Ponderosa progress report

It’s now January 2025 and i just shipped out the first Ponderosa build. Number 2 is powdercoated but the fork needs a re-coat. The 3rd frame is done but i don’t have blades for the fork. The 4th is ready to be welded but I’m sick and holding off until i feel better and have better focus. The 5th and 6th will be done by the end of January.

Since November i’ve only been working on Ponderosa frames and forks. Unexpectedly, each order was with a steel fork. My 2-month timeline failed, mostly because not all the tubes and parts were in stock when i needed them and I wasn’t sure if I was going to even get 6 orders! But I also blame it on holiday season and because distributors no longer overstock items in this post-Covid era. By late November I had all the new fancy Artefact stainless UDH dropouts and 3D printed pieces for the rear triangles and was ready to roll. For the next round my 8 week timeline will become 12 weeks and I’ll hopefully get the bikes out earlier than that. If you are first in line you’ll get your frame earlier than the 6th person in line. Once i get the 6th bike out the door i’ll be finishing a custom frame and then opening up the next queue of 6 Ponderosas now scheduled for Sunday February 2nd at 5pm PST.

Pricing for everything has been going up. Each day i seem to get another notice from a supplier that they’re raising prices. One of our main suppliers, Paragon Machine Works, has raised prices across the board and that affects what we pay for headtubes, BB shells, dropouts, steerer tubes, axles, cable guides, seat tube collars, etc. Raw material prices have gone up and they are just passing that along. Cost of living increases too. It’s incredible how much they make for us right here in the US but it does keep frame prices higher for builders that use their parts. Therefore, the cost of framesets have increased by $200: with the steel fork a frameset now is $2800, with a carbon fork it’s now $2600. Demand seems high for the Ponderosas, which is great to see since I put a lot of effort into each one and i don’t think there’s anything out there that offers the same things. Shipping prices seem to have increased as well, so don’t be surprised when it’s almost $200 to ship a complete bike from coast to coast. Small builders don’t have the volume to get shipping discounts, so it is what it is.

On the fork front: I’ve decided to get my own fork blades made using the same company that makes the frame tubing used in the Ponderosa. With this change i’ll be able to offer forks as a standalone product by summertime. The fork’s steerer tubes, dropouts, axle, and cable guides will still be made by Paragon, but the fork blades and the flat-mount attachment will be mine. (If there are other builders interested in using these fork blades and brake mounts shoot me an email, I will have a lot of them in a couple of months.) They’re very similar to the blades i’ve been using but with a slightly tighter radius bend to get more tire clearance at a gravel-ish fork length.

Footnote: I adapt the geometry to fit the fork you choose for the frame, so if you buy the steel fork and later choose to swap to a shorter length carbon fork realize that the head and seat tube angles will steepen by about 1 degree and the BB height will drop by about 8mm. The same numbers apply if you swap from a carbon fork to the steel fork (but in reverse of course).

There is a new carbon fork option = The Rodeo Spork series 3. It’s great 1-1/8″ steerers aren’t dead yet. Now there are at least two options for those that want to save about 1 lb. of weight on the bike build. Like the Wilde Wayfinder, the Spork fits a 29×2.2″ tire, but it only has two bosses on each leg where the Wilde has 3 bosses. Both can be run with fenders and have internal dyno wire and brake routing. Price is the same between the Wilde and Rodeo for the frameset price.

Lastly, a change in pricing for complete builds. For me to build the bike and dismantle to box up to ship it’s going to cost $250. I just can’t absorb that time and effort. It takes a full day to do it right and I understand and respect why bike shops charge what they do. If you want to save a bit while also lowering the cost of shipping, I’ll happily ship the frame (with BB and headset installed) to your local shop for them to build up with your build kit. That way both small builders and shops are supported!

Feel free to email me with any comments or questions. I’ll get back to you within a few days time.