Richard Sachs Cycles
Builder Profile

About Richard Sachs:

I am Richard Sachs. I have been building bicycle frames since 1972. And unlike many of my peers in the trade who may put their names on frames built by their assistants, or on frames built in the Orient for them to sell here, I work alone. For a Richard Sachs frame I select the geometry, cut and braze the tubes, file the lugs, and do all the tasks necessary to complete the 8 to 10 frames I build each month. It has always been this way.

As a youngster, Richard Sachs could not easily separate his enthusiasm for bicycle racing from the interest he had in the equipment used by the top athletes of the day. With a balance of dedication and perseverance, he pursued his competitive cycling as well as his choice of a framebuilder's life. His dream of learning to build bicycles that could, one day, rival the machines he so revered led him to spend a year in London as an apprentice to Witcomb Lightweight Cycles. There he would cultivate the basic skills that have become the foundation of his successful career. More that 25 years have passed, and Richard continues to zealously combine his racing background with his extensive framebuilding experience--and has gained respect as one of the finest builders of custom bicycles in the world.

Few bicycle makers can offer you a frame built as well as mine. The weak link is always the work force.

 

At Richard Sachs Cycles, I am the work force.

 


Richard Sachs

Why buy a frame from a one-man shop still using traditional hand-building methods?  

   

Because Technology Alone Is A Poor Substitute For Experience.

 

What I build:

I don't build concept bikes, trade show samples, or unrideable prototypes. I don't choose the latest angles for this season's riding position. And I don't change my material choice, tube shape, or joining process with each new model year.

What I do build are rationally designed, precisely constructed, hand-finished road racing frames. I use a proprietary blend of Reynolds tubing along with the finest investment cast, forged, and pressed steel fittings available. For my assembled bicycles I offer Campagnolo Record, Chorus, and Athena ensembles, and components from Selle San Marco, Wheelsmith, and 3ttt to complement my frames.

Recent years have been an increasing preoccupation with the importance of frame materials relative to a bicycle's performance. For some companies, only tubing recently declassified by the Department of Defense will do. Some claim their bicycles are designed by real engineers with real degrees. Still others may entice you with leaflets depicting bar graphs and CAD/CAM jargon to legitimize their products. In contrast to all of this, I do things the "old" way. Few bicycle makers can offer you a frame built as well as mine.

The weak link is always the work force. And all the new materials, tube shapes, or joining processes available to the industry cannot mask the compromises that are endemic to mass-produced or even low-volume framebuilding. Little, if anything at all, can cover up the shortcuts taken by other manufacturers whose main goal is to produce the most units at the lowest cost. The bike industry makes money. I make bikes.

At Richard Sachs Cycles, I am the work force.

Since 1972 my initial and singular goal has been to create a well-made, hand-built, made-to-measure bicycle frames. Through the years I have been able to combine my experience in the sport with my artisan approach to framebuilding to develop a predictable, repeatable construction assembly that enables me to produce a perfectly straight, well-balanced frame, ideally suited to the needs of each and every client placing an order. I insist on actual quality, rather than perceived quality. The success I realize is due, in part, to the commitment I make to ensure that no compromise exists in the design, materials, construction, or finish of a Richard Sachs frame or bicycle.

I firmly believe that my high standards have been a bit easier to achieve because I do work alone. I have no apprentice and employ no outside help, either in my workroom, or in the form of subcontractors. From beginning to end, I do it all. And that includes answering the telephone. If you want to know more about my bicycle frames and how they are made ... if you have a question about frame design or construction, proper fit, acceptable alignment tolerances ... anything at all, call me. I will be the one answering your call, and I would be very pleased to tell you more.
It is only fitting that the perfectly constructed bicycle should have the industry's finest finish. Each Richard Sachs frame is sent to JB Custom Paint in San Diego for paintwork and graphic application. Joe Bell matches the color to order to create a highly durable, high-gloss finish that, rather than simply covering, actually enhances the metalwork beneath it.

What others have to say about Richard:

"As Sachs has learned more about making bicycles, he has greedily hoarded all that knowledge, and put every bit of it into every frame. You'd think that learning would breed efficiency, but for Sachs it just means another step inserted into his already maniacally precise process used to make sure the frames are dead straight when they're checked on the alignment table for the umpteenth time." -- Bicycle Guide

"If the esteem of one's peers counts for anything, then Richard Sachs is indeed highly ranked. He is often mentioned by other framebuilders as someone who knows his craft." -- The Best Report

"I took the bike up to 59 mph on a steep Rocky Mountain descent. Instead of vibrating or acting otherwise, the Sachs seemed to ask for more." -- Winning Magazine

"A Richard Sachs bike feels good because it's the perfect blend of what's good from the past with what works from the present. Take another look at steel, and seriously consider a red and white bike in your future." -- Road Bike Action

S and S Couplings

"The S and S Bicycle Coupling System works GREAT! Excellent machine work, beautiful finish--What a fine idea. I'm happy to recommend it as an option on new frames or as a retro-fit on pre-builts. I'm confident that frames which are coupled are as mechanically sound as those which aren't."
Richard Sachs

 


A Richard Sachs road bike with S and S Couplings

 

Testing product ... or doing homework?

 

  Richard Sachs on his Richard Sachs bicycle. A liscenced U.S.C.F category 2 racer, he still competes 40 to 50 times each year

 

More Bike Photos (red and white)

An Interview with Richard Sachs by Gabe Konrad

Road Kings - A select few bicycle builders across the united states are hand-crafting the ultimate human-powered vehicles by Marc Wortman

More articles about Richard Sachs


Products and services available utilizing BTCs.

I sell frames and complete bicycles.

Standard frames

Custom frames

Retrofitting services

Construction methods

Frame materials

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Contact Information

Richard Sachs Cycles
No. 9, North Main Street
Chester, CT 06412


Phone: (860) 526-2059
e-mail: richardsachs@juno.com


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