I travel a lot for business as well as pleasure. And there have been many times I have wished for a bike to travel with me but can’t justify the $100 charge one way for the airline fees to bring a bike with me. So, I am chatting with VaughnA and he mentions that because I have a steel bike, I could retrofit it with S&S couplers. After researching, several people had told me the best place for that in Seattle was at Elliott Bay Cycles.

So yesterday I went in there with one main question: was it better to retrofit my frame or was there any way possible to get a frame with them already built in? I knew I couldn’t afford a custom Davidson bike but was hoping to find one in the shop that I could get reasonably discounted.

I walked into Elliott Bay Bicycles and there was only one gentleman in there. I asked him about S&S couplers. He spent an hour talking to me about frames and components, asking me about what I wanted to accomplish with the bike, what kind of budget I could spend, and many more questions. He also gave me great feedback on what he thought about putting couplers on my bike or just building new.

At the end of the conversation, he said…”I make these bikes and sign my name to them, I don’t usually sell them…give me a couple of days to come up with an idea for you and we will go from there”. Wow, just freaking wow. I was talking to Bill Davidson himself. What an absolute honor and privilege to get an hour of his knowledge and insight into frame building. This guy owns a shop that sells bikes that can cost as much as $15,000 and he didn’t even chuckle at what I said my top budget was. What a fantastic human being. I left there happy for the experience but I still didn’t believe he could make a bike for me at the price I could afford.

So today, he quotes me a price that is completely within my budget. After about an hour of disbelief, I took the plunge…I went to the shop with my old bike, he took measurements, he talked to me and listened to my dreams and goals for cycling, he watched me ride, he didn’t make fun of my inexperience or belittle my goals. He understood my love of cycling and my belief that bikes have souls.

And then he made me pick out a color. And now, in a few weeks, I will have a custom built Davidson bike. I am still in shock. I keep wanting to pinch myself for fear I have woken up in someone else’s life. This kind of thing doesn’t ever happen to me.

The experience of a custom bike is different from anything else I have ever done in my life. It is totally worth every dime of the money you will spend. And I am saying that without even having the bike yet.