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Behind The Builder: James Bleakley of Black Sheep Bikes
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- čas přidán 14. 08. 2024
- James Bleakley got his start in the early 90's working at Boulder Bicycles. As he made his way up to lead welder, he was in search of a better work life balance. A few more years after that, he finally launched his own line of custom bikes named Black Sheep Bikes. Along the way, he has won Best Big Weld and Best Titanium Bike both at NAHBS.. finished the Leadville 100 thirteen times on a singlespeed, and has become notoriously known for his curvy titanium frames, forks and handlebars.
In this video, we dive into his history welding, nerdy technical titanium welding, his function behind the form.. and many other stories along the way.
Timestamps:
0:00-0:15 Intro
0:15-5:00 How Black Sheep Bikes Started
5:25-11:48 Welding Titanium Frames and Custom Forks
11:45-14:50 Singlespeed History and Leadville 100
14:51-16:10 Custom Titanium Handlebars
#blacksheepbikes #customtitaniumbike #behindthebuilder #framebuilding
Proud owner of a black sheep as my lifetime bike. Wasn’t my original choice growing up.. but when I got older I started to realise how priorities realign. In that way, when I finally found James.. I knew this was it. One of the best technical craftsman/artists that are still around and active.. his workmanship is top of the top.. his designs and innovations are original with no gimmicks, only common sense. Excellent work ethic, traditional framebuilder with the best in modern tech available to the customer, reasonable prices, crazy unique and functional bikes that would outlast your lifetime.
Most of all, he is a kind, patient and experienced person that will help you fulfill a lifelong dream. When you choose to go for a custom frame/bike you’re not just getting the bike.. you’re getting a piece of history and soul of the builder.
I never thought I’d feel/remember so much over a bike.. but James played a huge part in that experience as a custodian and friend. Thank you James for all you’ve learnt so that we may benefit from the wonderful bikes you create.
And thank you Josh for spending the time documenting Black Sheep (beautiful, beautiful photos from before) and finally releasing this video.
Love hearing stories like these! Thanks so much for sharing and watching. I agree with everything you said!
What a great video. Awesome work, Josh. I was able to shadow James last year as he built a frame for an Iceland ride at the University of Iowa. He's a world class teacher, as well as bike builder. Thanks for sharing this with the world.
That's a great short film/doc! I was going to comment on that truss fork with the shock before James did.I love those drop bars! I never liked drops until I started bonding with my CX bike during pandemic. Absolutely my favorite frame builder and bikes! Functional art! Go James!
For sure! The truss fork is wild but the one with the shock is even more crazy! And yes, his drop bars are beautiful! I prefer flat bar these days, but his are so cool I want a pair! Thanks for watching!
I’m the proud owner of a Black Sheep tandem that James built for us in 2014. I love that bike more than any of my others. It’s truly a functional piece of art and has given me countless hours of riding with my kids.
Love hearing this! Functional art is right.
What a cool gig to be able to combine art, design, science, engineering and James favorite pastime!
Life is good.
Cool Video! Thanks for putting this together and sharing!
Thanks for watching!
Wow, this is such a good video. It was really interesting, the production value is amazing and those bikes are so so cool 👏👏👏
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.
@@joshhicks8874 so interesting to hear him talking about welding and Ti welding in particular. He makes it sounds easy 😄 Sounds a bit like stainless welding but a bit harder.
Those welding gloves he’s using must be made of asbestos or something because he’s holding the torch right on the tip of the nozzle 😆
@@TheSlowworms for sure. He does make it sound easy! Titanium is much cooler to weld than steel or aluminum, so he can be right in there without much heat.
That's awesome, nice work James!!
Thanks for watching!
This is so great! Clunker in LT100 is *bananas*. Really enjoying this interview, thanks so much for making it.
So bananas!! I can’t even imagine coaster braking downhill in the high country. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
Very fascinating and inspirational
Glad you think so! Thanks for watching!
Have any questions or comments for James about his bikes/components? I can pass them on! Leave a thumbs like up above if you like this style of video!
Awesome video on an awesome dude!
🤘🏼 thanks for watching!
woohooooo
🙌
The hardtail looks like a beach cruiser frame
He definitely draws some inspiration from those early days of klunkers using old Schwinn cruisers.
BLACK SHEEP CYCLES
BEST bicycle designs in the WORLD.
🚀 SHIBA INU to the MOON. 🌙
Thanks for watching!!