Welcome to the new blog for Storm Cycles !
My name is Shaun Weber. I am a bicycle frame builder based in Cape Town, South Africa. I build my Storm custom bicycle frames from steel, by hand, in my workshop in Cape Town's leafy Southern Suburbs.
In days past, after a string of kids bikes, my first real bicycle was a lovely white ten speed racer. A dream merchant without a name. It was a faithful companion in fun and hard times. Liberated one night into the clutches of one more needy it may yet still be coasting along on in parts unknown. At university in Grahamstown, I once more lit the flame in the form of a red Peugeot racer which was one day to save my life, but more about that in another blog post.
I waited too long to get another bike but perversely have my dear, departed, Giant Schnauzer Dieter to thank for bring cycling back. His boisterous, high speed, knee high tackle left me with a dislocated knee and fewer ligaments. A physio suggested cycling as a way to strengthen the knee and that had me limp into the bike shop. Bernie, the owner, was steeped in road racing and I remember how his face dropped when I instead took an interest in the mountain bikes. Mountain biking was still in its infancy and the bikes didn't have the same beautiful lines as racing bikes but they had a kind of pugnacious, "bring it on" look about them that I liked. I am man enough to admit that I knew nothing about frame quality in those days and was won over by a cool dark maroon and gold one and so began my love affair again. I crashed it the following week and regularly thereafter. Crash and learn. Then one day I went riding with a Swiss friend of a friend. He had a beautiful MTB, a Serotta, with such clean lines and weighing next to nothing with a beautiful springy ride. My first glimpse of a custom steel bike. Walter was strong and fast and gave me a target to aim for.
There were very few organised MTB races in those days. My first was the Rhodes MTB Challenge and a brutal introduction into where my cycling genes lie in the scheme of things. I rode the World Cup DH race (citizens challenge) on my rigid steel bike. The first Cape Epic followed and then I was into Singlespeed riding and still am I suppose. In 2007 I partnered with a tough New Yorker, Chris, to become the first team ride the Cape Epic on singlespeed bikes. In those days there were very few SSers. Meurant Botha the trail builder, Paul Edmunds the artist are a few that come to mind.
My own Corporate career wound down and finally I had a chance to make the change I had been yearning for. I kicked off my path to frame building by travelling to America and cycling a section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike route but veered off in Colorado to end up at master frame builder Koichi Yamaguchi. Koichi started frame building in Japan with the famous 3Rensho (pronounced "San Rensho" - it means "three victories"). Japan has had government controlled Keirin track cycle racing on which bets are taken since just after the Second World War. Bicycles have to conform to strict standards and the frames must be made from steel so there is a very vibrant and competitive steel bicycle frame industry. Koichi worked with the great Yoshi Konno before moving to America where he was initially team mechanic for the USA Amateur Cycling Federation and then later started building frames for them too. He was to build Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie's frames before they turned professional. Koichi was famous for designing and building a steel bike, in less than one week, that took on and beat Chris Boardman's famous Lotus carbon fibre bike. His bikes have won numerous world championship events.
I learned to build build frames on one of Yamaguchi's courses and have since set up my own workshop, hand building my own fixtures and jigs and I work with arguably the best bike painter in the country.
I use mainly Columbus tubing but also use tubes from True Temper, Reynolds and Dedacciai and others where these offer better options. I join the tubes by fillet-brazing, lugs or bi-laminate work and also build matching rigid forks and stems.
My particular passion is for gravel racing bikes but I also build Cyclocross, Road, Touring, Plus bikes, Fixie, Track, and of course Hardtail Mountain bikes.
I am passionate about all styles of bicycles and would love to make your next beautiful ride.
Give me a call on +27 83 6293191 or email me on sjweber@telkomsa.net
Cheers,
Shaun.
