Velvet at Seven Cycles

Here’s Ian working on butting the head tube.

- Rob V.

Began production of the first Velvet. Here is the beginning of the frame kit—it’s just starting to come together.

- Rob V.

Each frame doesn’t have a trackable identity until the frame has a serial number. Our method of stamping the frame’s serial number is low-tech—handwork—but it leaves an indelible mark.

Pictured are the numbers and letters used in our serial number system.

- Rob V.

Mike is creating the Build Sheet. This is the blueprint for the frame builder. The Build Sheet has all the information required to build the frame—including tube set and tube butting details, all the geometry, component compatibility information, and features and options.

Now we’re ready to start building the Velvet!

- Rob V.

Here’s the second generation production design for one of the ISP parts. Simple and clean. It’s probably not clear what this goes to, but it will be clear soon.

- Rob V.

Stef and I have checked the folder details and everything is correct. The folder is now in production. Ready for Mike S. to design the frame drawing—what we call the, “Build Sheet”.

- Rob V.

The final step before a customer’s bike design goes into production is to check the client folder to ensure it has all the information. This includes the history of interaction, every revision or change, every correspondence—emails, faxes, and phone calls, and any other notes or details. This first Velvet has about 30-pages in the folder. This is a bit more than average, but not much more.

By the way, we also keep computer copies—soft copies—of every sheet of paper. However, we’ve found that having hard copies is really helpful, too. You’ll see why that is the case once this frame begins production—in just a few hours!

- Rob V.