Renovo Bikes DIY

BYOB program: Makers Only

Build your own bike: My completed custom "Renovo by Christo" high art bike frames sell from $7,500 to $50,000. The higher priced frames are collaborations with artists that add carving or inlay and help to get them shown in galleries. If you are that type of artist, we can talk about collaborations. For makers, you can build one bike frame for only $2,750. Make it a sideline business and sell your finished build if you wish (kits are as low as $1,750 for experienced volume builders that also market Renovo). Your kit includes a proprietary 2/3 built bent wood frame assembled with head tube, bottom bracket shell, seat post, chain stays, seat stays and drop outs. Also included are full size parts (not just plans or templates) for the rest of the build (decking), a license to build one frame, serial number badge, and decal set. Add your labor and creativity to finish off the bike. Of course you get to choose wood species and your size. Take a look at the following video to see what you are going to get in your kit

There are four models in the BYOB maker program: Whiskey Jack Gravel, Blackwood Pursuit Road, Barrel Stave Endurance and eRenovo. Sizes S 52cm, M 55cm, L 58cm, and XL 61cm. We are adding a hardtail mountain bike next year. The ebike option adds about $2000-$3000 depending on build. You can't order an ebike online yet because there are too many choices to make, and many of them affect the price you'll pay.

Start by building 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 a generous time estimate to finish the 2/3 built kit frame supplied by Renovo. Your work can occur over any time period, but lets look at a 4 week build time. Figure only about .5 to 1.0 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 your shop:

Renovo has delivered your 2/3 built frame. You put in five to ten hours of work this week. Start by shaping the extra parts that are supplied with your kit. These will form the side decking, or show-wood portion of your frame. If you get done quickly, you could start bonding them to the frame.

Week 2 at your shop:

Five to ten hours of work...You will bond those parts to the frame to form the rest of the hollow tubes. 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 sanded in any number of ways that suits your shop. Work up in grits from 80 to 220. You can start the coating work this week, but we'll describe it next in week 4.

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. The bike looks glorious by now.

Or build it in 3 days at a workshop:

The workshop program is a fast build. The fast build kit is $750 more expensive because we have done the "Week 1" work for you. There is also a workshop charge of $1200 for the mentor and the facility. Your workshop starts on day 1 with bonding the show wood. Day 2 is for sanding. Day 3 is for finishing. We can teach this workshop anywhere when 4 or more students commit to the workshop, purchase their kit, and arrange for a venue.

We are taking orders for three shows in 2025:

March 27-29, 2025 at Pure Timber (home of Renovo)
2025 MADE in Portland OR Aug 22-24
2025 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, Sept 5-12.

Order your Renovo Frame Kit here... Renovo BYOB

Skill level is "Expert". For ambitious woodworkers of more modest skills or shops, there will be some basic woodworking skills to acquire. Consider a mentoring class which we can run anywhere, as long as a minimum of 4 students sign up. We do sometimes offer private mentoring at our shop in Gig Harbor. And you can ship your frame to us at any point to complete if you need more than a little help to get it done. 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 by new DIY build customers due to your location, your rate, and your experience. Your bio will be available to new customers, and you can build a side hustle providing mentorship 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.

We 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 Force 1x12 or Campagnolo Ekar 1x13. Our favorite wheel sets come from Rolf Prima in Oregon. We also like Whisky Parts Co for the cockpit, and Brooks for the seat and bar tape.

If you are looking for more information on our DIY bicycle frames, please

look here... Build Your Own Bike: Products

and here... Build Your Own Bike: Tools and Labor

and here... Renovo Blog Posts

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.