We’re three guys with a passion for cycling and steel who have been building custom frames in Austin, Texas since 2005. We love to ride, we love to build, and we love to see our customers out exploring the world on our creations.
It’s that simple.
True Fabrication was born in 2005 during a 16-hour car ride home from our annual mountain biking trip to Colorado.
We (Cody, Clark, and Cole) were longtime friends, having spent several years riding, racing, traveling, and training together. During that car ride, we realized that the same idea had been sprouting in each of our minds — what if we built our own bikes? And so it was decided that by the following year, we’d be riding through the Colorado mountains on our own creations. So we got to work.
Over the course of the next 12 months we acquired lots of tools, mastered our fabrication skills, and perfected our welding. One of us attended the UBI’s frame builder’s school, another developed our geometry philosophy, and the third created our logo and branding. Although the original intent was to just build bikes for ourselves, we quickly found that the bikes we were building (29-inch mountain bikes) were not being built by the major bike manufacturers at that time. We started spreading the word about our bikes to our friends in the Austin cycling community, and quickly had a small customer base.
Over time, we’ve honed our skills, and our customer base has grown. We now have customers all over the country, and are pretty busy in the shop these days! So what makes our frames special? We don’t build frames to make a living — that’s what our day jobs are for. We build frames because we love cycling and are passionate about frame building. We don’t take shortcuts. Instead, we take the time to ensure that each bike is designed to be perfect for each customer — down to the very last detail. Each of us can create a custom bicycle from inception to completion, but the combination of our unique talents and abilities makes us a great partnership.
I’m originally from Canada, but moved to the US when I was young. I’ve lived all over the US, but I always end up back in Texas. I love the people, climate, culture, and riding in Austin.
As with Cody and Mo, cycling is something that is core to me and I never go more then a day or two without a ride. I started racing mountain bikes when I was in high school and then raced road bikes in college. Over time, I worked my way up to racing at the expert/elite level here in Texas. Nowadays, I race less and work in the shop more, but I still try and commute to my “real job” as much as I can.
I also love to work with my hands and build things. I spent eight years working in bike shops as a mechanic and attended the United Bicycle Institute’s frame building school to perfect my frame building skills. My father restores classic British cars and I have spent endless hours working on cars with him in his shop. I credit my father for instilling the need to tinker in me and teaching me to pay attention to the small details in order to build things that last.
I’m the guy you talk to when you call or email. I handle the information gathering process and then later, the geometry and frame design.
I love riding my mountain bike and I’ve been a competitive racer for 13 years. I’m an Expert level racer who finished the 2007 Texas XC Championship in 10th position and the 2007 Texas Marathon Series in 2nd place. I love racing my road bike too. I’ve been doing the weekly Austin Tuesday Nighter races since 1996. It is so engrained in what I like to do that it has almost become a sacred event. When possible I like to commute to work. I’ve had various “careers” over the years and sometimes I can commute, sometimes I can’t. I currently work in the banking industry.
I’ve been married to the same awesome woman for 7 years and we have been blessed with three active young boys, Judah, Elijah, and Levi. My oldest son, Judah, just learned to ride a bike and has already done his first “Kids Crit” race. I guess you could say cycling is our blood!
Mo watches Friday Night Lights and loves the Wire. He has a soft spot in his heart for the Oakland Raiders and for Gold and Purple track suits. He likes quill stems, 1″ threaded steerers, horizontal top tubes, and asymmetrical paint designs. He is a super fast runner and he likes cookies.
Our typical frame build timeline is 3 -5 months. This is from the time of deposit to final delivery of the frame. At the time of deposit, we’ll give you a build schedule and a planned delivery date for your frame. A deposit of $300 is required to reserve your spot in our build queue. All deposits are non-refundable or transferable.
Our goal is to partner with you to design a frame that is both physically and aesthetically a joy to ride. We prefer to meet and ride with our customers to ensure the best possible design, but fitting and design can also be done remotely (e.g., through email).
At the core of all this is your basic physical measurements. If remote fitting is done you will receive our fit documents and series of questions that will we will use to determine your design. If you’re able to meet in with us in person, we will go for a ride, tour the shop, and then have fit session.
This is the standard price for all of our TIG welded steel frames (Road, Mountain, Cross, Track, and City). This price includes:
There are many additional options such sliding dropouts, curved top tubes, internal cable routing, suspension rear-ends, tapered head tubes, and PressFit 30 BB shells. Please inquire for pricing on these and other additional options.
Here is a list of some of the common options (price shown is in addition to base price):
In addition to custom frames, we build custom forks, stems and racks:
TIG welded or brazed steel forks in segmented, uni-crown, or lugged styles.
TIG welded steel stems in any length, angle, or bar size.
Front or rear fillet brazed steel racks with wood platforms.
All True Fabrication bicycles are available as a complete bike with professional assembly. As part of the design process we will talk though all of the components that you want or that we recommend you use to build up your frame. We do have direct relationships with many manufacturers and can put together a complete component quote to build up your frame.
Shipping is not included in the price of the frame and will be added to the total. We typically use FedEx ground and will work to get you the best rate. Texas residents will also need to add 8.25% sales tax to the total price.
All True Fabrication frames, forks, stems, and racks come with a lifetime warranty for any defects in craftsmanship, and a six-year warranty for any material defects. This warranty policy is valid only for the original owner and does not cover failures or damage caused by abuse, misuse, or rust. Non-warranty repairs are done at a reduced rate and worked into our build queue. Frames should be dis-assembled prior to repair. Repair costs do not include re-assembly of the bike or shipping.
Do you have a question about anything you’ve seen our site or just want more information about our bikes? Use the form below and we’ll get back to you soon.