Bicycle Academy - build your own frame

What a great idea...

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/the-bicycle-academy-frame-building-school-close-to-reality-32288

(apologies if this has already been posted)

It has been mentioned before and they are now fundraising. Seems to be going very well especially as a £500 donation also gets you a frame building course. I was impressed enough to make a small contribution although it is a little out of the way for me.

£500 and you don't get to keep the frame!

Am I missing something?

No, not really. They explain everything on the website. Your first frame will be going to the developing world. They assume it won't be perfect so you won't mind too much. They hope you'll come back to build your dream frame.

TBH £500 for a 4 day frame building course is dirt cheap. Dave Yates' course is twice that, although you do keep the frame.

The cobble wobble man!

Eh?

seems to be going very well - what would be peoples thoughts of a London branch? think that would go down well?

Just signed up for their 'Standard Framebuilding course' as it includes a couple of days on design and geometry. I've meant to do this for years, but for various reasons couldn't get the time or the money together at the same time, rather pathetically. Now I've pulled the trigger on it, I can't wait!

£500 and you don't get to keep the frame!

Am I missing something?

Cheapest course now seems to be £1k so same price as the Dave Yates course and still no keeping the frame.

Am I missing something?

These frame building courses are getting popular. As well as the Bicycle Academy and Dave Yates, there's Swallow in Shropshire, Downland in Kent and now Enigma are about to start one.

I think that the focus at the Bicycle Academy is more about teaching the skills and techniques than the one frame itself - where else do they teach fillet brazing rather than lugged framebuilding?

Ah ok I missed that detail.

I guess it's a good deal if you live near the workshop and can spend the time building a second frame.

I think I've read the Enigma in Sussex are doing frame courses with a well known frame builder who either runs or designed the course sorry don't know much more than that.
There's also http://www.downlandcycles.co.uk/frameBuilding.htm

Reading between the lines, I think Enigma's well known frame builder used to be at Roberts which might explain why they shut up shop rather
precipitously.
http://rouleur.cc/journal/bicycles/enigma-bicycle-works-frame-building-course

I just finished a Yates course recently... I would happily do another.

Great guy, and you learn as much as you want to learn.
Do your research on frame building before you go and he is there to answer questions all week.

Just awaiting mine back from paint...

Pictures of the course on my Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/outhousepics

Geoff Roberts teaches the Enigma course.

Dredge but ithis place was so much fun it deserves it. Was at TBC over the weekend and it was a joy start to finish. Learning fillet brazing was really interesting, very satisfying and Andrew is an amazingly good teacher.
Go there, learn and build stuff is my only advice.

Sad to read that The Bicycle Academy went into liquidation on November 30th. A combination of lockdowns, rising energy prices, and supply chain issues forced them to close down.

A great organisation run by a great bunch of guys.

I would say they are responsible for many of the current frame builders . Thats a real shame .

Sorry to hear this news… my nephews are having great fun on my build

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That’s a real shame it seems that it produced and honed a lot of talent.

Definitely a shame. I donated to fund their initial startup but couldn’t do a course at the time. A couple of weeks ago I was on their website looking to do a course but sadly it’s not to be.