Hand-Built Bicycles

Through the University of Iowa and Professor Steve McGuire, I have been a student and graduate assistant of the course ‘Fabrication & Design: Hand-Built Bicycle’ for the past 2 years.

One of its kind nationwide, McGuire’s class crosses the arts with engineering, giving students the opportunity to learn a design process while applying machine and tool knowledge, all culminating in an object to be cherished for a lifetime.

As the graduate assistant, I helped dozens of design and engineering students through their builds by teaching welding and shop practices, overseeing the digital drafting of all frames, and consulting specific ergonomic and aesthetic desires from one student to the next.

I had the fortune of making three bicycle frames throughout my tenure, of which the individual processes are documented below.