Bruce Gordon Brochure (Undated, 1981 or Later) — Craftsmanship without Compromise: the Custom, Racing and Touring Frames and the Chinook Line, with the Chinook Leaflet

Bruce Gordon Cycles’ brochure of its custom, racing and touring frames and the new Chinook line, with the Chinook leaflet. It prints no date; the leaflet’s West 2nd Street address and the new Chinook line follow the dealer price list of February 1981.

— Page 1 (front cover) —
Craftsmanship
without Compromise

[The brochure’s front cover: a dark photograph of a frame builder in glasses brazing a frame held in a jig, a torch in one hand and a brazing rod in the other. The title is set in white below the photograph; the glossy surface shows fine scuffs.]

— Page 2 —
Where Technology
Meets Tradition

Only top quality tubing is chosen in appropriate gauges to match the intended use of the frame. It is carefully machine mitered to exacting tolerances to insure a flawless tube to tube fit, guaranteeing the structural integrity of the frame.

Some things cannot be improved upon by a machine. Lugs and frame fittings are meticulously prepared by hand to achieve just the right line and curve, simple and clean, the traditional way.

In the past, one of the hallmarks of a fine frame has been the term “Hand Brazed”. It still is, and ours still are. We use a low temperature 50% silver brazing alloy, and bring the tubes to the right temperature slowly and evenly to produce a strong, clean, flawlessly brazed joint that no robot can match. We don’t build as many frames as the big production factories using this method.

We just build them better.

Every frame is carefully and completely hand finished to reflect the care and precision that has gone into its construction. Because we feel a bike should look as good as it rides.

We take as much time painting our frames as some factories do building theirs. Each frame is chemically treated to resist corrosion, then primered, and finally given a hand applied top coat of lustrous Dupont Imron. The result is a flawlessly finished frame that you can take as much pride in owning as we do in building it.

[Where Technology Meets Tradition: five photographs of frame building (a tube mitered by machine, a lug filed by hand, a joint brazed with a torch, a frame finished with a file and a frame spray painted), each above its text. Below them a large photograph shows a hand holding a polished, unpainted lugged joint of three tubes.]

— Page 3 —
The Bruce Gordon
Custom

Our custom frames set the standards embodied in all our bicycles. With world renowned Bruce Gordon craftsmanship, and the best tubing and fittings money can buy, each frame is constructed with the painstaking precision and dedication to excellence you have come to expect from one of the world’s foremost frame builders.

All Bruce Gordon custom frames are individually made to the customer’s physical dimensions and can be fitted with a variety of component packages. They feature a wide array of aesthetic options that enhance appearance without compromising function. Whether you have specific sizing or riding requirements, or just desire something a cut above the usual, a Bruce Gordon custom bicycle can be designed with your special needs in mind.

[The Bruce Gordon Custom: a photograph of a complete road bicycle with drop handlebars, a double chainset and a bottle on the down tube, above two close photographs of its dark painted frame. One shows the head tube lugs with their long curled points, the other the seat lug with part of a Columbus tubing decal on the seat tube.]

— Page 4 —
The Bruce Gordon
Racing

Classic road bike geometry wedded to the best of the custom builders tradition adds up to a state-of-the-art racing machine with the accent on performance. The Bruce Gordon Racing model is imbued with an uncanny ability to combine comfort and stability with the quickness of reflexes you expect in a thoroughbred racing bike. One look at its clean, purposeful profile tells you this is no ordinary racing bike. By careful blending of different tubing gauges with silver brazing and the most expensive investment cast fittings available, it is made with a fanatical attention to detail in its construction. Hammering down the straights, sprinting uphill, or knifing through corners, the Bruce Gordon handles it all with a finesse that leaves lesser bikes gasping in its wake.

A true racing machine for the beginning competitor, triathelete or fast recreational rider, this bike is equally at home in the hands of the experienced racer desiring no-nonsense performance.

[The Bruce Gordon Racing: a photograph of a complete racing bicycle with a light colored frame and two bottles, with close views of its head tube and seat lug and a rider at speed on a road. The down tube carries “BRUCE GORDON” and the seat tube part of a Columbus tubing decal. The sheet is creased at the upper left and lower right and its upper right corner is folded over.]

— Page 5 —
The Bruce Gordon
Touring

Our hand-built, silver brazed Touring bike combines intelligent design with Bruce Gordon quality construction and finish. It features a full braze-on package, including front and rear rack mounts, and is available with two proven touring component packages.

Responsive and agile when unloaded, in combination with our state-of-the-art chrome moly racks it offers outstanding stability and confidence inspiring control for the demands of fully loaded touring.

From its investment cast fittings to its Imron paint, it is built to the same exacting standards as our custom bikes; standards which ordinary production bikes can only aspire to.

Whether you tour around the world or just around town, ride one, and ride in the true grand touring tradition.

[The Bruce Gordon Touring: a photograph of a complete touring bicycle with front and rear racks and a triple chainset, with a close view of its seat lug and a bearded rider on a loaded touring bicycle with panniers. The bicycle also carries a pump under the top tube and two bottles; a faint crease runs down through the text column.]

— Page 6 —
Chinook Racing

World class performance in a less expensive package; the Chinook features all the craftsmanship and quality of construction found in the Bruce Gordon standard and custom bikes. And while some manufacturers claim their bikes are built using many of the same techniques as a custom built machine, we build the Chinook using them all. Investment cast fittings, silver brazing, and a meticulous mix of Columbus tubing adds up to a bike that is the structural equal in every way to our custom bikes. In fact, simpler cosmetics and a few less braze-ons are all that separates the Chinook from its more expensive counterparts. The attention to detail in construction, the immaculate finish and the precise handling and ride uphold the Bruce Gordon tradition. Less money does not have to mean less bike. The Chinook is rolling proof of that.

[The Chinook Racing bicycle, photographed with “Chinook” in script on its down tube, beside a close view of its seat cluster and a photograph of two riders on a road. The text runs down a narrow column at the left, and thin white rules divide the rest of the dark brown page into columns.]

— Page 7 —
Chinook Touring

The touring Chinook shares all the important features of a custom crafted bicycle with its more expensive Bruce Gordon counterparts. All the elements that distinguish a truly limited edition, handbuilt bicycle from a mass produced one. Lugs cast in individual angles to allow uncompromised touring design. Machine mitered, silver brazed Columbus SP tubing to ensure a structurally superior frame that can go the distance with comfort and stability. Full braze-ons including front and rear rack mounts to accommodate our unique chrome moly pannier racks. And the famous Bruce Gordon finish to reflect the quality and craftsmanship that has gone into its construction. An American handbuilt touring bike that’s miles ahead of the competition.

[The Chinook Touring bicycle, photographed with front and rear racks, two water bottles and “Chinook” in script on its down tube, beside a close view of its head lug and two riders touring with panniers. The text runs down a narrow column at the left of the dark brown page, which thin white rules divide into columns.]

— Page 8 —
SPECIFICATIONS:
Frames available in 2 distinct designs for Racing or Touring.Angles vary depending on framesize.
Sizes: 48 to 66cm in even centimeters
Tubing: Columbus – certain sizes will contain a mixture of different gauges of tubing
Frames are silver brazed

FRAME COMPONENTS:
Cinelli investment cast bottom bracket
Henry James investment cast lugs
Henry James investment cast fork crown
Campagnolo dropouts
Dupont Imron paint

FEATURES:
Fastback seatstays with blind allen key bolt
Allen key brake bolts
Brazed-on water bottle mounts, gear lever bosses, gear and brake cable guides
6 speed spacing on racing frame – 5 speed on touring
Touring frames will have 2 sets of water bottle mounts, and Bruce Gordon touring racks made of 4130 Chrome-moly tubing that are designed for Needleworks panniers.

PRICES:
Chinook Racing Frame …. $450
Chinook Touring Frame …. 490
Touring Racks front & rear …. 200
Custom Bruce Gordon frames starting …. 800

All prices plus freight
Specifications and prices subject to change

BRUCE GORDON CYCLES
1070 West 2nd Street Eugene, Oregon 97402 Tel. (503) 343-9313

[Right-hand panel.]

Chinook
BUILT BY Bruce Gordon Cycles
EUGENE, OREGON USA

[The outside of the typewritten Chinook leaflet, with the specifications, frame components, features and prices of the Chinook Racing and Touring frames at the left and the large Chinook script logo at the right. The sheet is folded down the middle, and a small whitish scuff marks the paper beside the logo’s striped band.]

— Page 9 —
Bruce Gordon Cycles introduces Chinook, a new line of high quality bicycle frames built with the same precision as our custom frames, but offered at a slightly lower cost. These Chinook frames blend “state of the art” technology with our well-known craftsmanship.

During the design stage for the Chinook, we decided not to change the quality of the materials, machining or brazing. Instead we realized we could reduce cost by eliminating some options and selling the frames only through dealers. In addition, our construction time was cut because a Chinook is not designed to a specific rider’s measurements.

People ask us why buy a Chinook instead of an imported frame? This is easy for us to answer – they are better made. Our frames are more accurately put together and the materials are of higher quality.

Some American cyclists have been mislead by the mystique of imported bicycles. Careless workmanship and construction techniques, as well as misinformation about materials are upsetting to us.

Some importers have made claims of using investment cast parts and silver brazing that are not accurate. Poor workmanship is often hidden by the paint, and in many instances faulty machining and production shortcuts are not evident until the frame is taken apart. In the process of doing frame repair on some of the premier European frames, we have uncovered appalling examples of tube mitering and brazing. Unfortunately, these mistakes are usually only seen by framebuilders doing repairs.

In past conversations with dealers, many have pointed out the need to align, tap and face frames before assembly. This takes time, costs money, and we feel that it should not be the responsibility of the dealer. Recently distributers have been advertising that they align and machine the frames they import. This lack of attention to detail at the factory should lead the buyer to question the care and quality control that takes place in the building process.

Chinook dealerships will be limited to 1 or 2 protected outlets in each major area of the country. Custom Bruce Gordon frames will also be made available to these dealers.

Quality control at Bruce Gordon Cycles is very important, our frames are owned by hundreds of satisfied riders, both racers and tourists. Recently our custom frames have been sold in Italy and Japan. The frames are described in The Custom Cycle and Bicycling. Just this past year Playboy and Connoisseur magazines have featured Bruce Gordon Cycles.

We show the pride we have in the Chinook line by placing the Bruce Gordon name on the left chainstay.

[The inside of the typewritten Chinook leaflet, a text by Bruce Gordon Cycles introducing the Chinook frames, why they are sold only through dealers and how they compare with imported frames. The text runs in two columns, one on each half of the folded sheet, and carries on from the left half to the right in mid sentence.]