with a 29-inch mountain
bike in the works for NBA player
Joel Przybilla.
(Photos: Matt Cardinal)
Local bike builders Matt Cardinal and Nathan Meschke of North Portland-based Signal Cycles (profile) have a tall order to fill; they’re working on a new bike for 6-foot 11-inch Trail Blazers star Joel Przybilla.
Przybilla already owns a Eugene-built Co-Motion hybrid bike that he purchased through the Lake Oswego Bike Gallery store, but his new bike will be a 29-inch mountain bike he plans to ride on the dirt trails near his home.
For Nate and Matt, both of whom are big Blazer fans, working on this bike is a thrill. “Nate and I are super excited,” says Matt, “We have spent many nights in the garage pushing files while listening to Wheels [play-by-play announcer Brian Wheeler] call games. It’s exciting to think Joel will be on one of our bikes!”
Speaking of the bike, Matt says they’re using beefy, oversized steel tubing all around. Here’s more on the technical side from Matt:
“The downtube is a butted 38mm 29er downtube. It is huge, bigger diameter than the headtube, so it had to be ovalized a bit to make the joint work. The top tube is actually a heavier duty down tube, and for the seat tube, we had to use straight guage 4130 seamless tubing. There isn’t a standard seat tube available in the 72cm length we needed… It is going to have a White Brothers suspension fork because they are the only ones that make a steer tube long enough.”
The bike will be painted in Blazer team colors and Przybilla’s number 10 will be integrated into the design. I’ll share more photos and perhaps a few more quotes about it from the big man himself once it’s all done. See a few more photos from the Signal Cycles shop here.