Show, this weekend in Melbourne.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.

There’s few pleasures in life more honest than a good bike ride. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons for the resurgence of interest in cycling these days. But even cycling can get complicated — just ask any pro racer. The latest machine to emanate from the workshop of Ezra Caldwell and Fast Boy Cycles, however, epitomizes the innocent beauty of the bicycle.

Ezra describes the new build as a ‘neo-retro, lugged, 29er MTB cruiser’, but the criteria was for a ‘hop-on-and-go’ bike. A two-speed, kick shift coaster brake is laced to the rear wheel, powered by a White Industries drive train. As with all Fast Boy Cycles, the paint is understated, this time inspired by a Lotus Cortina. A Brooks leather saddle tops it off, quintessentially matched with cork grips.

Any day a Fast Boy is exhibited on Cycle EXIF is a good day. One was featured in the first week we went live, over two years ago and after all Ezra has been through, his heart-shaped head tube badge is bigger and brighter than ever. The Fast Boy website and blog was recently updated, showcasing Ezra’s previous creations — including his magnificent tourer, which happens to be for sale.

Cycle EXIF supplies a daily dose of commuter bicycles, custom bicycles and classic bicycles.