CUSTOM BUILT BICYCLE FRAMES SINCE 1999 PH. 231-464-5611
Frequently Asked Questions: all the answers for your inquiring mind
Okay, this may sound silly, but a lot of people have been inQUIRING about this. Get it? Well, only inQUIRING minds want to know.
However, if you are looking for a phonetic pronunciation of Quiring, here it is: kwī(ə)ring
Scott Quiring became involved in cycling in 1987. He caught the “racing bug” when he attended his first mountain bike race in 1989. Soon he was racing around the Midwestern United States every weekend. Shortly thereafter, he was racing his bike professionally around the Nation.
In around 1992, he got his first exposure to framebuilding from a company called Greendale Bicycle Co., which was local to his area, and they produced Quiring a custom race bike. He quickly discovered that the custom bike in every way outperformed his previous off-the-shelf bikes.
Quiring continued to race and started to win races on the road, trails and cyclo-cross courses.
The 1996/1997 season was a big year for Quiring as he raced professionally on the Bianchi-Martini Racing Team, which was an international team that traveled around the States and the World to compete in National and World Cup events.
When the team became defunct at the end of 1997, Quiring decided he needed to build a frame to his specs for racing and get back the feeling that his first custom provided.
After many years of hard work that followed, Quiring Cycles, LLC, was finally formed in 1999 in order to make these high-quality bicycles.
A brief summary of Quiring’s race results are as follows:
1st Place Michigan Cross Country State Champion (’93, ’94, 95’, ’96, ’97, and ’99*) Men’s Pro- class
1st Place overall Iceman Commeth Champion (’94, 95’ and ’99*), Traverse City, MI USA
1st Place overall Chequamegon 40 Champion (’99*) Cable, Wisconsin
1st Place USCF State Cyclo-Cross Champion Elite Senior Men (’98)
1st Place overall Lumberjack 100 mile race (’05*)
*Scott was riding a custom-built Quiring frame in these victories
Additionally, Quiring has competed internationally on road bikes and participated in cross-country bicycle touring.
Scott Quiring has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Grand Valley State University (Allendale, Michigan).
Additionally, Quiring has completed coursework certificates from Grand Rapids Community College in TIG Welding and Machine Operations Trade (i.e. machine shop).
Custom-built forks, frames, machined parts and stems, are all made in-house at the Quiring Cycles shop located along the lakeshore in beautiful Northern Michigan. The business is operated out of a commercially-zoned 4000 sq. foot building at 8736 N. US-31 Hwy, in Free Soil, MI, 49411.
Yes. Quiring Cycles has a showroom which is open to the public and displays our bikes, allows for retail sales, and is used for customer fit consultation. Please call ahead of time if you are interested in visiting with us. Generally speaking, our hours are 9-5 Monday-Friday EST and visits are by appointment only. Other times are available, so please inquire about this. Our phone is 231-464-5611. Our email is squiring@sbcglobal.net
Because of a general increase in business demand and an increased load of e-mail and phone calls, please allow at least 48 hours for a response from us if you have an inquiry. However, things do come up and emergencies in life can happen, so please don’t fret if you haven’t heard from us by then. If this does occur, please feel free to send a friendly e-mail reminder if you haven’t received a response.
Well, in our opinion, Scott Quiring builds the best custom frames!
Quiring frames are handbuilt one at a time from materials such as steel, stainless steel, and 3/2.5 titanium.
Primarily, Quiring builds road bikes, mountain bikes, cyclo-cross bikes, tandems, fatbikes, and single-speeds.
Since Quiring frames are built one at a time, custom lengths in the top tube, head tube, seat tube and chainstays can be made. BB drop and geometry can be tailored to the rider and use. Custom braze-ons are also possible.
Welding is done by Scott Quiring. Almost all alloy frames are TIG welded (Tungsten Inert Gas). With steel, titanium, and stainless steel frames, in addition to an inert gas coming from the TIG torch, a continuous back-feed of inert gas is used on the underside of the weld to create a more reliable joint. Frames are welded in a sequence to produce a straight frame.
Quiring also uses silver solder for frame fixtures, such as bottle bosses and cable guides, on steel and stainless frames.
Painting is done by Scott Quiring.
Quiring frames are predominantly painted with Matrix Systems Automotive paints, House of Kolors and PPG paints. There are hundreds of color choices from color charts. They come in solid colors, candies, metallic, and pearls, to name a few. Nearly any kind of paint scheme can be done, especially if cost is of no object!
The painting is usually done in about four major steps. The first step is preparing the frame with glass bead to increase adhesion and mechanically clean the surface. The second step is applying a two-part epoxy primer (with rust inhibitors for steel frames). The third step is applying the base colors, such as solids, fades, tapelines and decals. The fourth and final step is three layers of clear coat.
Quiring does not do powdercoat, nor does he recommend it for a quality finish on any high-end steel bicycle.
The machining of steel, stainless, and titanium is done by Scott Quiring. This ensures that the best miter and fit is performed on a frame; therefore, the tubes are less affected in a negative way during the welding process.
Quiring also performs CNC machining on some of the products, especially with the full-suspension mountain bike frames.
No. It is too risky.
Quiring Cycles can build many popular brands of pre-engineered proprietary bicycle tubing upon request. Nonetheless, a rundown of the most popular tubing is listed below by category:
Steel: In general, most of our frames use a blend of Dedacciai Zero, Dedacciai Zero Uno, Vari-Wall (USA made 4130), and Columbus tubing (Nivacrom and Niobian). All steel tubing is butted to achieve lighter weight, yet the tubing has an increased wall thickness for strength at the weld zones. Different sized riders are spec’d with different tubesets to match with desired use. Steel fork blades come from True Temper, Dedacciai and Columbus.
Stainless Steel: Tubing is available from Columbus.
Titanium: 3/2.5 alloyed tubing in straight wall and butted versions are used in conjunction with a double-pass weld featuring a 6/4 ELI weld rod. All other titanium parts (e.g. BB shells, dropouts, guides, collars, etc.) come from Paragon Machine Works.
Yes, Quiring can help fit you by using a fit bike and Fit Kit Systems. Alternatively, you may already know what you would like for sizing. In that case, please let Quiring know what you want. All frames go through a CAD drawing process where flexibility in design is utilized. No extra cost is incurred for a fit service if a frame is purchased.
Yes, Quiring can sell a complete bike and outfit it with high-end components. Price varies based on groups, wheels, and kits installed. These parts have to be special ordered. All special order items will require PAYMENT IN FULL before Quiring Cycles, LLC will order the items for a customer. There is a NO-RETURN POLICY on all components, forks, wheels, tires, or associated parts and/or the shipping of these special order parts. For more details, please contact Quiring Cycles.
Quiring accepts Visa, MasterCard, personal checks, business checks, U.S. Postal money orders and/or cash only.
Checks or money orders should be made out to Quiring Cycles, LLC.
50% non-refundable deposit is required to start a custom frame.
Payment of remaining balance IN FULL is needed when the frame is done.
Quiring can also ship COD.
We understand that frames fabricated by Quiring Cycles, LLC are often used by customers in very demanding conditions, such as hard-core racing and other abusive activities. Customers and riders must acknowledge that, while Quiring frames are of the utmost quality and may last for decades, every once in a while the best frames can wear out or become damaged.
Therefore, for a period of up to five years to original consumer purchase, Quiring Cycles, LLC will repair or replace, at our own discretion, any titanium, steel, or stainless frame or Quiring-built fork which is determined to be defective in materials or workmanship.
Additionally, for a period of up to three years of original consumer purchase, Quiring Cycles, LLC will repair or replace, at our own discretion, any aluminum frame which is determined to be defective in materials or workmanship.
Last but not least, for a period of one year to original consumer purchase, Quiring Cycles, LLC will repair, at our own discretion, any paint job which is determined to be defective in materials or workmanship.
Quiring Cycles, LLC will extend to the original purchaser a limited lifetime crash replacement policy where, at a discount to the current retail price, a customer may get a replacement frame.
Normal wear and tear and/or consumer neglect and abuse are not covered under this warranty policy. Rust (steel frames), hard crashes, scratches in paint, dents in the frame, bent derailleur hangers, worn dropout surfaces, improper adjustment of headset which makes the headtube oval, damage resulting from chain jammed into the frame (commonly known as “chain suck”) are some, but not all, of the examples of events or issues not covered in the warranty. Furthermore, getting seatposts stuck in frames and/or bottom brackets stuck in frames is not covered in this warranty.
The warranty cannot be transferred to a non-original owner.
The warranty is considered void if a frame or fork has been stripped (paint removed either via mechanical or chemical means) and re-painted by a company other than that approved by Quiring Cycles, LLC. Furthermore, the warranty is considered void if the frame or fork has been modified in any way, to include, but not limited to, welding, machining, filing, die grinding, drilling, clamping, sanding, reaming, cutting, or any other mechanical or chemical action that might change the shape or integrity of the frame.
To seek a warranty claim, the customer must, at his or her own non-refundable cost, ship the frame along with the original receipt of purchase to Quiring Cycles, LLC for a damage assessment. All parts or components must be removed from the frame and the frame must be clean (remove dirt, mud and grease) before sending frame in for a warranty claim.
Quiring Cycles, LLC does not warranty other brands of suspension forks, rear shock, or any other bicycle manufacturers’ components which may have been installed on any Quiring frame or fork or used in conjunction with a Quiring frame and fork. Quiring Cycles, LLC is independent of other bicycle manufacturers of bike parts. These manufacturers often provide their own warranty on a bike part or components, so please check with them for information about the warranty they offer.
We make no claims on the accuracy of the content of information present by a seller of a Quiring frame in the secondary frame market on websites such as Ebay or Craig’s List, or something of the like. Generally speaking, we have seen that information about frames sold on various sites is not very accurate.
Happy riding! We hope you consider working with us on your next custom Quiring frame build.