Tired of schlepping his Xtra Cycle in and out of his NYC apartment, Fast Boy Cycles founder Ezra Caldwell has been toying with the Nose Bike for a while now. In fact, this is version two and has been his main bike for the past month.
He says he’s got it pretty much where he wants it, just a few minor geometry tweaks, then it’ll become a regular offering from his custom bike program. Oh, and he’s also designed a new dropout that’ll keep the sliding dropout design shown here but moves the disc brake mounts inside the rear triangle. Why? Read on…
First, a little backstory. If you listened to our short-lived podcast series, you’d know that Ezra has battled cancer. And he’s done it again since we interviewed him. You might also know that he makes custom bicycles and, when there’s time, some extremely limited edition and highly sought after wooden bicycle fenders. OK, now back to current news:
The Nose Bike shown here is Ezra’s personal test mule and is set up as a pure single speed. With his new dropout design (shown at bottom of post), it’ll be able to hold any internally geared hub also, and it’ll add a couple of handy rack and fender eyelets.
Since fit isn’t quite as important as on a performance bike, he’ll likely offer it in two standard sizes and build them in small batches. Estimated price is around $3,000 for a complete bike, and that should include his handmade crate:
It’s the little details like this that set Fast Boy Cycles’ bits apart. Sure, it’s a simple crate, but the elegant construction takes something benign and makes it beautiful. He’ll also offer handmade stainless steel crate-sized baskets for folks with deeper pockets.
One day, we’re really hoping FBC can show at NAHBS. In the meantime, you can follow his personal and bike building progress on his blog.
Ezra’s new sliding dropouts were born of frustration with current offerings when it came to ease of installation. He also wanted to add the ability to use fender and rack eyelet mounts, which are typically not used on such designs because the outboard disc brake mounts get in the way.
These are waterjet cut of 3/16″ 4130 steel. The design keeps the brakes mounted in line with the axle, so as you slide the wheel to adjust chain tension, the brake stay right where they should in relation to the rotor. Get the full scoop on their development here, and if you’re a frame builder and want to use them, they’re for sale.
