Home > Interviews

Road to NAHBS 2014 – Engin Cycles Goes All Ti, All the Time

9 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

Engin Cycles - Drew machining bicycle tubes

After introducing his titanium frame just last year at NAHBS, Engin Cycles builder/owner Drew Guldalian has flipped the switch completely. He’s also continued to develop new dropouts and parts, giving his frames a growing ability to work with all standards…and look good doing it!

BIKERUMOR: What are your main building materials?

DREW: I have officially made all my bikes titanium as of 2014. The only steel products I offer are forks. No titanium forks available. Unless you are an existing customer all bikes are titanium from now on.

BIKERUMOR: What’s new with your company since NAHBS last year?

DREW: I have made a few additions from last year. First being yet another new drop out. I have a road drop out that will debut at NAHBS. Also a few things have been added to the bikes such as butted titanium, 1″ chainstays, and I’m offering some new finishes.

engin-cycles-titanium-cyclocross-disc-brake-bike01

BIKERUMOR: Any killer custom bike builds in that time?

DREW: All of them are killer 🙂 Really I do not take on “projects” so all the bikes fall into a category of “custom” but nothing is really crazy. I have a few commuter bikes that have been cool bikes. My focus is on making the commuter-friendly details look very clean and integrated, rather than looking busy. Adding a dynamo hub, fenders and racks can easily clutter a bicycle. Making these bikes look clean is a fun challenge. Also, the addition of butted titanium is a rather big deal for me, so I’m excited about all the bikes that are getting butted tubes. To be able to tune a ride by using larger tubing but then reducing the overall weight is a super cool feature. It takes titanium bikes to the next level IMO.

BIKERUMOR: Say a customer gives you free reign, where do you draw your inspiration for the best projects?

DREW: I said last year that architecture is a strong influence and it still is. Bridges and industrial buildings with strength and simplicity are very cool. Other than that I just love to go to work and eventually get an e-mail from someone saying they find life better with their bike. That is very rewarding.

engin-cycles-650B-race-bike-dm-rear-der01

BIKERUMOR: What are you building this year that’ll draw a crowd?

DREW: With any luck all of them. If you want to see clean work that someone poured their heart into then stop by. They are all customers’ bikes and I look forward to delivering them after the show. One thing that is unique is some of the bikes will have ceramic coating instead of paint. Super thin and very light. Great combo for adding color to titanium.

BIKERUMOR: Scenario: NAHBS introduces a new category called Mashups, pairing two completely different builders to make one bike. Who’s the yin to your yang, and what kind of bike do you think you’d build?

DREW: I just want to build a bike with Butch Boucher (@Moots) since we are friends and I think we could come up with something cool. He however is not different. So if I had to choose someone with a different style, it would be Mike Flanigan (@ANT). I know we could work together, and we could combine forces to come up with something that would be both modern and functional.

EnginCycles.com

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

9 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Forged
10 years ago

Not only is he smart but he is also dead sexy. The bikes are good too.

Ilikeicedtea
Ilikeicedtea
10 years ago

Yeah. So hot…

Troy Junge
Troy Junge
10 years ago

More about the ceramic coating please…

Steve
Steve
10 years ago

That cross bike is so wonderful to ride and race. Drew is great to work with. He takes the time to understand what you want and provide insight to what might work better. I am sad to see those beautiful steel bikes go, but I can attest to how great the new ti bikes are. If you are contemplating a tailored bike there is no better choice.

MulletRacer
MulletRacer
10 years ago

WTF is happening here. Dynasys 10 speed XTR RD and 10 speed Shimano road levers?

jason
10 years ago

Two different bike there.

Just Saying...
Just Saying...
10 years ago

Bike 1: CX build with a 1 x 11 Ultegra drivetrain and Vittoria Tires

Bike 2: A Mountain build with XTR 10spd and Schwalbe Racing Ralph Tires

Same dropouts between each build, and probably both have Stan’s rims. Similarities assumingly stop there.

Mike
Mike
10 years ago

The first pic has some nice motivated lighting. A bit more fill and it would have been a touch better. The ratio is a little too extreme imo.

Dominic
Dominic
10 years ago

I’ve been sorely tempted to fit a clutched derailleur to a road bike. God knows it’s not like you don’t get chainslap over potholes and the like. Reminds me of the times i rode 7800 shifters where the mass of the shifting mechanism was enough to counteract the force of the retaining spring over a bump so that the brake would actually bounce against its stops. One of the reasons i dig campy levers.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.