skip to content
Current Lead Times: Simple-Custom Framesets: 1 week. Full Custom Bikes: 7 weeks.

U.S. Built Custom Bicycles in Titanium and Titanium-Carbon Mix

Tag: tapered

Jim’s Axiom SL

Jim's Axiom SL

Jim got his new Axiom SL from Helen’s in Santa Monica. He also opted for the 44mm headtube and tapered steerer fork.

Jim says:

Many thanks to you and the other Seveneers for all of your help building my bike. It is exactly the bike I wanted.

She demands to be ridden fast, both up and downhill. Super stable. Crazy smooth over rough roads and comfortable enough to ride all day. I couldn’t ask for more.

Several of the articles I read advised that their bike kind of “disappeared beneath them.” I don’t think mine does that yet. To the contrary, I feel like I have a lot to learn from the bike. Every time I get off the bike I crave more. I like that aspect of her.

Below is a picture I took on our first ride up Angeles Crest Highway in Los Angeles.  You can see Downtown LA off in the distance.  From my house, it is about 15 miles, and 3,500 feet of pretty consistent climbing to get to this spot.  On that day, I just turned around and bombed back down the hill (and then rode more).  It was glorious!

Alternating Current

Flat black Seven Axiom SL with gloss black graphics

It’s hard to stay on top of all the innovations the bike industry serves up. We are under constant pressure to integrate new developments, such as tapered steerer forks, or disc brakes for cross and road bikes. Not every idea that makes it to market really serves the rider though, and as a custom builder we have to pick and choose the trends we think have legs, the ones really worth pursuing.

Staying current, for us, isn’t always about offering the flavor of the month, even though some of those flavors are good. It’s about finding the sweet spot between classic and modern, identifying the trends that really enhance the riding experience. We have never wanted to be a retro bike builder, applying old techniques to old materials as a sort of homage to what bikes once were. Neither do we want to chase every new idea and try to convince people we’re reinventing two wheels.

To us, being current means using the best materials and techniques to build bikes that people love to ride.