The upper link is made of CNC-machined aluminum.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Kent Eriksen Cycles won the NAHBS award last year for "Best Tandem" with this machine.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Rather than use an 1 1/8" conversion kit, Kent Eriksen instead simply includes a proper Lefty-compatible head tube on this frame.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Singlespeed, anyone?(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This head tube once started out as a much chunkier piece of titanium.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Both of these bits started out life as flat 6/4 titanium sheet before being cut with a water jet and welded together for use on Kent Eriksen's new full-suspension frame.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The titanium frames attracted most of the attention in the Kent Eriksen booth but what about this wooden stand? Amazing.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Internal wiring is neatly done on this Kent Eriksen rig. Hey Serotta - yes, it can be done.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This frame was left intentionally raw to show off the build quality.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Yee haw!(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Kent Eriksen doesn't just do high-performance machines. This commuter looks like an awfully fun way to get to work.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The rear end of Kent Eriksen's new full-suspension frame is ultra-stout.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The tops of the seat stays are capped with pivots that are machined from 6/4 titanium billet.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Check out the intricately constructed bottom bracket and main pivot area on Kent Eriksen's new full-suspension mountain bike frame.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This Kent Eriksen hardtail is built with 650b/27.5" wheels and features a Cannondale Lefty fork.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Another lovely Kent Eriksen road racer on display at NAHBS.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Eriksen built this tandem with a hydraulic rear stoker brake plus a second set of shift buttons for the rear derailleur.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Kent Eriksen Cycles debuted a new full-suspension mountain bike frame at this year's NAHBS. Rear travel is set at 90mm and it's scalable for 26", 27.5"/650b, or 29" wheels.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Eriksen had this half-finished frame on display to show off the weld and miter quality.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This head tube isn't quite done but you can see how incredibly small and even the weld beads are.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Kent Eriksen Cycles showed off this beautiful disc brake-equipped 'cross bike at this year's NAHBS.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
An Avid BB7 Road SL mechanical disc brake is bolted to Paragon titanium tabs.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This smaller-sized full-suspension Kent Eriksen 650b frame supposedly weighs right around 2.27kg (5.0lb).(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This 650b hardtail was supposedly built with a University of Wyoming theme, complete with a curved top tube and seat stays.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Check out the machined titanium headset spacers.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This Kent Eriksen frame was left completely as-is post-welding - as in no buffing, polishing, or brushing.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Even without post-welding finish work, this Kent Eriksen frame is still gorgeous.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Rather than mount the shock to two flexy plates, Kent Eriksen instead uses a boxed-in design that's much, much stiffer.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The titanium wizards at Kent Eriksen Cycles debuted a new full-suspension mountain bike design at this year's North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Though still unnamed, the single-pivot arrangement was designed in Steamboat Springs, Colorado by Eriksen welder and designer Brad Bingham, offering 90mm of travel in a scalable layout that will work for 26in, 27.5in/650b or 29in wheels.
Unlike the Yeti and Ventana rear ends Eriksen has shown in previous years, this new design uses titanium chain stays and seat stays that are more in keeping with the rest of the frame. The main pivot rotates on double-row sealed cartridge bearings and a 20mm-diameter axle for stiffness and the chain stay yoke is a massive TIG-welded titanium box-section made from sections of 6/4 plate cut with a water jet.
Up top, the shock is driven by a burly CNC-machined aluminum link but the front of shock is mounted with another boxed-in 6/4 welded titanium arrangement that should be much less prone to flex than typical parallel plates. In between Eriksen relies on titanium's inherent flex to accommodate slight changes in geometry as the rear end moves through its travel.
Eriksen claims the new frame will weigh about 2.4kg (5.3lb) on average with smaller sizes flirting with the 2.25kg (5lb) mark. Somewhat unusually, Eriksen intends its 90mm-travel frame to be paired with a 120mm-travel fork.
All of that titanium artistry will cost you, though. Estimated retail price for the frame and rear shock is a whopping $5,400.
Eriksen had heaps of other titanium masterpieces on display, too, including two pieces that highlight the company's expertise in the finicky material.
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One was an Eriksen-sponsored TradeWind Energy team-issue road bike, built with a frame that was left intentionally raw post-welding – as in no finish work, no brushing, no polishing. Some might see it as being incomplete but a closer inspection reveals just how well it's made and in particular, the evenness of the weld beads.
Looking even further under the surface, another frame was literally half-finished with some welds completed, some started, other joints merely tacked, and some that weren't welded at all to show the quality of the mitering. The tightness of the fit is quite impressive.
Eriksen only welded parts of the junctions to show off the tight mitering work
