An Interview with Tyler of BTCHN’ Bikes About His New Raw Mullet Gravel Prototype
BY: CALIFORNIA TRAVIS
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
Most of you know I’m attracted to weirdos and eccentric people, so of course I love stopping by the BTCHN Bikes shop here in Chico to see what Tyler is welding on. He’s spent most of his life racing all types of motorcycles at insane speeds, and has been adapting the hyper-analytical engineering he’s learned in the motorized world into pedal-powered machines he pushes to equally scary speeds. He’s also one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met, so imagine that he’s yelling and gesturing wildly with his hands as you read this interview about his latest prototype.
The first thing that jumped out at me when I saw this as a raw frame hanging on the wall were these big beautiful brass welds. What do you call this technique? Why did you use this method? Why didn’t you also use it on the bottom bracket? Why do you think we don’t see more framebuilders using this method?
“Oh man, I have such an infatuation with the great British framebuilders of the past (and present!) I grew up around welder guys and fabricators and all of them held the Brits in the highest esteem in regards to their craftsmanship and skill in joining tubes, specifically with gas-brazing. The most iconic method of brazing is the stop-and-start technique, creating a wonderful and pronounced “stack of dimes”. This is a technique I had to spend some time practicing before throwing down on a bike frame. This style isn’t like fillet-brazing where the one crucial factor is to get a solid and reliable joint, then you can proceed to file the fillet until it’s pretty and perfect. This is more like welding, where what you lay down is what will be seen. I wanted this bike to be completely naked and untouched, a time stamp in my level of craftsmanship, raw and exposed. And it’s certainly that. When I look at this bike, I don’t so much see a badass rig with big beautiful welds, I see it through a lens of harsh criticism. Out there lie all of my inadequacies, mistakes, bobbles, learning… and lots of room for improvement. Every frame is a struggle because you know this one will never be as good as the next. The builder’s conundrum, I guess.
I got a TIG welder over the winter and have logged a bunch of hours with it and am stoked to now be offering TIG-welded frames if you’re looking to save a little money or weight. I’ve played around on a couple of frames now by brazing most of the joints except for the chainstays and BB junction. This does two things: saves me a shitload of time and abuse on my hands, but also it saves a bit of weight if you’re concerned about that kind of thing.
Right now I’m really stoked on the hybrid TIG/fillet-brazed frames, it just seems to make sense. Filing the BB area is by far the hardest junction to finish. I can whip out headtube/downtube/seat tube fillets pretty quickly these days, and fortunately, the BB is an area mostly hidden behind chainrings and underneath mud. I wish I had the guts (and skill) of Cjell Mone of Mone Bikes to produce endless amazing raw fillets… but alas I currently have neither, so I will continue doing my one-off raw prototypes (for myself), and filed fillets and TIG welds for customers.”
To continue reading and to see some wacky ass photos of this sick bike, check out the full article at The Radavist