I have a confession: I love looking at unpainted bikes.
I used to joke that Natalie got to use the big tools, and that on occasion, I got to use the little tools - and only under adult supervision. But in all honesty, it is really satisfying work to take a file and some emery cloth to an unfinished frame and put all of your focus and attention into making a spot smooth and beautiful. I am sure that some people would find it boring; but for me, when I get the chance to do it, the hours simply melt away.
We keep a lot of our pictures up on Flickr, and so do a lot of other builders. So selfishly, I created a group called Unpainted featuring bikes before the paint goes on. There is a lot of work and a lot of love that goes into these bikes, and I think that it is sometimes easier to see it without the paint. So if you have a shot, add it to the group. If not, just admire the work that it takes to build a bike by hand.
