Idaho retailer to launch steel bike line

BOISE, IDAHO (BRAIN) — With an eye toward aggressive trail riding, retailer Alan Klarc is setting up in-house fabrication for a line of steel mountain bikes to be sold through his Boise shop, Velomech, starting this spring or summer. 

Oxide Cycles’ initial line will include two production True Temper hardtails — the Drekar, a 29er with relaxed geometry intended for use with a short stem and a single-speed or 1-by drivetrain, and the Warhammer, a 650b all-mountain model designed around a 160-millimeter-travel fork. Customers can also opt for titanium or custom geometry, with estimated prices ranging from $1,800 for production steel to about $3,200 for custom ti. 

Additionally, Klarc is producing a limited run of six stainless steel suspension downhill frames, the Valkyrie, which he views as “a flagship marketing exercise” for Oxide Cycles. “We’ll see how many people are interested in what will probably be a $3,500 frame,” he said. Klarc also plans to produce a True Temper version that should come in about $1,000 less.

Sourcing CNC’d dropouts and bottom bracket shells from Paragon and other outside vendors, Klarc is currently welding and finishing frames off site but plans to move his fabrication shop inside Velomech within the next three months. 

To make way for that production, he will stop flooring other brands’ complete bikes in his 1,000-square-foot shop and concentrate instead on parts, accessories, service and selling his own completes. 

“I just don’t have enough square footage or money to fully stock up on the complete bikes,” said Klarc. He recently canceled a $30,000 order of bikes and is selling of his remaining stock from brands including Salsa, BH and Pivot.

A longtime builder and tinkerer who started building bikes 12 years ago, Klarc has experience doing fabrication work on racecars and motorcycles. He also worked in architecture before opening Velomech five years ago. 

“I ended up having back surgery because of so much time in front of a computer, so I had to find something new,” he said of his transition to the bike business. “It just happened to be where the bulk of my knowledge was, so I just couldn’t avoid it no matter how hard I tried.”