Cysco Cycles is a small custom titanium bicycle builder based in Chatanooga, TN, that was founded in 2009 by Richie Moore.
We’ve covered plenty of their sweet builds at past NAHBS (2010, 2011), and while they’re mostly remembered for their twisted square tubes, that’s not all they do.
This particular bike was built for Cysco employee Chris Williams’ father, who wanted a stiff bike that was still comfortable enough for all day spins. The stiffness is handled by a massive 2″ ovalized downtube that all but swallows the BB30 bottom bracket shell. Up front, it uses a 44mm headtube to accommodate a tapered fork.
To make it comfy beyond ti’s inherently sweet ride, they used swooping seatstays for a bit of compliance. More pics and details below…
The paint was done using a layer of clear powder coat on the raw titanium. The paint was applied over that, then a layer of protective clear coat over the whole frame. That last layer gives it a bit of depth, which helps highlight the welds, too.
It has one of their new full titanium stems. This one’s a 120mm and weighed in around 158g.
The complete bike came in around 17lbs flat. Chris admits the larger diameter downtube adds a bit of weight, and the ENVE Smart 6.7 deep aero wheels certainly aren’t the lightest either. But they’re fast! The rest of the build is 2013 SRAM Force with a refinished Moots seatpost the customer already had, ENVE fork and Ritchey Pro handlebar.
You might notice the standard external cable routing. Chris says they can do internal routing, but they try to steer customers away from it in most cases. Why? Because to do it properly, they’d need to run a tube inside the frame, which adds quite a bit of weight. He said just cutting a hole in thin walled ti tubes borders on dangerous.
While we won’t be seeing these guys at NAHBS, they will be showing off the goods at the SE Bike Expo in Conyers, GA at the end of February.
