Corey Lowe of Seattle-based Eyewater bicycles is not new to the carbon game – with a background in mechanical engineering, he has worked previously as a design engineer at Parlee, Cannondale, Specialized, and with the Allied Cycle Works crew.
He left the production scene to focus on his own custom brand – Corey wants to be the guy to build the bike for you. He says that carbon has the potential to be romanticized in the same way as steel, not looked at as “plastic bikes”. What sets his operation apart is that he designed and built his own jigs and baking oven (of course), and the lugs on the bike are hand-laid. This allows his frames to be fully customizable in design and geometry, unlike most lugged carbon bikes on the market that are restricted by a rigid mold. He also has a top-secret curing process that gives a finish unlike anything else – completely smooth and a beautiful standalone without paint.
While the outside of the frames are clean and beautiful, the insides are just as impressive. Corey showed me some sample joint cutouts that feature super clean carbon cross sections, no epoxy filler in the corners, no voids, and no wrinkles.
Corey is about 15 bikes into his own carbon venture, and says that he wants to continue to build really nice bikes and be part of such a great creative community, working to find clever creative solutions for his customers. He also mentioned that the name Eyewater stems from the actual watery eye you get during those send it moments – in the sprint or during a great descent – but I think it could also be because the bikes are so beautiful they bring a tear to your eye. You can read our pre-show interview with him here.
