Sam Evans’ Cysco Experience
Richie Moore spun around on his stool at Tremont Tavern, our neighborhood bar. “Sam?” That’s me. Richie’s drawl is disarming; he’s an easygoing guy who, like me, would rather do business over a beer than a desk. Richie is from Cisco, Georgia, not far from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and at the foothills of some of the best road and mountain biking the South has to offer. Before we finished our second round, I knew I wanted him to build my next bike.
1997 was the pinnacle of cycling technology, or so I’ve been known to say. That’s the year my last road bike was built, in Italy, with silver fillet brazing and eight-speed Campy Ergopower. But while I’ve waxed poetic about my elegantly raked steel fork, I’ve secretly envied my friends’ threadless stems and carbon gadgetry. It was only a matter of time.
I had seen Cysco bikes before. The dramatic, twisted tubes caught my eye. His aesthetic matched what I was looking for: a modern steel frame that paired performance with classic good looks. It’s also hard to imagine that Richie’s bikes could be built anywhere other than here in Chattanooga, a city that has found its own renewal by combining the best of the old with the new.
Richie is a 15-year veteran framebuilder, and the pictures of his other bikes spoke for themselves, but his easy-going manner sealed the deal. I asked him if he could build me a road frame to mirror the fit of my old bike, but with a carbon fork, BB30, and some minor tweaks to adjust the ride. “Sure thing, Sam.” Like most southern gentlemen, Richie is good about saying your name while he’s talking to you.
I actually asked for two frames–a road bike and a 29er mountain bike. Richie invited me to his shop to go over the details. Richie’s shop is in a metal building with no shade and no air conditioning. No fans either, because they would blow away the inert gas that shields the welding arc. By 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, it’s too hot to do anything but find a swimming pool or a cold drink. It’s easy to see why most things move slow in the South, especially in the summertime. But Richie’s work was quick and confident. He had my frames ready to paint before I even decided what colors I wanted.
On the Saturday when I picked it up my road frame, it wasn’t even lunchtime and already the wind felt like it was blowing straight out of an open oven door–a better day to build a bike than to ride one. In the sunlight, the bike was perfect. David Summers, a frequent collaborator on Cysco bikes, had given me a classy scheme of deep blue with dark silver graphics. Richie’s welds were flawless.
My first ride was a revelation. This bike climbs like kudzu on a telephone pole and descends with better manners than Abigail Van Buren. With my short chainstays, the rear wheel sits right underneath me on the climbs, and power goes to the pedals with nothing lost. With the BB30 and oversized twisted downtube, the bike is impossibly stiff on the steep stuff. On rolling terrain, the roomy cockpit makes it easy to hammer in the drops. And the bike loves to be pushed into corners, like preloading a mountain bike, to accelerate out of the turns. Even with these performance gains, however, there is no comfort lost. At the end of a long ride, I felt as good as if I’d spent the day on my familiar Italian steed.
My first date with my mountain bike was just as good. Riding my local trails, I felt like I was cheating. I asked for a bike with a short wheelbase and quick handling for my favorite twisty trails, and Richie delivered: the bike let me flick it around corners without a single complaint. I felt well balanced between the wheels; climbing traction and wheel-wandering were never a problem. Pointed downhill, the bike was stable at speed, and it loved to get airborne. There were no surprises, and it was easy to forget that this was my first ride on a new bike; I felt like I’d been riding it for years.
My Cyscos were exactly what I wanted them to be, which, I suppose, is the truest compliment you can pay to a custom framebuilder. I look forward to riding these bikes for many miles and many years. More than that, I look forward to taking a little piece of Chattanooga with me on every ride, no matter where the road or the trail leads me.
New bikes added to the Gallery – and more on the way
We’ve been busy at Cysco Cycles International Headquarters (Ooltewah, TN). The Anvil Jig has been rocking with a combination of twisted steel tubes, stainless tubes, and most recently titanium. Richie is incredibly excited to be able to offer titanium to Cysco customers again.
Hop on over to the bike gallery and check out the latest, then call is and get your frame or complete bike in the build queue. We get busier and busier every week, so don’t wait too long!
- Cysco Cycles
