kbcustoms

Big news from NAHBS

cassius — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:39:26 +0000

It’s late Saturday night and we’ve been receiving requests to upload some pictures of Kelly’s bikes at the show. After setting up last night to shoot some pics the management decided to turn off all of the lights to clear the hall.
OK, so we got in early and I was able to get some shots, though really, not even close to doing any sort of justice to the beautiful bikes Kelly has assembled for the show. The mercury vapor (or metal halide?) lights in the hall leave a lot to be desired in terms of color rendition and brightness so I’m going to try and re-shoot tomorrow to improve.
Keep checking back on the pics, but hey there’s some really big news too in the addition of Titanium to the TigComp series of frames. Pro mountain bike rider Aleksandra Rokita Mooradian, who last year prompted the creation of the popular TigComp series with her request for a light steel cross frame upped the ante by asking Kelly to build her a super-light 29′^er hard-tail for use on select World and US Cup courses in 2010.
Ti was the logical choice in making this 20.5 lb. beauty a reality. Pricing and model choices are still being worked out but will be announced very soon.

NAHBS 2010

Kelly — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:20:27 +0000

I will be exhibiting at the 2010 NAHBS (North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show) along with Ray Schmidt of Handlebra Fine Leather Handlebar Wrap. The show will be taking place this year in Richmond VA, February 26 – 27, 2010. Ray and I will be co-exhibiting in a 10’x20’ booth; floor location yet to be determined.

This will be my second NAHBS show and I’m expecting to feel more at home this time around. Last year’s show in Indianapolis was a whirlwind of frame prep, travel and nonstop meet & greet. But it was great to be among those with a passion for the finest custom bicycles, and after a year of working away in my one man shop I’m looking forward to being back among kindred spirits.

If you share our passion you should strongly consider making the trip to Richmond this February to see the country’s best frame builders displaying their work, all under one roof. When you’re there stop by and say hello.

New Tig Comp frames available

Kelly — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:51 +0000

K. Bedford Customs Tig Comp Frames are competition oriented very lightweight steel frames with carbon forks.

The new KBC Tig welded frames are built with the same level of skill and care as are all K. Bedford frames.

All of the design work and the bulk of the handwork is done by me with the Tig welding being done by one of the industries best and most experienced welders.

Tig Comp Cross bike unveiled

Kelly — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:05:01 +0000

This past sunday the new Kbedfordcustoms cross bike was unveiled as Aleksandra Rokita Mooradian rode to a seventh place finish overall in the Elite Women’s event held at Joe’s Park in Albany, NY. (This seventh place finish translated to a fourth place finish in the NY State Cyclo Cross Championships as Aleksandra was the fourth place NY rider to cross the finish line – not bad for a first time cross rider!) Aleksandra is a well known rider on the pro mountain bike circuit as a sponsored rider for Team Spin and we are very excited to have her as the first sponsored rider for Kbedfordcustoms.

Not as well known, well totally unknown until this weekend, is the new Tig Comp Cross bike that Aleksandra rode. I am known for my custom lugged frames but many riders like Aleksandra are looking for the benefits of the lightest, fully custom-sized race bike available at an affordable price. The Tig Comp series has been developed with that person in mind. Cross racing provides the entree for this new line of custom, built-to-order frames that will be expanded to road frames in the near future.

More news at 11:00 ….

New Henry James jig speeds builds

Kelly — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:59:34 +0000

August 2, 2008
Today I got my first piece of new equipment for my frame building operations, a Henry James Access frame jig. What an improvement!
To date I have been using a jig that was custom built for me in back in 1988. It was ok in it’s day, but the new HJ has cut setup time from almost five hours to about 90 minutes. Plus it just looks nice.
These sorts of things do make a difference in the mindset. Besides the advantage of getting to the actual building sooner there is the aesthetic pleasure of working with a fine piece of tooling as you craft a functional piece of art.

K.Bedford Customs, a New Beginning

Kelly — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:30:44 +0000

February 1, 2008,
After more than twenty years Master Framebuilder Kelly Bedford will once again be producing custom, handmade steel bicycle frames under his own name. With encouragement from Ben Serotta of Serotta Bicycles, Kelly’s full-time employer for the past twenty years, Kelly will put his years of expertise in building the highest quality lugged steel frames to good use under the banner of K.Bedford Customs.

As noted in the official Serotta press release,

“K.Bedford Customs is distinctly separate from Serotta and will operate as a stand-alone brand 100% independent of Serotta’s Saratoga Springs-based design and production facility. All frames will be consumer direct – Kelly can be reached at kbedfish@yahoo.com or evenings and weekends at (518) 538-8055. “Despite this ambitious and time consuming outside venture, my current position as senior design at Serotta remains unchanged,” reassured Bedford to decades-worth of Serotta fans.”

“K. Bedford Customs will offer road, cross, track and touring frames. Geometry will draw on 20 years of knowledge Bedford has accrued at Serotta and every frame will be painted by premier finisher Joe Bell of California. Including custom finishing, K. Bedford Custom frames will be priced in the $2,500-$3,500 range.”

In addition to building frames, Kelly will offer complete bicycles and is available for repair and restoration projects on vintage and contemporary bicycles.