The idea behind the project was to build the best park/street bike we could. Something that was top quality, and performed without question. It had to be something that would permit an elite rider to do everything they wanted, without anything holding them back. No shortcuts, no fluff, and no crap.

The first step is of course, choosing the frame. THere are of course dozens of frames on the market to choose from at the moment, and this makes for a great time to be a frame shopper. You can choose a solid frame from a bunch of the bigger companies like Kona, Trek, Giant, Specialized, and so on...or you can go the small builder route, with companies like AtomLab, Evil, BlackMrkt, or of course, Dobermann. In the end for us it was a fairly easy decision. The guys at Dobermann are friends, and guys that we've known for a long time. They are great people, and they make a damn fine bike. All it takes is a look at any serious group of street/ park riders, and you can almost be sure of finding a Dobermann somewhere in the group.

One of the things that definitely puts Dobermann over the rest is that the bikes are actually made in house; they are not farmed out to anyone else to make. Everything from cutting the tubes to welding to painting is all done in Gatineau, Quebec. What this means is that any changes, modifications, improvements or customizations happen immediately, as there is nobody else they have to wait on. Through a dealer you can order a frame custom built for you, and can choose through the numerous options that Dobermann offers, as well as your own demented tweaks.

With the frame company chosen, the next step was simple: Go to Dobermann HQ, and get the frame. So, to Quebec we went.

Located pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but very close to Camp Fortune, Dobermann HQ is pretty unassuming. Its not until you walk in the door that you realize all the fun stuff thats going on. Walk through the door, and you are greeted with the infamous Dobermann Welding machine, torches, lathes, and all kinds of other wonderful machines that make bikes. There are frames in all stages of completion all over the place, boxes of tubes, metal shavings, and of course, Dobermann Stickers.

With our frame, we wanted something a bit different then stock. While the stock frames are brilliantly designed, we (well, I) wanted a little bit more room in the toptube. So, we got another .5" in the TT, and slackened the head angle 1 degree. Admittedly, for top level street/ park riders, this isn't something they might ask for. But since this wasa personal bike as well as a project bike, it had to fit, and be comfy.

For later options, we added v-brake mounts in the back for 26" wheels, as well as grind plates, just in case. Then we got fancy.

The stock Pinscher frame uses True Temper plain guage 4130 chromo tubes, which is perfect for the intended use. But since this was ideally going to be a bike that I would have for years, and it was a custom build (somewhat), we asked for the True Temper BMX Supertherm Double Butted tubes found on the MBF. This resulted in a frame that was bigger then a stock Pinscher, but still only 6 pounds.

Dobermann offers a ton of colors for their bikes, and of course, I had to have something brilliant. In keeping with the Dropachine theme, we chose Trans-blue. This deep blue is translucent, which allows the weld discolorations to show though. This was, you still have the industrial look of the frame, with a nice candy coated blue on top. Just to add further sillyness, we added metal flake to the paint, giving us a pretty unique paintjob, and one that suits the ideal behind the bike perfectly.

Words really don't do the frame justice. So, check out the pics below.

Next article, we choose the parts.

Emily - January 16, 2008 those guys really have a passion for building bikes.

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