Mosaic began planning for this year’s NAHBS months in advance, complete with detailed CAD drawings and plenty of time to incorporate the builds into the company’s standard scheduleJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic founder Aaron Barcheck apparently is not a fan of headset spacersJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic will bring a wide range of machines to the show this year in an effort to showcase each of the company’s most common builds in both steel and titaniumJames Huang/Future Publishing
A trio of freshly welded steel frames waiting for their braze-ons and bridgesJames Huang/Future Publishing
Although Mosaic is best known for its work in titanium, head welder Aaron Barcheck clearly is adept with thin-walled chromoly steel, tooJames Huang/Future Publishing
Thru-axle steel dropouts come courtesy of Paragon Machine WorksJames Huang/Future Publishing
A steel hardtail frame tacked up and ready for final weldingJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic is building this steel 650b hardtail as a co-branding display with fi’zi:k for NAHBSJames Huang/Future Publishing
Titanium head tubes are machined in-houseJames Huang/Future Publishing
A seat stay bridge in the process of being miteredJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic Bicycles built its own media blasting chamber for finishing its titanium frames. Decals are cut in-house, tooJames Huang/Future Publishing
A small window lets Kevin Batchelor see what he’s doing inside the media blasting chamberJames Huang/Future Publishing
Steel dropouts are neatly brazed on the stays of these Mosaic show bikesJames Huang/Future Publishing
Lots of builders can produce pretty looking welds that might not be all that strong, though. According to Scott Gordon of Denver Welding & Research, that isn’t the case here. “The discoloration on the chromoly says that they didn’t weld too fast and subsequently quench the weld. The rainbow color (instead of grey) tells me that there was enough shielding and not too much heat input, and not all of the chromium was depleted.”James Huang/Future Publishing
Finishing bits for three steel show bikes are sorted into little bins. And no, Mosaic isn’t building a bike for Kanye West. That’s just the company nickname for founder Aaron BarcheckJames Huang/Future Publishing
Check out the neatly scalloped ends on the stays of these Mosaic steel framesJames Huang/Future Publishing
Kevin Batchelor faces a head tube using a custom modified Park cutterJames Huang/Future Publishing
All of this craftsmanship will eventually be covered in paint from Spectrum PowderworksJames Huang/Future Publishing
Titanium welds don’t come much neater than thisJames Huang/Future Publishing
A section of thick-walled titanium stock on its way to transforming into a 44mm head tubeJames Huang/Future Publishing
Titanium head tubes are internally and externally machined in-house. The drawing at left perhaps isn’t the most impressive looking but the numbers are soundJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic purchases its head tube stock in long tubes that are eventually milled down as neededJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic has decided to partner with its dealers for this year’s NAHBS. Velosmith Bicycle Studio of Wilmette, Illinois has decided on a titanium disc road bikeJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic uses huge white boards to track its upcoming projectsJames Huang/Future Publishing
Recognize any names on this board?James Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic founder Aaron Barcheck has no problem seeing into the media blasting chamber he built for himself when he started the company five years ago. Unfortunately, though, not everyone who works for Mosaic now is that tallJames Huang/Future Publishing
A custom machined titanium plug allows the cutter better access to the end of this head tubeJames Huang/Future Publishing
This head tube has to be manually sprayed with coolant to keep it from overheating while it’s being machinedJames Huang/Future Publishing
There are certainly benefits to being married to a framebuilder. This gorgeous hardtail belongs to Mosaic Bicycles founder Aaron Barcheck’s wife, LizJames Huang/Future Publishing
Mosaic doesn’t just build its bikes to be shown off. They’re also meant to be ridden – hardJames Huang/Future Publishing