Prairie Crow Custom Bicycles
{frame+fork+racks+components}
A touring and camping machine made for trips on rough roads far from mechanical support, this bicycle was equipped with a mix of new and vintage components with the goal of maximum component reliability and simplicity. Built around 26” wheels with lots of clearance for large volume tires and fenders, the frameset was built to handle rough roads with a heavy camping load, but not be so overbuilt as to be unpleasant to ride unloaded.
The current starting price for Prairie Crow framesets is $3100. The frame features covered by this price are covered below. Custom luggage racks and components typically bring the price of the complete bicycle to $7,500-$9,500 before tax. Framesets, with rare exceptions, are not sold alone, but as part of a complete bicycle or as a ‘rolling chassis’(frameset, racks, and some components but excluding handlebar area and drivetrain). Racks are made to suit your individual hauling needs, from carrying a spare sweater to supplies for weeks of touring. The components I sell and design my frames around are chosen to balance reliability, reasonably light weight, and ease of service in mind. I avoid using components that are made of large amounts of materials that cannot be recycled at the end of their service life, such as plastic and carbon fiber.
The $3,100 frameset price includes the following features:
-Frame and Fork, designed for you and built with high quality steel tubes selected for you, assembled via lugged and/or bilaminate bronze fillet construction.
-Full complement of mounting locations for front and rear racks, water bottles, and other luggage carrying systems you may want.
-Stainless wear/mounting surfaces. All attachment points including the inner and outer faces of the dropouts are stainless steel, as well as rack mounts, bottle mounts, etc. This allows these contact surfaces to remain unpainted, avoiding crushed and flaking paint at these locations and makes your paint last as long as possible.
-Well thought out and easily serviced routing for Dynamo wiring for front and rear lights, as well as fork dropouts for the SON SL system (fork is compatible with non SON SL hubs as well).
-Professional automotive quality wetcoat paint, with one or two-tone paint scheme, as well as painted logo work (no stickers or decals to fail).
This light tour frameset was built for, yes, light touring and camping, but it also a very spirited commuter and a fun bicycle for exploring rougher narrow trails. Not overkill for a pavement ride, but also at home on trails like the ones that snake through the woods along the Minnesota River Valley. Equipped with fenders, dynamo lights, racks, and a component selection that wasn’t low-weight obsessed, it still comes in just under 30 lbs, including the platform pedals and a bell. Steel adventure and camping bikes don’t have to be ultra heavy overbuilt tanks.
Every Prairie Crow frame, fork, and rack is designed and fabricated by me in the Prairie Crow shop in the Powderhorn neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. the components come from clever humans all over the world, but the frame, fork, and racks are made here by my hands. I do contract out for paint and plating, but even those operations take place within 15 miles of the shop. When you and I discuss your bicycle dreams you are talking to the designer and the fabricator and the final assembler.
Sometimes it is easier to focus on the frameset and rackset without the bicycle being complete. This 650b Randonuer/Light tour was designed and built for speed and comfort, capable of fast pavement and gravel rides and slightly slower, more careful rough trail exploration, as well as touring and camping with light gear. The minimalist front platform and rear rack keep weight low for most rides, with the optional front pannier support that can be attached for added carrying capacity for camping.
I specialize in bikes for commuting, touring, camping, exploring, and general pleasure. My goal is for you to be surprised by how capable your machine is, and to find that you use it more and more. I strive to make beautiful machines, but they are also for riding and riding hard. These are tools that when made right, expand our capabilities as humans with a minimum ongoing carbon and monetary input. My goal is to find, for you, the ideal blend of rugged reliability and strength, performance (in it’s various forms) utility, fun, and beauty. For more pictures, check out the gallery page or my Instagram (@prairiecrowbikeworks). For questions, or to start the ordering process, head over to the contact page.
This bicycle was going to be used primarily on pavement for recreational rides and errand running, but the rider also wanted to be able to ride comfortably on dirt roads. The sloping top tube gives extra standover clearance to make frequent stops at city intersections comfortable and stable even with a heavy load from the farmers market.
A urban commuting machine still ready for occasional weekend camping trips. A heavy duty downtube was chosen for this frame to provide additional protection from potholes and other surface hazards of city commuting. Putting the extra strength where it is needed and not were it it isn’t keeps a ruggedly tough frame design from becoming unnecessarily heavy; while this frame has a heavier (thicker wall) downtube, ultralight seat stays help make up the difference. This frame is rugged but still really spirited and fun to ride.
Prairie Crow Commuter built around the Shimano Alfine 11 hub. This customer wanted durability and predicable maintenance for as many years as possible while year-round commuting in Minneapolis. Heavy duty all-around was the mission. With Paragon Machineworks sliding dropouts, a True Temper oversize tubeset, clearance for fenders and 45mm tires, and a generally apocalypse-minded component spec, this frame was built to carry the rider everywhere , on and off pavement, year round in Minnesota, and has been for years.
