Hopefully everyone has been enjoying the dog days of summer! It’s certainly been a wild one! Personally we’ve been so happy with all the events returning, what a pleasure to see everyone again and go out and do bike stuff relatively unencumbered. Eurobike was a blast, Kollektiv in Berlin, and now the Transcontinental Race tracker is ticking away in the background as a few racers at the pointy end try and make some ferries. Ultra-race logistics are wild. Bikes are rad.
Right, so where are we on all the Sour frames? Let’s get down to brass tacks.
I can only imagine that if you’re reading this you’re already appraised of all the goings on’s in the world and the delays we are facing just like any other industry, because that’s what it has been, but I guess we can just leave it at that and talk other details. Without continued effort on all fronts, nothing happens. As in, we’ve been running around like crazy people keeping in touch with every producer, supplier, forwarder, and all the other “-ers” part of the production process. There are frames in the air, on the ocean, in the back of a T5 Volkswagen… It’s a beautiful symphony of controlled chaos.
Being a bicycle brand these days has become a certain art form. It’s such a balancing act between so many things. Logistics, design, custom support, all the things On a more philosophical note, you’re balancing your love of bicycles with being a functioning business. Every day you’re working with any number of advisors, accountants, and other business types, all the while you really just want to be out there riding your bike. Watching Sour grow from an in- and outside perspective has been a treat and I personally wouldn’t have any other way, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that I can’t wait until in-house production is up and running and the problems become acute and manageable instead of chronic and on a global-scale. Like, we can deal with running out of coffee for the welders, we just go to the store and buy more beans, but what is the equivalent of “buying more coffee beans” for geo-political tensions in the South China Sea?
Homebrew
Hombrew is trucking along. I received a few photos from Chris right before his too-short vacation (my words, not his) with a number of completed front triangles from the Homebrew factory in Dresden. Chris was already talking about the moves necessary for the next few production steps, and the frames after that, and painting, and, and, and… I had to stop the guy and tell him to sit down, have a beer, and take a moment to soak it all in: Sour officially produces frames in Germany! Granted, there is indeed a very long and turbulent road to navigate still, but regardless, we did it. Chris if you’re reading this (I know you are) congrats dude, go get some sleep!
But what does this mean for you, the person waiting on their frame? This means that the light at the end of the tunnel has never shone brighter. Literally everyone in our finishing “production line” is on standby. The painter has his guns prepped, Henri is still standing in place with his hands up like a Formula One pitstop mechanic (honestly, it’s getting awkward at this point), we’re ready to go.
The first triangles to be turned into what we in the industry like to call “a bicycle” are the Pasta Party frames. The Pasta Party has rivalled the Purple Haze as the bestseller, which is so rad, but that also means it’s all hands on deck getting the Made In Dresden Pasta Party frames out the door. Once all the first main frames are made, we’ll double back and weld the seatstays and chainstays on Pasta Party frames, and then the Crumble.
Purple Haze and Clueless Frames
All frames will be sent out in the order received. There may be the odd frame that is finished just a little earlier than the other for some reason or another, some colours need to bake and cure just a little longer for example, but otherwise it’s first in, first out. We will try and meet any specific demands for outstanding situations, but please remember when emailing us, we are truly working as hard as we can. Also, please don’t forget your order number in all communication about any frame order you’ve placed with us, it saves a ton of time.
Currently a grip of Purple Haze and Clueless frames are in the air freight logistics “chain” and should arrive to be painted any day now. The rest of the frame are on the boat right now, probably drinking margaritas and singing Jimmy Buffet, and will arrive in the coming 1-2 weeks. After arrival we have our work cut out for us to get everything processed, painted, and shipped. But we are as ready as can be.
As a little extra bonus, and only because a ton of people have been asking. The first “production samples” of the Double Choc rear subframes have been finished. Unfortunately the quality was not satisfactory, so these will likely be recycled or built into a show bike as they are aesthetically perfect, but functionally questionable. And I promise you Chris doesn’t want me to share that information, but transparency is key, and I want to brag about how high the standards are for the DC project and the Homebrew project as a whole. It costs a ton of time and literal money any time there’s a mistake like the DC subframes, but that’s part of the deal.
I hope this update clears some things up! As always, please feel free to drop us an email at info@sour.bike at any time!
