How to be a Bike Frame Builder, with Nate Zukas

Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

Singletracks.com

Sports, Wilderness

4.7 • 574 Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nate Zukas is a bike frame builder living in Augusta, GA. He's been building bikes since 2011 and works in steel, titanium, and aluminum.

How'd you get started as a frame builder?
Is it unusual for a frame builder to work in both steel and aluminum?
What's different about working with the two materials?
As a frame builder, how much are you able to affect a bike's ride feel and performance? How do you do it?
What do you look for in a project or a client?
How much of a frame build is your vision versus the client's? In terms of what you bring to the build, how much of it is artistry versus practicality and experience?
What trends are you seeing in terms of the types of frames buyers want?
Which projects are you most proud of?
Have you ever had a project that was a disaster, or one that surprised you in another way?
Is Augusta a good place to be a frame builder? What's the riding community like there?
What's your vision for the future of Zukas Cycles? Is expansion a goal for you?

Website: zukascycles.com. Instagram: @natezukas.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The Single Tracks podcast is brought to you by TPC, the Proz Closet.
0:05.7	Now is the perfect time to upgrade, and TPC has an industry-leading selection of new and certified
0:11.9	pre-owned bikes, plus frames, wheels, and accessories. Each certified pre-owned bike is inspected,
0:19.0	tested, and serviced, and every bike includes 30-day returns.
0:24.1	Visit tpc.bike forward slash single tracks and enter code single tracks $40 to save $40 on every order over 200.
0:33.4	That's the pros closet at tpc.bike slash single tracks.
0:37.8	And look for the link and coupon code in the show notes.
0:41.8	Hey everybody, welcome to the single tracks podcast.
0:44.4	My name is Jeff and today my guest is Nate Zuckus.
0:48.7	Nate is a frame builder living in Augusta, Georgia.
0:52.2	He's been building bikes since 2011, and he works in steel,
0:56.9	titanium, and aluminum. Thanks for joining me, Nate.
1:00.0	I do, definitely. Thank you. I appreciate it. So how'd you get started in frame building?
1:04.4	How'd you first learn how to do it and what made you kind of want to pursue it?
1:09.4	So I had a little short history with building cafe racers out of old Honda motorcycles
1:14.8	from early 70s.
1:16.9	Yeah.
1:17.3	So, you know, the welding, fabrication, taking these old heaps of metal and making them
1:23.7	into something kind of cool and riding around and I would sell it, move on to the next project,
1:29.3	actually make a little money on it,
1:31.0	which was kind of nice.
1:32.4	And then a couple of people suggest,
	...

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