(the Wright St. Clair)

So we’re obviously advocates for building Frankenbikes, not just for keeping costs down, but also the idea of recycling old and forgotten velos. My commuter has now become a mainstay for riding around town, but for my next project, I would like to recreate the beautiful lines of an old racer. This one would be purely eye candy, and probably only ridden for special events, but I’m a history buff and love the look of anything built at the turn of the last century. When looking around for ideas, the guys at soon-to-be-opened Oak Cliff Bicycle Company forwarded me a link to the gorgeous Pashley Guv’nor. Given the steep price tag for a bike that would only be ridden for special events, I started looking around for something comparable to rebuild…and that’s when I found it…the Wright St. Clair.

Everyone knows the Wright Brothers were famous for building the first controllable aircraft, but little is mentioned of the other machines they created which helped fund their aeronautic experiments: the bicycle. Obviously, parts would have to be updated…new brakes, a gear or three, but other than that, i plan on having something like this roll out of my garage very soon. Time to break out the knickers, cap, and long socks!