CyclistMeet the maker: Bryce Gracey of No.22 Bicycle CompanyYou only have to glance at a No.22 bike to know that its the work of someone with a deep-seated understanding of aesthetics and proportion. Perfectly balanced, beautifully finished and with some of the cleanest lines in the business, No.22s bicycles are influenced heavily by co-founder Bryce Graceys background in architecture.Its a very similar process, Gracey explains from the companys facility in Upstate New York, USA. You come up with an idea, then its a case of working out how to execute it. Typically in architecture every project is unique so theres always a need to explore new technologies and systems to make a concept work. I think you can see this in some of the things were doing at No.22 that havent been done before. Related Posts Meet the maker: Tore Juncher Jrgensen of Starfish Bicycles Meet the maker: Fabio Putzolu of Ichnu Cycles Meet the maker: Sami Al-Khayat of Wolken Its like: this is what we want to do, now lets figure out how to get there. And really knowing how to collaborate with our team and different manufacturers to bring these ideas into reality is a big part of how we work.Gracey has been a bike fanatic since the late 1990s, around the same time he went to design school and did his masters in architecture. And while the bike took a back seat during his studies, his endeavours in cycling and design have been intertwined ever since.Bryce Gracey studied architecture, which he believes is similar to bike design in terms of coming up with a concept like the Aurora, and finding a way to make it work.Patrik Lundin / CyclistThis was what eventually led to the No.22 Bicycle Company, created by Gracey and co-founder Mike Smith in 2011 with a view to making the most of their favoured framebuilding material: titanium, atomic number 22 you see.Were always pushing the material forward, says Gracey. I think when we started we were coming at it with an approach of combining artisan precision and contemporary performance, so wed stand toe to toe with what was going on in carbon bikes. We wanted to do away with the stereotype that metal bikes were antiquated in comparison.Patrik Lundin / CyclistI mean, we had flat-mount disc brakes on our forks before Enve had even released its flat-mount forks, and were always exploring different technologies. This is what led to us working heavily with 3D printing. It has allowed us to develop our own internal cockpit system, our own dropouts pretty much everything on our bikes now is bespoke to No.22. Its either made by us or for us, and I think that has really set us apart.One of No.22s proudest achievements is its fully integrated titanium cockpit system. By our reckoning this is one of only two such components in the industry (the other coming from UK builder Sturdy Cycles), and it can be seen proudly displayed on this Aurora road bike, put together by German custom-build expert Light Wolf Studio for Bespoked 2023.The AuroraI call the Aurora a nine-tenths race bike, says Gracey. Its still very performance-oriented but its going to be more comfortable than our all-out race bike, the Reactor, for all day in the saddle. Its an incredibly well-handling bike, especially when it comes to going downhill and cornering at speed thanks to the longer wheelbase and stable front end.The Auroras frame composition combines Grade 9 titanium tubes with a carbon fibre seat tube. Gracey says the idea is to improve compliance by allowing the feel of the two titanium triangles to come through to the rider without creating too stiff a ride.Patrik Lundin / CyclistIt sounds a little counterintuitive, but if the frame were all titanium it would feel overly stiff for standard road tyres, he says.The seat tube is made from three layers of carbon fibre each placed at different angles. Theyre layed up to provide the necessary combination of strength and flex for the seat tube, but also to enable the tube to resist the forces of the front derailleur clamp and No.22s unique seatmast topper. Like the integrated cockpit, the seatmast topper is 3D printed.It was a machined and welded part to begin with, explains Gracey. Then we moved into investment casting before finally landing on 3D printing, which gives us more options and allows us to adapt very quickly. Thats the beauty of this technology.The bike also makes use of a complex finishing treatment that gives it its luscious pearlescent colour.Patrik Lundin / CyclistIts an electrolytic process, says Gracey. Youre running voltage through the material, which changes the way the outer crystalline layer of the titanium refracts light. Theres actually no pigment on the frame. Its like seeing a rainbow in an oil puddle its purely light refraction, which is unique to titanium and a couple of other alloys. Its a really tricky process part science, part dark art to get the colours to work.If you fancy adding an Aurora to your fleet, your first step is to drop Gracey a line. People typically just reach out to us through the website and its usually myself and my partner Mike who help each customer through the process, Gracey says. We figure nobody knows our bikes as well as we do, so were able to offer the best service to make sure people get exactly what theyre looking for. This article originally appeared in issue 151 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe Related Posts Meet the maker: Tore Juncher Jrgensen of Starfish Bicycles Meet the maker: Fabio Putzolu of Ichnu Cycles Meet the maker: Sami Al-Khayat of Wolken The post Meet the maker: Bryce Gracey of No.22 Bicycle Company appeared first on Cyclist.