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Independent Fabrication >
Based in Somerville, just north of downtown Boston, Independent Fabrication is wholly owned by the employees themselves and the passion resulting shines through clearly in the frames themselves. Unlike many frame builders, Independent aren't hostages to one material but will build exactly the steel, titanium or carbon-tubed bike you are after. And the IF philosophy of building every bike as a custom fits really well with our expertise and use of the Sizecycle Fitting system. Brian at the wonderful washingmachinepost website recently borrowed our fixed wheel Independent Fabrication Club Racer. He seemed to enjoy himself, you can learn more about his thoughts on the bike and fixed wheel riding in general by visiting http://www.thewashingmachinepost.net/clubracer Bill Strickland, Bicycling Magazine's Executive Editor has had an XS for about three years and has published his review of the frame which is nothing short of amazing. The article begins "My devotion to the IF XS lies somewhere beyond reason...". There is also a lovely little "tattoo piece" describing Independent Fabrication as a company. If you want to read the article just (Click here for link) Here is what IF have to say about their company. Independent Fabrication started in 1995 building steel mountain bike frames. Now, in 2005, we can build almost everything, out of almost anything. From the finest most technically advanced steel tubing to ever exist, to the best titanium available, to an array of custom carbon fiber tubing made just for us, we can make a bike for you. But not just any bike - the bike of your dreams, manufactured with so much love and care, one would think our lives depended on it, and, in a way, they do. Every frameset we build is custom, built for an individual customer from start to finish here in our Somerville factory. But how custom is custom? At IF custom means every tube, every length, every angle, and every option is selected to meet the customers, needs and desires. If that isn't enough, we have a state-of-the-art PPG Certified Paint shop that is set up to handle your custom paint requests, any colour, any shape, essentially any scheme that you can come up with. Your bike will be as unique as you are. We are a passionate group of people. We're lucky enough to have the chance to make money out of our hobby. Paint Options One of the hardest decisions about buying a new IF frameset is figuring out what colour it should be painted, or if it is Ti, to paint it at all. IF offer 23 stock paint colours that cover the range of popular basic colours, metallics, and pearls. You can choose any one of these colours and paint your new steel IF as a solid colour at no additional charge. IF also offer a large range of non-stock paintjobs and special effects. They categorise these into 4 levels:- Level 1 £175 - Basic level custom paint. These paint jobs consist of simple masking and fades. Frame Options at Additional Cost Sterling Silver Headbadge FOC if frame bought from mosquito, normally £90 S&S couplings on steel frames - £540 Steel Forks Independent Fabrication offers a complete line of custom steel forks. All are built from the best available materials and distinctively straight bladed. Mountain V (suspension adjusted for most 80mm suspension forks) £280
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