Construction
Every Oxia frame I build by hand. Tube by tube, joint by joint. No machines doing it for me.
The raw material
It all starts with the tubing. Columbus or Deda steel, depending on the frame and the rider. Different combinations for different needs: lightness for climbing, stiffness for sprinting, comfort for long hours in the saddle.
Every tube is weighed, measured and labelled before cutting. No two frames have the same wall thickness at the same point. Each bicycle gets the tubing its geometry demands.
Preparing the fit
Before brazing, you cut. Every tube is measured to the millimetre and mitred: the ends are machined to the exact curvature of the tube they'll meet. A poor mitre leaves gaps, weakens the joint and forces you to fill with filler material that shouldn't be there.
No shortcuts here. Each end is tested against its counterpart again and again until the fit is perfect. Only then does the piece go into the jig.
Every Oxia is measured in hours, not parts. It's the one thing that cannot be rushed.
Joining the steel
Before brazing comes the preparation. Dozens of hours refining every fit, adjusting the jig, checking angles and dimensions. This is where it's decided whether the joint will be perfect.
Fillet brazing with bronze. A traditional technique — slow, demanding. Bronze melts at a lower temperature than steel: it protects the tube's structure and allows thin walls to be worked without weakening them.
Every fillet is laid by hand, controlling flame, temperature and filler material. A well-made fillet-brazed joint is stronger than the tube itself.
Finishing the frame
After brazing, the frame cools slowly and is checked on an alignment table. If anything has shifted during the process, it's corrected to the millimetre.
Then comes the sanding. The joints are smoothed, excess bronze is removed, surfaces are prepared for paintwork. It's quiet work, repetitive, almost meditative. But every minute I spend here is a minute that improves the final finish.
When it's finished, this frame is not a product. It's the result of every decision I made from the very first cut.