With a global bike shortage and a new pump track in his backyard, Jamie Carr set out to the shed to solve his problem and build the bike he wanted himself.

What do you do when the bike you want to buy is sold out? A very real question for many of us these days. The most logical course of action is to find a different model or brand that is available, but for ‘Ride the Alps’ guide Jamie Carr that just wasn’t an option. Being close to 1m90 he also set his sights on the Transition PBJ we tested in issue 64. This time last year the Transition was completely sold out, and with the pandemic putting a big X through all his bookings, budgets were limited. Time on the other hand he had plenty. And spare bike parts too. After all he has been mountain biking since the early 90’s. We met up with Jamie at the pumptrack with the world's best backdrop and had a little chat on how his lockdown project came to be, what it was like learning a new skill and how the bike ended up. 

Hi Jamie, first things first. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Well, my name is Jamie Carr, I am originally from Leeds in the U.K. I started mountain biking in the late 80’s and haven't stopped since. Currently I am settled with my family and kids in the French town of Samoens, and I run my guiding company Ride the Alps from there. Off season I spend my time doing building work and in the summer I specialise in point to point MTB adventures.

Wow, a true mountain biker from the first hour! What were those early days in Mountain biking like?

That were the days of proper adventure. No maps, no cell phones, no google translate. The bikes had no suspension even!  I attended the first unofficial world championships in Villars de Lans France in 1987 and the year after in Crans Montana Switzerland. I did a coast to coast race in Australia in 1992, and went travelling to Nepal to ride my bike there. I got a job as a guide and ended up living 12 years in Kathmandu, guiding hiking and biking trips before moving back to Europe. 

That could be a story in itself. But you had it all worked out, guiding epic rides and then there was this pandemic thing. How did that mess up your plans?

Well, basically just like everyone else in the world everything went on hold. We had to cancel all the trips we had planned for the summer, and for the first time in almost 20 years I spent a whole summer season at home. 

What was that like?

To be very honest I kind of enjoyed it. I got to spend a lot more time with my family, and was able to finish a lot of projects that I had lying around. Spent a lot of time riding with my kids, and seeing them progress so quickly was really an amazing experience. I do miss the guiding and the groups a lot though. There is nothing more satisfying than taking a group of people on excellent mountain biking adventures. 

How did you manage financially?

Our guests that had already booked have been amazing, instead of getting refunds almost all of them just agreed on moving the date forward. Next to the guiding work, I also do a lot of building work in the off season. This year I just did a lot more building work to keep the boat afloat. So far it has worked out, but I’d be a lot happier if we could go back to doing Chamonix-Zermatt tours. 

In those lockdown days you also started an interesting project to keep you busy. Tell us a little about that. 

Yeah, I had to keep myself busy and with a fresh pumptrack built in the valley not too long ago I was already looking for a bike to ride there. My kids love to do laps there and I often join in, but a full suspension enduro machine is definitely not the right tool for that job. So I started looking around for a pump track bike that would fit my tall body. I ended up just like you with the Transition PBJ XL, but of course couldn’t find any for sale. So I decided to make one myself.

That sounds like a big adventure. Where did you start?

Well, to be really honest I had some help from my friend Alex who followed a frame builders course a while ago and already bought the jig. Without him I would still be dreaming. 

Did you make a proper drawing or 3d model before the build or did you just get started?

I wanted to make some changes on the PBJ’s geometry, to suit the parts I had lying around and to make it a little more versatile. I slackened the head angle a bit and steepened the seat tube to make it more into a mountain bike my kids could also ride. 

This is also the reason we went with sliding dropouts. It was quite a bit more expensive, but this way I can also opt to use a derailleur.

Once I had the drawing done by hand on a napkin, my friend Alex cleaned it up and turned it into a neat drawing with proper measurements.

Were you able to source the right tubing? What did you use?

Yeah that was relatively easy. We found a tubing supplier online where you can mix and match pre shaped tubes. So the head tube, bottom bracket are all ready to go. You can give the measurements for the other tubes to make your own geometry and dropout etc. 

How long did it take before you were able to do decent enough welds?

I still am working on that one. I spent most of the time preparing the tubes for welding, and only did a few welds myself. As I’m not the smoothest on the pumptrack I wanted to make sure it was strong enough if I cased a jump. So Alex did all the main welds, and I did some where I couldn’t do too much damage.

Yeah, what about strength? I'm sure you didn’t do crash and fatigue tests in a lab. 

No none of that, getting the tubes for the frame was expensive enough, I wouldn’t want to go out and deliberately break it. To make the bike safe to ride we made sure to work on a super high quality fit of the tubes, so the welds were neat and strong. Besides that, steel is a great material to work with. Because it flexes a lot more than alloy, it can take a lot more abuse. We weren’t pushing any boundaries with weight, so I am pretty confident that this frame will be around for a long time.

So, it’s built up and ready to ride. Are you happy with the result?

Oh mega. It is so much nicer than riding a knobby tire fully. Way more responsive and manouvrable. Although I never will be the king of the pump track, I really enjoy the ride and get out at least once a week. Doing laps is a good effort too, a great way to keep fit for when the guiding operation picks up again!

You mentioned you built it up from stuff you had lying around. Is there anything besides the tubes you had to buy?

Just the tires and tubes, everything else I had lying in the garage already. It’s amazing how much stuff you collect over the 20 odd years of riding bikes! I took a fair bit of time to clean and rebuild all the bits, but in the end everything is working perfectly.

Looking back, what would you have done differently?

No not really. I am really happy how the build ended up. I wish there were any proper forks available, as the Bombers have had their best time. Once stock levels are back to normal I will probably order a Manitou Circus or Rockshox Pike. 

What about the costs of the whole project?

If I don’t take our time in account, the bike costs me 578 Euros in total. If I take the pricing of all the parts and the time we spent on it, the price is closer to 2200 Euros. That is even without taking the investment of the frame jig and welding equipment into account.
But yeah, I spent under 600 euros, and have a super versatile bike for me on the pump track, or for my kids as their hardtail.

Spec sheet

  • FRAME Selwyn Jambon & Fromage Custom XL, Columbus tubing, sliding dropouts.
  • FORK Marzocchi Bomber 55, 20mm TA (Frame designed for Manitou Circus if they ever get back in stock)
  • BRAKE SYSTEM Hope M4 Tech 160mm rotor rear only 
  • CRANKSET Shimano XT Hollowtech II, 32T HOPE narrow wide chainring, Custom Bashring
  • HUBS HOPE Pro 2 hubs, 17T rear sprocket with spacers on a 10s body
  • RIMS MAVIC 721 32 hole 26’’
  • TYRES Maxxis DTM Tires 26’’ 2.3
  • STEM Truvativ Hussefelt DH
  • HANDLEBAR Nukeproof Sam Hill 689mm wide
  • SEAT POST Straight post salvaged from the back of the garage (option to mount dropper if my kids riding it)
  • SADDLE Commencal

 

By Jarno Hoogland
Jarno's life has revolved around two wheels ever since he swung a leg over his first BMX at age 4. After a BMX and DH racing career, he moved on to work for bike shops, distributors and brands before ending up in the editors seat at IMB. Based in the ultimate testing ground in the Swiss mountains, he runs his guiding operation and makes sure every IMB issue is filled with top notch content.

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