Road to NAHBS 2013 – Appleman Bicycles

His bikes look so sweet. I guess it’s a good and bad thing that custom carbon has so many options these days….

The stem with the blue and red inlays look like some amateur BCD homemade stuff. Maybe it looks better IRL but I would seriously not show it if I wanted more customers from the net.

I’m surprised they led off with the stem/handlebar combo that doesn’t even look finished. The frame looks much nicer.

For nifty handlebar/stem combos, check out Velo Zephyr out of Boulder. He makes some nice stuff.

Hand-made carbon from amateurs? No, I will pass. Taiwanese factories doing millions of well tested items, still can make mistakes on occasion.

Nice to see all the internet experts come out throw some words around.
Great guy. Incredible nice.
Incredible composites knowledge.
Makes KILLER bikes.
And if that is really you, Greg Herbold, bummer. I have loved your work and riding since wayyyyyy before HBTV.
Love ya Applehead, see you in Denver.
noren

With a degree in composites engineering, Matt at Appleman isn’t an amateur by any stretch. And ,there’s nothing magical about carbon fiber; it has basic properties just like any metal. Anyone can learn to work with it with due diligence.

Mindless, where do you stand on the ‘big’ custom carbon companies? Parlee, Calfee? And the middle-sized guys? Kirklee, Alchemy, Crumpton?

D2 is right, Velo Zephyr’s stem and handlebars combos look like nice stuff!

I look forward to seeing Matt’s work at NAHBS in Denver. I’m sure his work is even more awesome in person.

I think the background of the bar/stem photo is throwing-off the look of the whole thing. Appleman frames seem really clean, so I’m sure the bars are, too.

looks like brutal but honest critique to me. even “handmade” carbon parts do not have to be burned through so much in sanding. the clear is very lumpy looking due to not great sanding at that. i don’t question its structural integrity, just its detail.

the builder should listen to the audience.

I do question its structural integrity. I have worked with composites building scientific test equipment, and I do know first hand what it takes and how easy it is to screw up. Without extensive testing – or a large amount of components out there in practical, everyday usage, I would not trust my life and limb to such critical component as a stem. You are welcome to drink the coolaid.

Mindless, the MAX amount of force the carbon needs to contend with are the exact same forces that a stem faceplate/bolts would encounter. The stem is intact underneath that lay-up.

In fact, this construction is far superior to a standard stem configuration. Even a well engineered bar works better bonded to the stem in this fashion as opposed to clamped under a stem; carbon doesn’t do great with clamping forces.

@Steven: it does not matter that the design is far superior. You just do not know, and have no way of knowing if there are fatal mistakes there. I have seen professional aero-space engineers working on small sample runs make them. And it did not look as cobbled as the photo on this page. It would make sense if you could not buy a proven stem and bar.

I want to be able to say that my bike was coexed from the materials by a shaman.

Matt, thanks for the alternate photos; they give a much more clear picture of your high-quality work.

Mindless, options for pre-made bar/stems seem pretty bad, and very limited in fit. Fit after all is a huge component of custom cycling equipment. The other component, of course, is that it’s handmade and unique, which bars from FSA, Ritchey, and PRO are not. I’m not saying that you couldn’t create something in carbon that could fail; I’m just saying that this bar/stem won’t fail, there’s plenty of material there. Professional aerospace engineers are working with much small margins for error and much higher consequences. As great as bike products are, they aren’t seeing the same stresses and they aren’t built with the same demands for stiffness- or strength-to-weight. As space-aged as our carbon bikes are, they simply don’t push the material to the same extremes as the aerospace industry, or F1 for instance. So yes, the aerospace engineers are going to have more item not pass their standards.

So now Taiwanese bicycles are the STANDARD by which all other carbon bikes are judged & American bicycle builders are amateurs??

I seemed to have missed a few steps during the transition. FYI, Mind-numbness..it is Americans who have been at the leading edge of composite innovation (Is Boeing Chinese?) & your friends in the Orient have COPIED & STOLEN much of the technology from US & Europeans & while making respectable bikes, are NOT the leaders in innovation..just volumn.

If price is your ONLY criteria, then buy one & deluded yourself that you are buying the highest quality. In your uninformed world Cherry makes the most technologically advanced cars & Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi et al. are COPYING them.

When Matt makes a FS 29er, I’ll be looking him up.

I contacted Matt after my Trek Cronus’ virgin ride at Theo Wirth. An unfortunately large branch wedged itself between the rear rim and chain stay. The chainstay cracked in two places and I had to walk 7 miles back to my bike shop. The warrantee department Trek could only offer me a crash replacement-priced frame but I work in the industry and a new frame (at cost) was beyond my budget.

I contacted Matt Appleman and sent detailed photos of the injured chainstay. I was charged a modest amount of money and 2 weeks later, my frame was hand delivered by Matt to Penn Cycle where I promptly built the frame up again. The chainstay is now wrapped in even more carbon and is stronger than ever. The workmanship, honesty and promptness of his communication with me were always very professional. I then spotted him and his bike at our local weekly ‘cross races in Minneapolis.

Matt could use a photographer but unless you have come within a 12-foot radius of any of Matt’s work, you have no basis to criticize this man’s livelihood from the anonymity of the comments sections of this site. He’s hardworking, amicable and his framebuilding peers are among the best of the best. Dang, I really love Minneapolis’ bike momentum!

These frames and stems look to be laid up with an extreme amount of skill and attention. People being miffed at the aesthetic are being pretty silly. Seems like a real shame that people would take aesthetic criticism and form seething and misguided opinions about workmanship, then spam a website that is trying to give innovators (or at least hard working people with talent and expertise) in the industry a wider audience.

Matt, I love your work and ride by your shop often! Thanks for sharing!

How many of you asshats actually own an Appleman bike?

I do.

How many of you asshats can throw down 1600+ watts?

I can. (and I’ll happily prove it)

Matt does fantastic work. Period. if you have any doubts about it, feel free to come up to Mpls and see his work, and talk to me.

–Andy Kruse
Appleman Factory Pilot & former master’s national champ on the track

say andy, when you are flailing at 1600 watts for that nano second, are you as ugly as your bike?

Dear Anon, (notice how I posted my name and you didn’t!)

I’m pretty sure Matt and I are on the same page, given that I just saw him & spoke with him mere hours ago. You’ll have to forgive me for stumbling on this thread when I had just finished my post-dinner brew and was feeling a bit belligerent.

iNo – similarly – you got a name?

It’s really easy to sit and cast aspersions on the internet. There are 3 people commenting on this thread that I know (and Matt knows) in real life, and none of them are ripping him. What does that say? Maybe it says that they’re aware of the quality of his work and the professional qualifications he has backing his work. As we all do, Matt flat out loves bikes and I am sure that he’d be the first to say that, if you can’t find confidence in his work, you should ride something you DO believe in.

His bikes are worth every dime – for those who can appreciate them. If they’re not your thing, they’re not your thing, MOVE ON. He’s not trying to create a replacement for a Trek Madone, a SL4, or even a Chinarello. He’s providing a personalized product that can provide 99.9% of the performance of other carbon brands without having to sacrifice having a bike that is dimensioned specifically to the rider. The fact that he can style something just like the rider wants – is total gravy. Point is, don’t compare a custom frame to a black label open mold eBay special. I’m sure there’s someone out there for whom such a bike is perfect, and that person should get that bike – not expect Matt to build something comparable.

I went from a custom Tiemeyer Cycles Signature track bike, to a Felt TK1 carbon superbike, to the Appleman – and there’s no chance I would ever go back to the big-buck, big R&D carbon superbike. It’s a great bike, it just didn’t ride like I wanted, and the Appleman does, in every way.

Spewing bullshit in an attempt to discredit his work (from an engineering and design perspective) is completely pointless because the vast majority of you have no idea what you’re talking about – and you’re not making fair comparisons.

KEEP DOING YOUR THING. CARBON RULLLZZZZZZZZ