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atmo
what is it about richard sachs? could it be the sleekness of his all but unobtainable bicycles, or perhaps the ferrari red clothing that most of his one-man output seems to appear in? i have no desire to own a motor car, least of all a ferrari, but the latter in any colour other than red almost seems like blasphemy. and much the same could be said about a sachs bicycle (though you need not stick to red if you find yourself in disagreement with my point of view). if you have taken a look at the bikeradar movie on the construction of the colnago eps carbon frame, you cannot fail to have noticed the diameter of those tubes, particularly as all heads south towards the bottom bracket area. compare this with the positively spindly steel tubing making up both the road and cross variations of a sachs frame. i'm not sure that richard is trying to make a point with frames such as these, but as far as i'm concerned, he's made it. and when you consider that the sachs cross team hasn't exactly been filling the lower places in the north american series, we have to accept that there may indeed be a point hiding in there somewhere.
following smartly on from a review of tim paterek's framebuilding manual, it seems comfortingly thematic that a substantial selection of photographs from jeff weir in greenwich, usa should have been brought to my attention. both selections of pictures are of the bicycles richard exhibited at this year's north american handbuilt bike show in indianapolis. last year i reviewed the rather excellent dvd imperfection is perfection showcasing the talent of the man at work in his workshop in connecticut, a talent that seems all but untouched by the trends taking place all around. it's unlikely that a sachs frame will ever vye with a cervelo to see who can build the chunkiest downtube and seattube junction, and the words integrated and headset seem destined to remain in their respective locations in the dictionary.
so while we are 'treated' to the latest dose of bicycle marketing by those who judge more by the spreadsheet, than those who anguish over fork crowns, it is of perennial comfort that one man and his brazing rod offer succour to the passionate, but disheartened. in much the same way that a saturday or sunday ride can offer freedom to the deskbound, either re-watching the dvd (you do have a copy don't you?) or popping over to richard's website offers the same opportunity to retain a degree of perspective. i'm not pozzato, cavendish or boonen, and unless you are any of those gentlemen, there's just an outside chance that the craftsmanship bordering on artistry displayed in a richard sachs road or cross frame will not only suffice, but inspire.
of course, if you have the envious luxury of owning one of these frames, you really don't need me telling you this. should you require further persuasion, listen to the man himself:
"i firmly believe that my high standards have been a bit easier to achieve because I do work alone. I have no apprentice and employ no outside help, either in my workroom, or in the form of subcontractors. from beginning to end, i do it all. and that includes answering the telephone. if you want to know more about my bicycle frames and how they are made... if you have a question about frame design or construction, proper fit, acceptable alignment, tolerances... anything at all, call me. i will be the one answering your call, and i would be very pleased to tell you more."
so just before the road season begins in earnest at flanders tomorrow, and each sequence of moving pictures displays the corporate outpourings of carbon fibre, computer designed and wind-tunnel tested to the point of anonymity, check the links below to see what a real bike used to look like, and to all intents and purposes at the end of a five year waiting list, still does.
atmo.
richard sachs road bike | richard sachs cross bike
posted on saturday april 4 2009
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