Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Raphael Cycles

Rafael Cycles Street Tracker

Raphael Cycles is an up-and-coming builder from San Francisco named Rafi who has been gradually establishing a clean portfolio, and this ‘Street Tracker’ is his latest addition. It features a clear-coated raw steel patina, a contrast to the exceptionally finished quality of his other frames.

The Street Tracker is destined to be Rafi’s personal ride, a replacement for his former ‘around town bike’. US-made investment cast steel Henry James lugs join together a 2010 Columbus SL tube set, which has been updated in terms of its butting profiles and exact alloy composition. Rafi polished the head tube lugs, bringing a glimmer of classicism to the street aesthetic of the frame. The dropouts are NJS-approved Kalavinka pieces, lending an international flavor. A feature that Rafi has incorporated across his frames are the graphic icons that represent his personal take on the four card suits: heart (love), diamond (luck), a cube (geometry and linear space) and a crown (Basquiat’s art and power).

Rafael Cycles is now open for business, so if you want a pure San Fran handmade frame, get in contact with Rafi through his website. Special thanks to Geoffrey Colburn for the photography.

Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker
Rafael Cycles Street Tracker