Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Ben's Sled

Ben Witt of Milltown Cycles had a custom Steve Potts drop bar single speed made recently and whoo boy! It's a honey!

For those of you that don't know, Steve Potts has been making killer mountain bike frames for as about as long as the modern mountain bike has been around. He was a principal in WTB's earlier days, and was one of the first to design and build a modern day 29"er back in 1999. To say that Steve Potts knows something about welding some thin walled tubes together is a mild understatement!

Ben got the titanium frame and a sweet Type II steel fork. It even has his name on the top tube! My favorite detail though is the head tube badge. Too bad I didn't get a shot of that! (I saw this when I was at his shop Friday).

Potts' work is incredibly clean and well executed. Look at this drop out. It is awesome! Beautiful in simplicity and purpose.

The finish is flawless. Amazingly so. The details like the brass jamb nut on the tensioner are nice touches to a simple, purposeful build.

There really isn't anything unnecessary here. Everything has a reason for being. I like that in a single speed.

Check out these welds too. Incredible!

There isn't anyone doing this any better, at least as far as looks go. And if the frames out there are any indication, Potts frames are pretty bomber too.

The worst thing about this frame is that it fits me perfectly! Ben's bikes usually do. It is uncanny, but he and I like the same set ups. 
Chapeau! Ben! You have a sweet rig there and I hope you enjoy it for years to come!

4 comments:

Jerry said...

I had a look at that new ride a couple of weeks ago. Steve Potts is an artist. even the fork color is really cool. you need to see the color in person to appreciate it. I've come to realize Ben is wise beyond his years.

Chris said...

I can echo everything Jerry said and add, Steve's one hell of a nice guy. Ben sure picked a winner there.

Spoony said...

Hi Ted, I got my 29er frame from Steve some weeks ago. It's perfect! You'll find some pictures on my blog. The text, however, is in German... More pictures will follow as soon as the bike is finished.
http://blog.spoony.ch/2010/02/07/projekt-ti29-40-der-potts-titanium-29er-rahmen-2/

Georges Rouan said...

Great Potts...I am poaching the picture of the drop outs for my site (will give credit to you of course).

I always enjoy your stories- keep em up.