Renovo BYOB

BYOB program: Makers Only

Build your own bike: Completed custom Renovo by Christo high art bike frames sell at $7,500. But for makers, you can build one bike frame for as low as $1,500 ($2,500 first build -kit half built) plus your labor. Includes proprietary bent wood frame assembled with head tube, bottom bracket shell, seat post, chain stays, seat stays and drop outs. Full size templates for the rest of the build (decking), a license to build one frame, serial number badge, and decal set plus some of your woodworking, finish off the bike.

Four models so far are included in the BYOB maker program: Whiskey Jack Gravel, Blackwood Pursuit Road, Barrel Stave Touring and eRenovo. Sizes in 49-50, 52-53, 55-56, 58-59, and 61-62cm sizes. (XS, S, M, L, XL), we are adding a hardtail mountain bike next year as well. The ebike option adds about $2000 for the motor, battery, brackets, and display.

Build one for yourself or a family member. Consider making it a business by building more frames under the brand name Renovo by "you" and selling them yourself at a price you choose.

The 20-40 hour build is on the half built kit frame supplied by Renovo. Your work can occur over any time period, but lets look at a 5 week build with the first two weeks of work done by Renovo. Figure only about .5 to 1.5 hours per day of woodworking if you are already a woodworker and have a well equipped shop. If you have less experience, count on learning a few new things along the way. Look at our "tools" blog to get an idea of what you will need to have in your shop to get this done. You will have lots of videos, pictures, and advice to draw upon. Here is how the build progress can go...

Week 1 at Renovo: Renovo creates the main bent wood triangle of the frame.

Week 2 at Renovo: Renovo adds the seat stays and chain stays. They are aligned and bonded with the head tube sleeve, bottom bracket sleeve, seat post tube, and drop outs. Then this half build bike frame is shipped to you by bike flights.

Week 1 at your shop: You put in five to ten hours of work...You will deck the frame with your (or our) show wood at the seat post, down tube, top tube and head tube. It looks like a bike now, just a bit square corner-ish.

Week 2 at your shop: Five to ten hours of work...You shape and sand your frame, including the decking you added, and then round over and shape the stays that we built for you. This is essentially a coarse sanding, at about 50 or 60 grit. Count on an hour or so of shaping/day over the course of a week. Now it looks like a fully shaped bike frame with rounded edges and beautiful tapered tubes.

Week 3 at your shop: Five to ten hours of work...The frame is medium and fine sanded in any number of ways that suits your shop. Work up in grits from 80 to 220 .

Week 4 at your shop: Five to ten hours of work...The frame is finished in any way that suits your shop, and the decals are added after the first coat. This takes about an hour/day over the course of a week. The bike looks glorious by now.

Order your Renovo Frame Kit here... Renovo BYOB If you are a first time builder, you wont have the $1500 option available to you, but the $2500 option has so much more to make you successful, because you won't need to deal with the geometry and alignment or the wood bending.

With the $2,500 fast build there are no forms to make and no alignment jig to set up. All geometry is pre-set and pre-built at Renovo. This includes the main frame triangle, the seat stays, the chain stays, rear drop outs, bottom bracket shell, seat post, head tube. At this point, the bike frame is actually rideable. It looks like a real bike, but don't take it on the road yet. It needs your contribution to make it a stiff rider, and permanently protected.

Lumber:

Available where you are, or add an ash, ambrosia maple, cherry or walnut deck set for $200 rough, or $500 shaped and hollowed.

Skill level is "Expert". For ambitious woodworkers of more modest skills or shops, we have your back. Choose an online mentor based on their resume and rates. You can even come to our well equipped shop in Gig Harbor for classes or private mentoring. And you can ship your frame to us at any point to complete if you need more than a little help. We are setting up a coaching/mentoring platform where you can choose a mentor, and engage with them on an hourly basis at any time during your build.

Once you have built a few frames, you can become a Renovo Mentor. Mentors are listed on our website as resources for new builders. You can be chosen for mentoring due to your location, your rate, and your experience. Your bio will be available to new customers, and you can build a side hustle doing mentoring to other Renovo builders. Your time is billed at a rate you choose. You can even offer build classes at your own shop or a local club or fab shop. Become part of an international community of wooden bike makers and mentors that build Renovo bikes.

If you need help fitting out your new frame, we are here to help you decide on the right parts for your build. We can also supply all the components to be assembled onto your new frame (group set, wheel set, cockpit). We most often use Rotor components from Spain for their high count 1x13 hydraulic group sets, SRAM or Campagnolo. Our favorite wheel sets come from Rolf Prima in Oregon. We also like Whisky Parts Co for the cockpit, and Brooks for the seat.

The following links will take you to our retail bike website, where you can review the models. Contact christo@renovo.bike (1-253-988-2046) with questions or to place an order for your first bike kit.