BELMONT, MI – Aaron Joppe and his partners at 616 Bicycle Fabrication are building a reputation in the bicycling world -- one sturdy frame, precision wheel hub and fat tire at a time.

Working from a well-lighted garage-turned-machine shop in Cannon Township, the 1- year-old company is building handmade “fat bikes,” mountain bikes and “cyclo-cross” bikes aimed at riders who are willing to pay for and wait for the best.

“We’re trying to stay in the niches,” said Joppe, whose bikes generally retail in the $2,500 to $3,000 range but can go for as much as $5,000 to $6,000, depending on accessories buyers choose.

At this point, the company is producing about 25 to 30 bicycles a month with a six-to-eight week lead time for customers, Joppe said. “As fall approaches, we’ll get closer to a 12-week lead time,” he said.

Fall? Don’t people shop for bicycles in the spring?

Not their customers. Their customers want fat-tired bikes that can run in deep snow or on sandy beaches. Their customers want bikes that are raced year-round through muddy woods and trails.

Their customers also want bikes that are bullet-proof. Most 616 bicycles have frames made of high-strength, light-weight steel that won’t break when abused. The company recently began offering bicycles with stainless steel frames that are more rigid than their steel-framed bikes.

If the bikes are not equipped with “fat” tires originally designed to navigate through snow, they’re built with tall 29-inch tires that roll over ruts and obstacles in the trail, Joppe says.

Joppe sold his ownership interest in another bicycle company, Slingshot Bikes, to start 616 Fabrication with partners Bob Gaddis and John Muenzenmeyer, who also had bicycle building experience.

They eventually hope to move into a production facility with room for more employees, Joppe said. In five years, he sees the company producing 1,000 bicycles a year.

For now, the partners and their one employee, welder and fabricator Daniel Koert, are focused on appealing to the high-end bicycling enthusiasts found at mountain bike races and cyclo-cross events.

Most of the company's marketing efforts involve sponsorships at racing events. The company will be the title sponsor for the "Fat Bike World Championships in Marquette" next January, Joppe said.

Besides their devotion to quality, the company also is trying to support West Michigan-based companies that make bicycle components.

Their custom aluminum hubs are made by a Caledonia machine shop. The badges on their head tubes are made in Walker and their wheels are made by a Kentwood company.

True to their high-end niche, each bicycle is custom-painted. Instead of decals, the logo are painted onto the frames through a reverse masking process. For their unpainted stainless steel frames, the logo is sandblasted into the surface.

While their fat-tired bikes and cyclo-cross machines are riding the latest trend in bicycling, Joppe said they are not riding a fad.

“It’s basically giving you the opportunity to be a year-round biker,” Joppe said. “It’s here to stay. It’s got legs.”

E-mail Jim Harger: jharger@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JHHarger