My lunch riding career started with my time at Yeti Cycles, where if you didn’t ride at lunch it was typically because you were injured… badly. They provided a 1.5 hour gap for the cause, and it didn’t hurt that there were always sick bikes as far as the eyes could see that were begging to be ridden, and dope trails that were so close, you could hear them screaming your name. I’ve continued riding at lunch for most of my career here at UBI, and I cannot say enough positive things about it… but...

  About a year ago, I had the good fortune of having a frame built for me in the titanium TIG welding class. As with every frame building student, I got to design the frame that was being built. This design process can feel a bit overwhelming without a clear vision of what the bike is meant to be. I only knew I wanted a gravel road bike that fit like my other standard road bike. Having a vision of what type of bike I was wanting was only the starting point; it was necessary to consider...

  While on a recent trip to Quintana Roo in Mexico, I photographed some of what I encountered in the “wild.” There were familiar brands, but many were new to me or brands that I’ve not encountered in the states. The bikes were generally utilitarian in nature, being used by maintenance crews, vendors and as transportation for locals and tourists alike. With a few exceptions the bikes were generally single speed, coaster brake bikes outfitted with a rack and/or basket. It wasn’t uncommon to...

So, when we launched #whatwouldyoubuild, we did it with the idea that we wanted folks who have always dreamed of building their own bike, or who have never quite found the right bike for them on the market, to express that dream. Like, if you had one shot, one opportunity to build any bike you’ve ever wanted, in two weeks, #whatwouldyoubuild? Everyone has this bike in the back of their mind - if you ride bikes, you at least know of one, however minute aspect of your bike that you’d change to...

  Sure – the jobs at many Performance shops seem to be going away – but the overall cause of these closures wasn't lack of demand. By ASE's own admission, their entire acquisition of the Performance shops in the first place was more of a cause of the company's demise than any overarching industry trend. The good news is that people still want to buy bikes. And those who don't want to buy them, will need to have them fixed. That's good news for those of us who sell and fix bikes for a...

I don’t know how it is for others, but when I go to a frame builder show like NAHBS, I think it’s fun to know what it is that draws a person’s attention to a given bike or builder. Is it the builder’s reputation? The material they build with? A super fancy detailed paint scheme? Or simply the type of bike it is? To some degree for me it is all of those things but if I had to filter down to one thing, it would be the type of bike or maybe better said, I’m drawn to bikes with clean lines that...

  Knowing that some of you who are reading this, have never set foot in a UBI frame shop, I will provide a brief word illustration for the machines employed at our facility. We have two vertical mills: a medium sized mill (but big on the inside) we use for mitering stays and bridges, and a larger mill used primarily for mitering front triangles, mitering seat stays to the seat tube, seat tube slotting, and mitering some practice pieces. We have an awesome, old lathe backed up to the wall,...

  There are journalists, electricians, event organizers, transportation specialists, packaging designers, website builders, logo makers, T-shirt and hat designers, jig machinists, tool designers, bloggers, etc. With the learning you gain from UBI, you'll still be poised to accept a surprising number of these positions, in addition to finding a bike shop near you. Once you've got your resume refined (we will revisit in another post), check out a few of these job listing boards to find the...