Matte Crown Jewels

Matte Crown Jewels

Matte finishes look sharp, and we've been having a lot of fun doing them lately (more please!). Here's a recent Steel Crown Jewel in Vanilla Shake with Corsa Red and Silver logos for Daisuke in Japan.  And here's another Steel Crown Jewel in Black and Quetzal...

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His and Hers Club Racers

His and Hers Club Racers

Here's a pair of steel Club Racers with S&S couplers, built for Charlie and Rhonda DeWeese. Charlie's frame is Omaha Orange and Rhonda's frame is Hot Pink – both frames have Vanilla Shake and Gloss Black details in common. We topped them off with Wound Up carbon...

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XS for Life Cycle

XS for Life Cycle

We recently built an XS with painted lugs for Life Cycle in Hong Kong. Here are some shots of the frame coming together. Keith is welding the lugs and Phil is masking them off for paint.And after some paint, decals, and clear coat, the frame is ready to...

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A Planet X for Matt Rogers

A Planet X for Matt Rogers

Local IF Rider, Matt Rogers recently paid us a visit. He stopped in to build his own bike up and we were delighted to have him. Here are a few before and after shots of his new Planet X. Matt even came wearing a hair wrap that matched his new bike. Thanks...

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Ti Planet X for Dave Bradley

Ti Planet X for Dave Bradley

Long time IF rider Dave Bradley recently ordered a Ti Planet X from us. We snapped a few photos as it passed through welding and shipping. He chose a 3/4 team paint job.   Thanks Dave!

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We Promise

We Promise

I PROMISE to honor the 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School.I PROMISE to do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community and our country safer from similar acts of violence.These are the words of the Sandy Hook...

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Introducing the XSOS

Introducing the XSOS

NAHBS was a blast this year. We're honored to have shared the time with so many talented builders. Many thanks to all who visited our booth. For those of you who did not see us here's a new take on an old favorite. We're calling it the XSOS. Standard features for this...

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NAHBS 2013 Sneak Peek

NAHBS 2013 Sneak Peek

It's that time of year again – time for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Here's a quick peek at 3 of 7 bikes we'll have with us at the show this year.Up first is a fresh new Planet X, shown in Lamborghini Orange and Meteorite Silver Metallic: ...

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Postcards From Shipping :: Mid Summer Recap

Postcards From Shipping :: Mid Summer Recap

Early August... another D2R2 is almost here... Summer is just flying by.For those of you that don't follow us on Twitter (@IndyFab) or Facebook, I thought that it'd be fun to re-cap some of the more interesting frames/forks that have left the Mill over the past few...

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Deluxe :: Redux

Deluxe :: Redux

Chris Chance showed up at NAHBS in Sacramento this past March. During a conversation towards the end of the show he commented on how much things have changed, particularly with regard to mountain bikes. It was really interesting to listen to the perspective of someone...

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Rides :: RAID and Rapha MCC

Rides :: RAID and Rapha MCC

It's a bit quiet this week after all of the recent visitors and special events. Kind of like the week after Christmas. The inaugural RAID Rockingham was a great success. We had over 100 riders participate, and the weather was fantastic... sunny, low 70's, and no...

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The Break is Away :: Big Gap to Close

The Break is Away :: Big Gap to Close

Finally some shirt sleeve riding weather... it's been a bit like living in a cloud for the past four weeks here, so I can't blame all of the riding that I've been doing for the lack of content here. I had to drive all the way to Virginia to ride in the sun at The...

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RAID Rockingham :: Race or Ride?

RAID Rockingham :: Race or Ride?

It's probably not much of a stretch to say that most of you here love and ride bicycles, or else you wouldn't be reading this.So my question for the day is how do you ride your bicycles?  There's a wide range of sanctioned races in just about any locale if you're...

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Get Your Shiny On :: SSR’s

Get Your Shiny On :: SSR’s

We've been doing stainless steel road bikes for over 5 years now, and they just keep getting better. At NAHBS we introduced a new tube-set option for our SSR utilizing Columbus' bi-ovalized MAX tooling. All of our available MAX tube sets were quickly sold, but if you...

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Spring :: Sprung Saddles

Spring :: Sprung Saddles

Spring must officially be here. We've been busy, and folks are anxious to get out on their bikes.  A couple of recent builds stand out, and we've got some exciting events on the calendarFirst up is a red and black steel Club Racer. The client wanted a classic...

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NAHBS 2012 :: Follow-up

NAHBS 2012 :: Follow-up

NAHBS 2012 is in the books.  Spring is teasing us with nice weather, and it seems like everyone in our corner of the world is waking up from hibernation and starting to think about getting back on their bikes. Sacramento was a great host city, and the crowds were big...

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2012 NAHBS :: Sneak Peek

2012 NAHBS :: Sneak Peek

We've been crazy busy getting ready for our niche's big dance, The North American Handmade Bicycle Show, or NAHBS for short.The bikes are loaded onto the truck, and we'll be under way shortly, so here are a few teaser shots until the big reveal at the show next...

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Embro :: The Kind You Sew

Embro :: The Kind You Sew

Ever wished that you could tag your favorite hat, jacket, bag, or wubby with the IF logo? Well now you can. Steve at Black Sheep Design came through with these high quality 3.5 inch embroidered logo patches. Iron them on, or stitch them, or both, if you're a belt and...

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Red Storm Passing :: It’s All Rainbows and Unicorns

Red Storm Passing :: It’s All Rainbows and Unicorns

Ah, the inter webs and social media... they help give your voice wings and thus even the tiny can raise their volume and be heard. A fine gentlemen from SRAM rang me up this morning and took the time to explain the circumstances surrounding the launch timing of the...

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Red Tower :: Party Like It’s 2011… or not?

Red Tower :: Party Like It’s 2011… or not?

Apologies in advance for bringing you something other than titillating bike stuff, but IF, and every other small builder out there has been told by the Red Tower that we are not worthy of having 2012 parts in, well, 2012.  Instead, we're supposed to party like...

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Team Scheme :: IF Grassroots Racing

Team Scheme :: IF Grassroots Racing

A few months back we played around with a new team paint scheme for our dedicated cadre of Grassroots Racers.  Norcal crazy man Ron Shevock was kind enough to let his ti Deluxe be the test mule, and here are some pics of an increasingly rare 26" steel Deluxe with the...

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Video :: Newmarket Shop

Former IF racer and camera maestro Logan Hodson paid us a recent visit and took a bit of footage. Check it out: Independent Fabrication from Logan Hodson on Vimeo.

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New Tees :: New Frame Colors

New Tees :: New Frame Colors

It's always a vigorous conversation around IF World HQ when it comes time for new t-shirts and new paint colors.This time around we kept it simple for the new tees, both offerings are black.  Rather than try to figure out the latest "color X is the new black"...

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Doing Well and Doing Good :: Shiny and Pink

Doing Well and Doing Good :: Shiny and Pink

Every now and then I come across a part that makes me want to create a bike around it.  It's a round about way to do things, but it works for me. Such was the case last year when I first saw Soma Fabrications cafe racer handle bar.  It inspired me to create...

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