Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Pachyderm CX001

Pachyderm CX001

Unless you’ve a strong interest in the American custom bicycle scene, you might not have heard of Doug Fattic. Doug teaches frame building classes from his home in Niles, Michigan, drawing on a history of tuition that dates back to 1976. By the end of one of his 2-3 week courses, you can expect to have created a frame to the level of Daniel Schaumann’s Pachyderm CX001.

Doug hasn’t got a website with lavish testimonials from previous graduates. Like a sensei, he prefers potential students to seek him out and contact him via email, thus initiating an interview process which helps him gauge a willingness to learn. Still, you may have to wait for a vacancy in a future class before he will impart his knowledge to you.

Daniel, an Industrial Designer by trade, happened to make the grade, updating his blog daily throughout the experience. It’s a wonderful (not to mention inspiring) insight into what it is like for a complete novice to pick up a torch and two pieces of steel and braze them together. His Pachyderm cyclocross frame demonstrates a natural proclivity for the alchemic process of building a bicycle.

For now, the pictures can do the talking. But for the full story, click through to Daniel’s blog.

Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001
Pachyderm CX001