We have some truly special bikes in Kinoko Cycles, from rare Japanese time-trial frames to featherweight carbon race bikes. This frame, however, is one of the nicest things I’ve ever seen. Combining almost everything that makes cycling a great sport, Independent Fabrications have crafted a frame that combines the artisinal aspects of frame building with the performance enhancements of modern technology, and fused it with simple, gorgeous graphics.

 

 

Named after the late 60′s muscle cars made by Ford and Chevy, Factory Lightweights were designed for street racing, as the big manufacturers scrambled to capitalize on the popularity of quarter-mile and drag racing in the States. Stripped back chassis with big engines made the Factory Lightweights fast and nasty cars, and this Indy Fab is no different. Titanium tubes are bonded with a carbon seat tube and seat mast, which keeps the stiffness up and the weight low. A huge 44mm headtube, a 44.5mm downtube and a BB30 bottom bracket, all made out of aerospace quality titanium ensures that every watt of your power output reaches the street. The small details really flesh out how well designed this bike is. A sterling silver headtube badge, custom drop outs and Indy Fab crown details on the rear brake bridge are the tiny details that make this frame extremely special.

 

 

The frame-set is finished off with a custom painted Enve road fork and a custom Indy Fab seatmast topper, complete with Enve saddle-rail clamps. The Enve forks need no introduction from me, but the seatmast topper is a work of art in itself – not only pretty and lightweight, the topper has a huge max rider weight limit of 225kg. The custom-cut Crown finishes the whole thing off – the cherry on the top of an absolutely flawless frame.

There is very little this frame isn’t capable of – it’s a bike for life that can run rain or shine, for racing or casual riding. In a marketplace which is defined by annual innovation, this frame is going to be competitive for it’s entire life.

See more photographs of this Factory Lightweight on , or order your own here.