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Road to NAHBS 2018: 10 Q’s with Corey Lowe of Eyewater Bicycles

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018
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Another one to watch on New Builder Row at NAHBS this year is Corey Lowe. This new builder has come from an interesting career within the industry already. He cut his teeth in framebuilding and design at Parlee before moving on to design for big industry players such as Cannondale and Specialized where he worked on bikes for riders at the highest level.

After a move took him to Seattle, he decided to build an oven and throw his hat in the independent builder ring with carbon fiber. The clean carbon frames he’s made so far are already drawing attention from established carbon builders within the community in a very positive way. Based off what we know so far, Corey Lowe is certainly a new talent to watch. We’ll definitely be keeping our eyes on where he goes from here.

BIKERUMOR: What are you bringing to NAHBS this year that you’re excited about?

COREY: I will be bringing two custom tube-to-tube carbon frames– with a clean and classic design. The construction method is brand spanking new to the industry, and allows the frames to be 100 percent carbon.

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

They’ll be shown raw so people can see what I mean – no filler, wrinkles, or burn through weighing you down.

BIKERUMOR: What are your current challenges in adopting and implementing new standards?

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

COREY: The biggest hurdle is that there isn’t an array of off-the-shelf parts available in carbon like there are for other materials. So, when new standards happen, it’s like a new puzzle — you gotta make a new mold, design new tooling, or write an ineffectual but strongly worded letter to the manufacturer who changed the standard (kidding).

BIKERUMOR: What new or upcoming standards are you excited about?

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

COREY: I would love to see the 1x systems get fully sorted and become standard on the road. It reduces complexity, but also allows builders like me to implement simple clean lines. I’m also curious to see Boost axle standards implemented in some manner on road/’cross bikes.

BIKERUMOR: What type of bike have your customers requested most in the past 12 months?

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

COREY: The biggest request I get is for disc road and ‘cross frames. I’m working on it and you will see a disc equipped Eyewater shortly! I don’t promise anybody that they are going to go faster or ride better just because the bike is custom, but I think people really love having a bike specially made for them. It’s why homemade cookies are always going to beat Chips Ahoy, you know?

BIKERUMOR: What is the next bike you’re building for yourself?

COREY: I’m already working on a plan for building matching balance bikes for my twin girls using my same build process. Of course, the girls are not due to arrive until March so I might be jumping the gun.

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

BIKERUMOR: …and if someone else were building your next bike for you, which builder (of all time) would you choose and why? What would it be?

COREY: If another builder were to build my next bike, it’d be Baum. I’ve always loved the clean, crisp and stylish road frames those guys put out. Sometimes, my heart sings for a well-built steel bike.

BIKERUMOR: What is your “blank check” bike?

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

COREY: My wife would probably say the first carbon bike I ever made was my blank check bike as she likes to remind me of how much money went into that thing. Not only that, I dedicated so much time, energy, and love into building the equipment, re-reading my engineering textbooks, perfecting the layup, and sourcing materials. But, I have to say, it was worth it. It led me to the build process I still use today.

BIKERUMOR: If you could exist in another period of framebuilding, what would it be and why?

COREY: Maybe back in the ’80s when we had a few U.S. builders, like Serotta and Calfee, making frames for the professional teams. I was a design engineer at both Cannondale and Specialized, developing bikes for the World Tour teams. I enjoyed that connection, and I would love to see frame-builders be part of that world again.

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

BIKERUMOR: If you had to stop building in your current material, what new material would you choose and why?

COREY: Steel, most likely. I’ve worked exclusively with carbon from when I started at Parlee until my most recent project with the Allied Cycle Works team, but steel is also gorgeous. I actually made a steel bike for my wife this past year. I just love the classic lines and straight forward design that steel lends itself too. My hope is that those principles come across in my carbon bikes.

Eyewater Bicycles, Corey Lowe, NAHBS 2018

BIKERUMOR: If your shop was burning down, what one or two tools would you grab to save? Why would you save them?

COREY: I would drag my home-built oven out of a burning building. I built and programmed this oven myself to run the proper cure cycles for different carbon laminates. It’s a beast and now the workhorse of the shop. Also, it could probably bake me a couple of meals while the shop is being re-built.

Eyewater Bicycles

The North American Handmade Bike Show will take place from February 16th to 18th in Hartford, CT. For more information, visit the NAHBS website.

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19 Comments
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Andrew
Andrew
6 years ago

Very clean lines! I’m a bit curious…what is meant by “allows the frames to be 100 percent carbon.”?

mud+rock
mud+rock
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew

I’m guessing he means no fillers like Bondo, and no metal inserts for dropouts or BB.

VeloKitty
VeloKitty
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew

How are his frames 100% carbon fiber if they have (according to his instagram) “hidden alloy sleeves for precise headset press fit”?

AK_Ben
AK_Ben
6 years ago
Reply to  Andrew

Is it carbon that is 100% carbon made from carbon?

Antipodean G
6 years ago

I’ve always been curious, do small custom carbon builders run FEA and the likes over their designs before making them?

J
J
6 years ago
Reply to  Antipodean G

no, all this tube wrapping is pretty sketchy, most dont do any kind of destructive testing of proof frames either…

Drew Diller
6 years ago

Nice work Corey!

VeloKitty
VeloKitty
6 years ago

I don’t see how the “construction method is brand spanking new to the industry.” Anyone?

Thomas Chapman
6 years ago
Reply to  VeloKitty

I mean, it looks identical to the parlee tube-tube, overlaid construction.

I would also really like to see more detail on that.

Corey Lowe
6 years ago
Reply to  VeloKitty

Hey Thomas — while it has a similar look to Parlee, the manufacturing method of achieving those results is significantly different. I like to describe it as molded quality results, without the use of molds. That’s what’s new.

Wilee Realsteel
6 years ago
Reply to  Corey Lowe

based off of your insta the lugs looks just like parlee’s do right out of the mold… what’s different?

Patrick
Patrick
6 years ago

It’s like he has adopted steel brazed bike construction but in carbon and epoxy.

Heffe
Heffe
6 years ago

His work looks intriguing, even though I don’t entirely understand what he’s doing. It does resemble the Parlee process, from the pics. Going to his website I notice that it is only an Instagram page with some photos and no text. This is not nearly enough to instill confidence in him or his process – not going to compel many sales. I am surprised that some of these talented NAHBS builders cannot actually present their work to the public online in a comprehensible way, even though it is so easy to do so.

Corey Lowe
6 years ago
Reply to  Heffe

Hey Heffe, working on it. I’ve put all my efforts into building these frames and the manufacturing method up to this point… now its time to pull together the other pieces, like my website.

VeloGypsy
VeloGypsy
6 years ago

Looks very similar to the Parlee process. I believe he worked for Parlee at one point as well. Hmmmmm

TruckNutZ
TruckNutZ
6 years ago
Reply to  VeloGypsy

If you hadn’t stopped reading the article after the second sentence, you would have had your hunch confirmed in the 3rd sentence of the article.
Since the article only shows the results & not the process, could you please explain the process to us (the readers)…and maybe to Corey…I’m sure he (as well as all of us would love to learn from your extensive knowledge of his process).

Squidlips
Squidlips
6 years ago
Reply to  TruckNutZ

Well from just comparing pictures from his Instagram it appears that the headtubes are molded like Parlee. You can see where the resin has cured, typically where the seams would be in the molds used. I’m not too sure how else that would be achieved unless molded and heated under pressure. Also the fact he worked for Parlee doesn’t really look good when the product has quite the resemblance to early Parlee products. But maybe it is “new technology” to the industry and I’m just being skeptical.

Wilee Realsteel
6 years ago
Reply to  Squidlips

you don’t get that flash without molds and heat. I agree, its a little suspect

Mark Kabbash
Mark Kabbash
5 years ago

Corey,

Truly one of the most apropos named bicycles in the industry. I cry looking at it because I do not own one yet. These are some of the most beautifully designed, high performance machines in the world. I need to add one into my stable of bicycles. Corey the world needs to clone you so you can do two shifts and reward the world with more of your bikes!

OUTSTANDING JOB!!!

Keep the rubber side down and the legs spinning!

Mark Kabbash

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