Jefferson's dashboard

Hey Lane. It's true. We are now offering a 3 speed internal gear hub option.

It's a $100 upgrade. Grip shifters on the handle bars. Coaster brakes (in addition to a front brake). It adds about a pound to the bike, but our bike is still at least 5 pounds lighter than most 3 speed bikes in this price range.

The 3 speed hub is now on our light table and we've added the option to the website too.

We build this wheel from scratch so you do need to get the wheel upgrade.

The secret is out!

Jefferson

Rafael, thanks for writing. We ship our bikes all over the world. In fact, we ship about half of the bikes we build. After you place the order, the website will ask you for a credit card. We accept Visa, Master Card and American Express.

One thing that is on our "bug list" is that you are required to select US or Canada. Please type in the name of your country in the same field as your city. Then select Canada.

I know that this is a bit confusing. We're working on updating our checkout so that this won't be an issue.

International shipping and handling is $180.

Thanks.
Jefferson

Hi Mike.

Thanks for writing. We've recently created a frame page which does include more information about our frame. Your comment brings to our attention that we should probably add a link to it from the "Build Your Bike" section of our website. Right now there is only one way to get there.

To address your specific questions, it is a gas pipe frame. Just kidding. It is 4130, main triangle is double butted. Horizontal drop outs. TIG welded by hand in Taiwan. It's less than 4 pounds.

Bike fit is something that is very important to us. In fact, it's so important, that we call each person that orders a bike to actually have a CON-VER-SATION about the frame size with them once they place an order. We talk to them about their inseam, their height, what bike they are currently riding, what kind of riding they do, etc. We do this for every single bike we sell.

We spend way more time discussing frame size with our customers than any other component of the bike. For our San Francisco Bay Area customers, we encourage them to come in so we can actually see them on our frame. Then we send them on a test ride. We like to educate our customers about frame size in person, but when that's not possible, we do our best to do it over the phone.

We'd love it if everyone went to Bike 101 and we didn't have to explain what a headset was. But we're happy to take the time to explain it to them. Some people don't care too much about the mechanics of their bike. I guess the most important thing is that they are riding a bike. And if they love thier bike because they think it's beautiful maybe they will ride it more often.

Finally, I think we're really lucky to have some brilliant Web 2.0 guys to help us out. People seem to like being able to Build Your Bike online and that wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for their help.

Between the three of us that work IN the shop, we have 20 years of shop experience. Our Web 2.0 advisers are just that. The guys actually building our bikes, ordering parts and having conversations with customers about frame size are not the same guys who built our website.

Thanks again for your remarks. They are helping us to take a new look at how we present ourselves.

Jefferson

50, 53 (on back order), 56, 59, 62.

Thanks Victor! We all appreciate you taking the time to give us your feedback. Especially when it's a compliment.

Thanks Carlos!

Sorry Marcos.

We've priced our bikes as low as we can. We have a frame sale going through the end of the month. If you want to buy just our frame, and build it up yourself, you'll save $100 US on our frames for the next couple of weeks.

Jefferson

Hi Aaron.

We started out as an online only business, so the architects who designed our shop, Grayscale, used our website for inspiration. They chose white walls and a light table with bicycle components spread out to mirror the Build Your Bike feature on our website.

We installed warmer halogen lighting instead of the harsh cold fluorescent lighting that you find in American Apparel. And we have come up with alternate solutions to hang our merchandise so that we don't have to use the ugly metal grids that AA uses.

We do use the font Helvetica for signage inside the shop. Perhaps that's what's giving you the AA vibe. We will be taking a look at redesigning our in-store signage in the coming weeks. Your comment will be top of mind as we make changes.

Thanks for your input Aaron.

I like this idea too Sean.

We've been able to keep the price of our bikes steady even though most of our suppliers have had to increase the costs of the components we use. In fact, most of our expenses have been steadily increasing.

Keeping our base price at $750 has been a priority for us.

We are constantly looking at ways to hold the price of our bikes down. We haven't figured out a way to lower the price YET but it doesn't mean we'll quit trying.

Thanks for letting us know what's on your mind.

Jefferson

Hi Cindy.

We are very proud to give our customers the choice to have their frames powder coated any color they choose. In fact, we like the idea that our customers get to pick out every single component on the bike.

Offering more choices means that people get a bike that fits their personality. Some bikes end up looking clean and simple. Some are more colorful.

For you I would recommend going with the matte black frame. Gray is another very popular color with many of our customers. We charge only $30 for a custom paint job. This includes the fork.

Also, you gave us some feedback that you believe we are charging too much. I think it's a great idea to shop around. If there is another company out there that sells unbranded custom painted bikes with a 4 pound frame specifically designed for city ridiing that's custom built, one at a time, for each customer - each component and color selected by the customer - I would defiantly factor the cost of the bike in my decision on which company to go with. Comparing price is a great idea, but I recommend comparing apples to apples.

Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Jefferson

Hi Jen.

To add to Zack's response, the tools that you'll need to assemble the bike are:

#4 Allen wrench
#5 Allen wrench
#15 Box wrench
Pedal wrench (or a very thin #15 box wrench).

With the exception of the pedal wrench, these are very common tools that probably already have on hand. You could take the bike to a local bike shop to tighten the pedals properly or we could sell a pedal wrench to you and include it in the box. There is a bit of a trick to screwing in the pedals properly so make sure that you know which way they screw in before you start.

As Zack said, you are welcome to give us a call and we can walk you through the process.

Jefferson