A squared + B squared = C squared. Pythagoras’ name has an obvious place on one side of a triangle, but what’s not so well known is how it got there. Ed Foster is already a legendary Tuscon frame builder, but this street track frame is the product of his progeny, Preston Taylor.

Ed was an ideal sensei for an enthusiastic student and began tutoring Preston in 2011. “I had a vision of what I wanted to build and Ed showed me how,” Preston tells us. “Over the past two years I honed my skills at La Suprema. Ed taught me everything: I was a sponge and absorbed everything I could.”

Preston’s final goal was clear: “I really knew what i wanted before I started building, like the straight chain stays and the classic sized tubing. I also went with a Japanese haiku translated to English on the bottom bracket because it’s my first and to me, it’s timeless so it doesn’t need a number.”

‘Pythagoras’ is consistent with every frame guided by Ed’s hand: Tough and as gritty as the wild west they blow in from, with a prevailing artistic and philosophic influence. “I would also like to give Ed Foster a huge thank you,” says Preston, “and Aaron Panone for his 44rn chain ring also.”

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

The line that defines artist and engineer, in the world of the custom bicycle, is a fine one, and one that depends on your personal perspective. For Boston’s Nao Tomii, the line is even finer, having already a steady career as a sculptor on his resume before assembling his first frame.

This is Nao’s twelfth frame, which can categorically be described as a road bike, but one that has been created around the desire to leave the tarmac behind. Bobby Earle O’Brien commissioned Nao to build him a frame that you simply couldn’t find in your regular bike shop. Bobby was kind enough to give us an extra insight into this amazing creation:

“When I thought about this project, I knew exactly what I did NOT want: A cyclocross bike with fat slicks. I wanted a road bike with big fat slicks. This bike would be used primarily for pavement, but it would be comfortable on gravel roads too. Maybe some light touring. Maybe I’ll do some rides with the New England Randonneurs.

“I found Nao Tomii almost by accident. I sell quite a few bike parts on the web and one of my repeat customers mentioned Nao as he had built up cyclocross bikes for both him and his girlfriend. Curiosity got the best of me and I checked out the Tomii web site.

“What first caught my eye is that Nao fillet brazed many of his frames. There’s just a very nice quality with fillet brazing. It’s seamless. Plus, he’s a relative newcomer to the Boston frame building arena and I was excited to work with someone with a fresh perspective. After an initial consult, I decided very quickly to become customer #12.

“People often ask me about the bike and my experience with Nao. One description I always use is that he’s very deliberate. There were many things that struck me during the process to come to this conclusion. How he hand draws the frame geometry on an drafting table. Maybe it was adding the Tomii badge on the stem or when he filled in the opening on the fork crown. Or the attention to detail on the top of the seat tube.

“I was very explicit on things I wanted, like down tube shifter and disc brakes, but Nao was really left to his own devices during the process which is exactly what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, we had review meetings throughout the build process. I just wanted him to be more the creative force. He is an artist after all.

Massive thanks to Bobby for the words and Nao for the photos. See more on his flickr, including those of the build process.

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

For those of us not fluent in Italian, information on Roberto Bressan’s Biciclette Speciali is scant, even with the help of Google Translate. One has to wade through pages of football blogs and videos of Mauro Bressan’s famous bicycle-kick goal (spectacular, but no relation). One thing can be deduced: Bressan Biciclette certainly are very speciali. Take his Riviera, as a case in point.

Roberto produces an extensive catalog of bicycles, ranging from BMX to MTB to classy Milanese commuters. The Riviera is a sinewy beast, with extra tubes of steel protruding here and there and an innovative seat stay arrangement. Twin top tubes aren’t new, but they’re always a surprise, the Riviera even sports a twin-tubed drive side chain stay, with a TT-style rear brake position.

The Bressan Biciclette range includes a very suave-sounding relation to the Riviera, the Bruno 1930, which is certain to refer to a significant date, but ours not to reason why. The Riviera fills a niche between Bruno’s classicism and other road models built with healthy lashings of carbon fiber, so it’s certain to raise eyebrows amongst the cafe racers. See the whole range on the Bressan website.

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

Canadians are very proud of their outdoor lifestyle and their sense of adventure, it’s always good to hear from the riders and their rides. Paul Keodprom is a wrench at a Toronto bike shop, Blacksmith Cycle, who recently built up his dream steel road frame, handmade by Colorado’s Alchemy Bikes.

Paul gives us the background: “As far as the story goes, I’m 36 years old, and like a lot of guys my age I grew up skateboarding and snowboarding, worked in those industries for a long time and basically destroyed my body doing so. About 10 years ago I started riding track bikes, starting with an IRO and getting more and more into the culture.

“It was a pretty natural progression to move in to the bike industry and I started working at a local shop that was mostly commuter but with a lot of fixed gear and a solid local history. Eventually track led to road, and the road led me to work at Blacksmith Cycle in Toronto. Two years on and I have had the pleasure of building and riding some of the finest custom road bikes in the world: Baum, Passoni, Cyfac, IF, and of course Alchemy.

“My previous bike was a Pegoretti Marcelo, and through all the carbon bikes I’ve ridden nothing has struck me like the feel of that steel. Having such a good relationship with Alchemy it made sense to move on to something that was made for me, with the personality of steel but a little racier.

What we came up with was a real Frankenstein blend of steel. Spirit top tube, Deda Penta down tube, KVA stainless seat tube, Life/Max rear stays. The bike has a 44mm head tube paired with an Enve 2.0 Fork, is BB30 with Super Record drive train. The brakes are by EE cycle works.

“I started out with a full ENVE cockpit but a customer needed the bar off my bike so I went with the new 3T Tornova, which is all I ever really wanted out of a bar. The bike was painted by Noah Rosen at Velocolour in our shop livery, with graphics by Tobin Reid at Breadwinner Design.”

Paul’s good mate Viktor Cahoj is the local Toronto photographer, videographer and “amazing disco DJ” who we can thank for the shots of Paul’s Alchemy. Drop by Blacksmith Cycle if you’re in Toronto, I’m looking forward to seeing more beautiful bikes from Canada.

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

When Miguel ‘Big Mig’ Indurain won the first of his five consecutive Tour de France victories, in 1991, he was riding a bike considered by many to be one of the finest Spain had to offer. It was a Razesa, a small but prolific workshop in the Basque country that built frames for the Zeus concern.

Razesa are still in operation, although each offering in their catalog is vastly different to the one seen here. Helder Olino spent over a year restoring this specimen, stripping and repainting the frame before sourcing, polishing and installing a complete Zeus groupset himself.

Founded by Luis Arregui 10 years before Campagnolo, Zeus has sustained a reputation as a great imitator of Tullio’s components, but in fact there are over 105 patents in Arregui’s name. Upon closer inspection, the similarities between Zeus and Razesa frames are easily spotted.

Helder has been riding his Razesa nearly every day since completing the restoration, no doubt enjoying the responsiveness and sure-footedness common to the Hispanic marque. It may not be as modern as the current models but it’s definitely far more hermoso.

Special thanks to Helder for the photography. Head over to his flickr set for more.

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

Human beings, and especially cyclists, are an adaptive bunch. It’s interesting to see Shimano’s electronic shifting systems, such as the Di2 group, being reworked by enthusiasts to suit bikes that won’t conform to the standard market genres. Here’s a good example, the sculptural time trial frame by English Cycles that won the 2013 NAHBS Best in Show award, no less.

Rob English, aptly, lists the United Kingdom as his country of origin, but has been happily ensconced in Eugene, Oregon, for the past few years building very individual racing frames. A highly experienced time trialist, he counts three individual and three team state championships on board the predecessor to his Mk2 frame, built in 2008.

The geometry is basically the same as Mk1, just with a slightly lower bottom bracket and a single chainring. Therefore, only one end of Shimano’s Di2 shifting system was required, which Rob “hacked”, actuated by two push buttons on the aero bar ends—one for up, the other for down. There’s a micro-USB port just under the saddle, invisibly wired to the rear mech through the seat stay.

You won’t recognize the front brake: Rob machined his own to nestle behind the ingenious ‘headset’ construction. There’s no actual headset as such, rather a set of bearings, bolts and races that allow the shifter and brake cables to pass through the front of the head tube. The highly aerodynamic profile is also achieved by incorporating USE TULA Aero Pods.

Rob fabricated the cranks himself: There’s two bearings on the drive side, one on the non and a 22mm axle, resulting in a reduced Q factor of 20mm from the usual. Mk2 is one tidy machine, which should win Rob even more titles—the first being a deserved Best in Show at the 2013 NAHBS. See more details on the English Cycles website. Big thanks to Tina Buescher for the exemplary photography.

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

The 96th edition of the Giro d’Italia begins today in Naples, one of the racing calendar’s most scenic and grueling events. A suitable day to remember Eddy Merckx, who won this Grand Tour an astonishing five times. Merckx’ unparallelled racing career has elevated the man, and the bikes branded with his name, to a level of cult status—especially his premium racing model: the MX Leader.

This MX Leader calls Johannesburg home, the pride and joy of Greg, a member of Jozi’s Hunter Cycling crew. It’s a 1991 issue, assembled with a Campagnolo C-Record group set and the overly flamboyant Cobalto brake calipers. Greg traded a Somec frame for the Merckx with a friend in Cape Town who is also a collector of superb steel.

It has been resprayed, it’s true, under the new clear coat are reproduction decals by Australia’s Cyclomondo. Greg decided on a rich black after admiring the bikes of Rapha’s Continental riders. It may be wearing a new suit but under the black is still Columbus’ MXL tubes. Special thanks to Greg and Guy Bower from O+P Cycling Apparel for the photos.

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

After distributing his bikes through Embrocation Cycling, Craig Gaulzetti has a website all of his own. The ‘Philosophy‘ page portrays a man who, over the corsa of his two-wheeled life, has thought long and hard about why he loves to ride and build the frames that bear his name. The Cazzo is the only steel frame offered by the brand and best summarizes his relationship with the industry and the sport.

Reading through various pages on his site, especially ‘Detritus‘, which explains his choice of tubing used on the Cazzo, I wonder whether Craig is a regular user of performance enhancing writing drugs. Any rider who, previously used to the highest quality Taiwanese carbon fiber but is considering a high quality steel frame, should be wholly convinced by the experience of of his diatribe.

Richard Gearing, however, is no stranger to pedigree racing products. He’s been reviewing the best bikes and components on the market through his Bike Tart website, but has now given it all up to ride a Cazzo that he’s finally finished building up to his exacting standard. I managed to catch it for a photo shoot once he was happy with the result.

The Cazzo is built from Columbus’ Über OverSize PegoRichie tubing, the collaborative effort of Dario Pegoretti and Richard Sachs, two luminaries of the custom bicycle scene. The rear dropouts were made by Sachs, while the fork is a Pegoretti Falz. The Cazzo brings the two together in a cosmic unity, which Rich happily combined with Campagnolo, Shimano and Thomson components.

Rich made use of H Plus Son’s TB14 rims, laced by Sydney’s Nick Both to Royce hubs—the finest offered by the United Kingdom. The saddle area is of special note: a Campagnolo C-Record mast, anodized in black by Andy ‘FYXO‘ White, and the NOS Selle Italia Titanium Flite, adds the old-school accent that Andy is famous for, to a modern road bike built in Craig Gaulzetti’s classical spirit.

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

Despite the worn-out Sound of Music references, the Edelweiss flower is a wonderful association for the crystalline atmosphere that inspires Francois Cau to build his frames. Francois and his Edelbikes workshop, located at the foot of the majestic French Alps, was recently selected to produce a machine for Rapha’s European Continental crew.

Rapha, manufacturers of ultra-fine riding apparel, sponsor a band of riders to explore some of the world’s most exhilarating roads. Their adventures are borne upon frames by builders synonymous with the regions they ride through. This season, they head to Europe on bikes built by Amaro Bikes, Crema Cycles, St Joris Cycles, VANDEYK, Vogel Fahrradrahmenbau, Zullo Tiziano and Edelbikes.

Francois relishes the environment he lives in, ski-mountaineering the Alps in winter and mountain biking over them in summer. The frame he compiled for the Continental team is a heady mix: a Columbus down tube, Reynolds 853 top tube, Dedacciai seat tube and a True Temper head tube, while the chain and seat stays are formed from stainless steel Reynolds 931.

The theme is in keeping with the other Continental bikes: predominantly steel frames based on a geometry that’s a happy medium between sport and long distance touring. It’s all style, though, reflecting the exclusivity of Rapha’s range. Check out the beautifully shot mini-doco about the European Continental builders by Ertzui Film on the Rapha website.

Special thanks also to Dirk Kaufmann and Ertzui Film for the photos.

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

The lineage of Chiossi Cycles can be traced back to 1942 which, compared to Bianchi’s foundation in 1885, is recent but just as esteemed. The brand has been re-invigorated under the guidance of Luciano Pedrielli, a cyclist with a fervor for both design and Italian bicycle culture, and Paolo Chiossi. Chiossi’s Gloria and Maino both proved to be very popular with the readers of Cycle EXIF and their recent Strada model should also arouse the same level of appreciation.

Their Modena shop isn’t big enough to contain the history that exists within it, centered around Lino Messori, an old-world master builder who has also been a boxer, a painter and a poet. The Strada is the first of a production frame, garnished with Campagnolo’s 50th Anniversary Gruppo. The famous manufacturer of wooden rims, Magreglio’s Ghisallo, was partnered with to provide the wheels—it’s all crowned with a pantographed Cinelli cockpit and the elaborate Chiossi head badge.

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

Colnago pioneered a great number of innovations that supposedly improved performance, not least of which were their eye-catching ‘Art-Decor’ paint schemes. Their proprietary Conic tubeset, custom drawn by Columbus, certainly would have improved sales, if not performance.

The Conic existed as a ‘less-grand’ option to Colnago’s Master frameset, from the late 80s to the early 90s. The name is derived from a 28.6mm diameter at the head tube which increased to 32mm at the bottom bracket. This is a 1993 edition, the year a number of frames were also built with Tange tubing.

Biascagne Cicli, in Treviso, regularly assemble individual bikes to auction for selected charities. This Conic was owned since new by Fabio, who wishes to sell it and give the proceeds to ‘Help Me Grow‘, a non-profit that cares for premature babies, providing assistance to children and their parents.

It’s a rare 62cm center-to-center frame bedecked with 8-speed Dura Ace components, Campagnolo’s Zonda 16 R wheelset and pantographed ITM stem and bars. The price? €1,000, which generously includes worldwide shipping and miles of good karma. Contact Biascagne Cicli for more details.

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

If you look closely at the Nagasawa head badge, there’s an Italian flag alongside the Japanese flag. Yoshiaki Nagasawa has a strong connection with the Italian bicycle frame building industry, beginning his career at Sante Pogliaghi’s workshop before starting a six-year internship with Ugo De Rosa. A return to Japan brought his experience to the Keirin racers, most notably Koichi Nakano, which resulted in 10 consecutive world Championship sprint titles. This is one of his rare road frames, built up by London’s Tokyo Fixed for the recent 2013 Bespoked Bristol show.

Last weekend, the 12th-14th of April, saw the third issue of the Bespoked Bristol UK Handmade Bicycle Show which, like the NAHBS, continues to grow with the interest in bikes of high quality. Tokyo Fixed, London’s premier bespoke bicycle shop, presented a selection of machines that best represent their service. Alongside two Cherubim road bikes and a Tonic Fab Crusher was this Nagasawa road frame, built up with a Campagnolo group set and a custom suede Kashimax saddle, embroidered with Yoshiaki’s logotype. If you’re after an equally individual build, contact Tokyo Fixed.

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.

From the looks of things, Signal Cycles have been kept busy with orders for bikes that aren’t afraid of unsealed roads and gravel paths. That’s understandable. Why limit yourself? The Portland workshop of Nate Meschke and Matt Cardinal is perfectly located to access forested fire roads by bicycle, so while this Gravel Grinder is showroom-shiny, it won’t be for long.

Don’t let the stylish good looks fool you. It may appear to be a more-than-capable road bike from a distance, but it can accept up to a 700x35C tire with fenders and a 40C without. It’s currently set up with Clément X’Plor USH, named after Argentina’s—and the world’s—southern-most city, Ushuaia (for inspiration… apparently it’s an ideal destination for bicycle touring).

Shimano’s Ultegra group will prove to be a reliable companion, bolstered by Chris King bearings and Racer brakes by Paul Components. The fillet-brazed / bi-lam frame is finished with complementary touches, such as a matching pump and graphics. Now, I can’t wait to see some ‘After’ shots. See more on the Signal Cycles flickr set and check out their production model: The Saltzman.

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.