A Custom Builder Returns: Stevenson Bikes
Renowned custom frame builder Bill Stevenson is returning to frame building after a long hiatus.
Stevenson has been running his custom frame operation as a hobby business for several years, but has recently decided to ramp up operations with the help of his son Shawn. ‘We’ve long felt that business had a lot of unrealized potential. Shawn found himself in a situation where he could put all of his efforts into the business, so we decided the time was right to give it a serious go.’ Shawn adds, ‘There are only a handful of builders out there with the level of skill and experience we have to offer- people like Tom Kellogg, Richard Sachs, and J.P. Weigle, but they all have very long backlogs. Because we have been out of the game for a while we are able to offer very quick delivery. That combination of expertise and quick turnaround is what I feel we can put on the table right now.’
Bill Stevenson began frame building as an apprentice to Albert Eisentraut in the early seventies. He built for a living until 1984, when he went to work running the signature frame department at Ross Bicycles, a position that Tom Kellogg and Jim Redcay preceded him in. He would go on to oversee some of the earliest Taiwanese frame production for Ross and then work as lead designer and product manager for Fisher and Alpinestars. In 1993 Stevenson returned to Olympia, Washington where he focused on custom frame building into the next decade. Cervello product manager Heather Henderson, former Serotta sales manager Russell Howe, and frame builder Corey Thompson worked for Stevenson during this period. Stevenson also managed a local bike shop, The Bike Stand. When Shawn returned to school in 2001 production dropped to a trickle. ‘I was still building frames, but more as a hobby than a business,’ says Stevenson.
In addition to sixty years of combined experience building custom frames, the father son duo also feels that they have a unique approach to frame design that meets a demand that is underrepresented by the bicycle industry. ‘In my view the majority of enthusiast riders are what we might call cycle sportive riders. They ride primarily for fitness, they ride year round, they aren’t racers, but they want to go fast and be comfortable. The ideal bicycle for that is a lightweight, high-performance, steel bike with clearance for fenders and a slightly larger than standard tire. Very few production bicycle companies offer that,’ says Shawn.
For more background check out the Stevenson web site- stevensoncustombikes.com
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