Will Scharen, a long-time musician and instructor, connects a motorbike he’s constructing to a service rack in his Ashland store. The pandemic, partially, nudged him into turning a pastime right into a enterprise. Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune
Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneWill Scharen at his Ashland bike constructing store.
Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneWill Scharen fills the tires of a motorbike he’s constructing in his Ashland store.
Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneWill Scharen fills the tires of a motorbike he’s constructing in his Ashland store.
Musician shifts gears to a brand new profession constructing {custom} bicycles
It may be no shock to study a trombonist is an professional at tubing, however Will Scharen has taken the curiosity to a complete new stage. He builds custom-made bicycles.
The Ashland 45-year-old give up his job in late 2020 as operations supervisor on the executive crew of Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestra to launch a brand new enterprise, Scharen Cycles. It was a serious life change, nudged partially by the pandemic.
He started constructing bespoke bikes in 2013, a yr earlier than he auditioned for second trombone with RVS. He was employed and nonetheless performs with the orchestra.
“It was a hobby,” he stated. “But I always had dreams and aspirations to build professionally. I built almost exclusively for myself, friends and family.”
Not lengthy after he joined RVS, he took a part-time place as orchestra librarian. He did that for 2 years earlier than being provided a full-time administrative place in 2016.
He wore lots of hats on the job. He was liable for ordering workplace provides, speaking with the administration for visitor artists and coordinating their schedules whereas on the town, and coordinating gear wants and schedule particulars for RVS’s three venues in Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass.
“I also handled content management for the RVS website and many other details as part of a small staff,” he stated. He continued to construct bikes throughout that interval.
The pandemic proved to be difficult for arts organizations across the globe, and RVS was no exception.
“Though I admire how the organization made the most of the situation, it should be no surprise that we were all struggling to figure out what to do for many months,” Scharen stated. “I was already on the edge of not being able to sit at a desk job for eight hours a day, and the pandemic pushed me over the edge. I needed to be out doing something, being more active.”
Playing music dwell was not an possibility throughout the interval, nor was instructing in individual, though he had began to supply classes through video conferencing.
His six-year bike-building pastime had him enthusiastic about whether or not to attempt to promote his frames commercially.
“Starting a business was such a daunting concept, and it took the pandemic to give me the guts to go for it,” he stated. “I quit my office job at the end of October 2020 and started my new business in January of 2021.”
He’s been driving since he was a younger little one. In junior excessive, he started to get into driving extra critically and began racing mountain bikes in highschool and into school.
“Eventually my thinking changed, and now I strongly believe that recreation and utility are the most important uses of the bicycle,” he stated.
Shortly earlier than shifting to Oregon, he attended the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, an annual commerce present for bicycle fabricators. The present was in Denver, the place he lived on the time.
He didn’t know what to anticipate, however curiosity motivated him to attend.
“It completely blew me away that individuals could build bicycle frames for a living,” he stated. He was energized and impressed by what he noticed. “I wanted to do it too.”
His first cease when he arrived within the Rogue Valley was United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, the place he attended a two-week intensive course in body constructing. UBI is a famend coaching faculty for each bicycle mechanics and body builders.
“I took the class focusing on steel brazing, steel being the bicycle frame material and brazing being the method of joining the tubes.”
Brazing is completed with a fuel torch, used to soften a filler rod of both bronze or silver alloy into the junctions of the metal tubing, making a chemical bond. Welding can be a way utilized in body constructing. It’s totally different in that it makes use of the identical materials because the body as filler.
“Welding is a valid method of bicycle frame construction, but I like brazing because it’s an older technique — classic even,” he stated.
Scharen’s work since school has largely been in music and instructing, though he did work as a motorbike mechanic for 2 years at Marty’s Cycle in Medford. Skills honed there are helpful in his new occupation.
Custom bike craftsmen are referred to as body builders as a result of they construct the frames, forks, stems and cargo racks. They are the components of a motorbike they construct from scratch. The remainder of the bike consists largely of components which might be bought reasonably than constructed.
Scharen primarily makes use of tubing and brazing alloys that had been developed particularly for bicycles. “However, I also use a type of steel originally designed for aircraft frames,” he stated. “Many of those parts are modified by me before or in the process of being turned into a bike frame.”
When it was nonetheless a pastime, Scharen constructed 10 bikes within the years by 2020. So far in 2021, he has constructed 5. “I’m hoping to be able to build 20-30 bikes a year,” he stated.
It’s cheaper to purchase a brand-name bike off the rack.
“By far, most of the world’s bikes are manufactured in China and other places with inexpensive labor,” he stated. “I do have to charge more, but there are several reasons to buy a bike from me.”
Among the explanations he cited, primary is proudly owning a novel product, in contrast to any that may be purchased off the shelf.
“I can take into account your fit preferences and make your bike the perfect size for you,” he stated.
“Buyers can also choose custom colors, from basic to wild. And buyers like knowing the person who built their bikes. I’m happy to chat about my design philosophy with them.”
He says prospects additionally like shopping for domestically, supporting native enterprise.
Scharen focuses on crafting gravel bikes and hardtail mountain bikes.
“I have built road bikes and commuter bikes, too,” he stated. His aim within the subsequent yr is to construct himself a cargo bike, a sturdy bike designed to hold heavy hundreds and sometimes two or extra individuals.
“I have not yet built an electric bike, but I probably will soon. They are very practical for so many users.”
It takes him 30-40 hours to construct a body, which begin at $2,200 with a single-color powder coat. Frame and fork begin at $2,600 and full bikes begin at about $4,500.
“Depending on options, they can be cheaper or much more expensive,” he stated. “The last two bikes I built for clients were a $3,000 single-speed cruiser and a $6,500 Cinder, the name of my gravel bike model.”
Scharen’s bikes are totally different from most store-bought bikes.
“They are on the cutting edge of frame geometry for a specific kind of use,” he stated, “namely, riding in the mountains.”
As an impartial builder, he can undertake new know-how because it’s developed, whereas huge corporations could not be capable of for a yr or extra.
“Also, very few production bikes of high quality are made from steel anymore, and almost none is brazed,” he stated. “Most mid-range to high-end bikes manufactured today are made from aluminum or carbon fiber composite.” A small share are created from metal and titanium, he famous.
Scharen is progressively build up his Ashland store by including instruments of the commerce. His preliminary funding was a body fixture, a big, adjustable instrument that holds all of the tubes of a body in place with a purpose to be a part of them. In the constructing course of, he makes use of an oxygen-acetylene torch, hand recordsdata and a bench vise.
“I keep collecting more tools,” he stated, “but the wish list never seems to get shorter. Eventually, I hope to have some heavy machines like a vertical mill and a lathe.”
He markets his enterprise by social media and phrase of mouth, and plans to attend commerce exhibits. He additionally just lately partnered with The Handlebar, Ashland’s latest bike store.
“They are going to carry the Cinder, my gravel bike,” he stated. “They have a demo bike on the floor there that you can see or test ride.”
He says he’s not busy sufficient now to be a full-time bike builder, however is optimistic concerning the future. “My plan is for Scharen Cycles to be my primary occupation,” he stated.
He nonetheless performs trombone with the symphony and appears ahead in January to becoming a member of RVS for the following Masterworks live performance.
“It will be the biggest group of players we’ve had on stage since February of 2020,” he stated, “and also the first time that single tickets will be for sale again.”
In early January, he’ll play with an Elvis tribute band at Seven Feathers on line casino. And he usually meets with a Renaissance quartet that performs on interval devices.
But as of late, the sound of metallic on metallic and the sizzle of the brazing torch are music to his ears as nicely.
Reach Ashland author Jim Flint at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.