Frame repair in the Bay Area?

[Brendan Willard in SF]

I have a steel Ritchey that needs a crack on the chainstay repaired.  I thought Mikkelsen would be the way to go unless anyone has abetter suggestion.  Thanks in advance!

[Bill Lindsay]

If it were me, my first call would be to Ed Litton.

Bill Lindsay
El Cerrito Ca

[Irving]

CB Cycles

[eddietheflay]

Does Mikkelsen have a good helper these days? I know he had a stroke a number of years ago and was less than 100% when I had him do work on my Kogswell with a dent in the top tube.

And I have not worked with Litton but have heard many a story about less than timely response and turnaround. Obviously he is good to great at what he does.

If the problem on your frame is just the chain stay that would suggest it would be not too expensive to ship that half of the frame to someone who is both competent and timely.

I wonder about the crack in your frame. I have two friends who had Ti Breakaway frames and both suffered longitudinal cracks in the chain stay. Ritchey replaced them under warranty cuz it looked like poor quality tubes. 

[eddietheflay]

in Sonoma County, Jeremy Sycip is a master builder. Not sure he does repair but you could ask. Super nice guy:

http://sycip.com/

On Monday, June 22, 2020 at 1:11:30 PM UTC-7, Brendan Willard in SF wrote:

[franklyn]

I will second Irving's recommendation of CB cycle. Erik has done multiple repair/adding braze-ons for me.

John Fitzgerald of Fitz Cyclez is also great, but he is in Santa Rosa.

Franklyn

[Jay P]

Hi Brendan,

(good to see you here !)   Ed Litton just wrapped something up for me, but said he'd be out of workshop/office for a month or two starting mid June or so.

Mikkelsen may be the closest.

Another possibility is Silva Cycles or Dale Sasso in San Jose.

Jay P.

Berkeley, CA

[Corwin]

Hi Eddie -

Bernie Mikkelsen does indeed have a helper. I saw a custom stem he made for Grant a few months back. Bernie is as good as ever. His helper handles much of the stuff Bernie has trouble with as well as driving him around.

Namaste,

Corwin

[eddietheflay]

Hello Corwin, I am really glad to hear Bernie is doing fine and still able to create nice bike stuff.

On Monday, June 22, 2020 at 1:11:30 PM UTC-7, Brendan Willard in SF wrote:

[Mark Roland]

In one of those coincidences, I just took possession of a Mikkelsen tandem last week, built in the 1980s between photo junkets by Bernie for a friend of mine and his first wife. (Also buried in a recent IBOB thread about Barn Finds.) Pile of unedited photos, complete with OBD (Original Barn Dust TM)

[Bill Rhea]

That tandem is a beauty....

In another coincidence, I just picked up my repaired Ibis Cousin It tandem that Bernie repaired , which I had powder coated purple!  Decals on the way from chuckibis.com

I was going to sell it (replaced it with a Hubbuhubbuh) but damn, it looks really good....

Is it obsessive to have a tandem and a "loaner" tandem for friends coming in from out of town?  Knowing this group, that's maybe a rhetorical question  ;-)

Bill Rhea

Napa, CA

[Mark Roland]

The Mikkelsen tandem is my second Big Purple Bicycle:

Normally the Santana has a set of blue back o bike bags in addition to the Boscos and MKS pedals from Riv, but they were on temporary loan to a friend. Can you have too many purple tandems? pt + 1.

[Mark Roland]

The Santana may come sorta close, now that it has fattish 26" tires and Boscos, but I suspect the Hubbuhubbuh is in a league of its own in terms of a chocolatey smooth ride for two. I'd trade both purple beast in for a Hbhb of any color in a heartbeat.

On Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 11:02:43 AM UTC-4, Bill Rhea wrote:

[Gustavo Vasquez]

Sycip in Santa Rosa?
Ed Litton is a smart choice too. I’ve been meaning to call him about a bike I have built by him.

Gustavo
Santa Rosa

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jun 22, 2020, at 1:30 PM, Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> If it were me, my first call would be to Ed Litton.

>
> Bill Lindsay
> El Cerrito Ca
>

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[Chris Corral]

I have had Ed Litton, mentioned before me, bend back a fork. Superb experience.

Erik at CB cycles brazed in a third bottle cage on my Surly Ogre. He apprenticed with Mikkelsen for a few years and is located near West Oakland BART. Also a superb experience. 

https://www.cbcycles.com/

On Monday, June 22, 2020 at 1:11:30 PM UTC-7, Brendan Willard in SF wrote:

[Gustavo Vasquez]

Sycip does do repair work and custom work. 

He’s going to eventually move some canti-lever posts I have on a Ed Litton. 

Oh yea Fitz! They could also do the repair work. 

If you end up this neck of the woods, there’s good beer (Russian River Brewing) and cool people (Phillip and myself) is who would probably wanna hangout with you and talk/ride bikes. 

Gustavo 

Santa Rosa, CA 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 22, 2020, at 4:20 PM, Jay P <jay.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Brendan,

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[Corwin]

Hi Mark -

Bernie told me he built more than 200 tandems. He had the exact number - but that escapes me now. Your Mikkelsen reminds me of my first tandem - a Vignorelli, built by Mike Melton. Also fillet brazed like yours. Bernie moved the canti-posts on this tandem so it could take "standard" cantis.

Namaste,

Corwin

On Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 1:28:37 PM UTC-7, Mark Roland wrote: