The entrepreneurial spirit of New England frame builders has spawned many great stories and workshops over the years, although Independent Fabrications, borne from the ashes of the legendary Fat City Cycles, continues to mature — inspired by “radical ideas tempered by scientific notions”. Their Crown Jewel is a sturdy and sleek road bike.

The Indy Fab Crown Jewel is available in both titanium and a steel iteration, a blend of Reynolds 853 and True Temper OX Platinum tubing. There’s no real tiers of price or quality in the Indy Fab catalog, the steel Crown Jewel is built with the same dedication to each weld that their carbon fibre-and-titanium XS is.

Ichico is a Japanese rider and photographer whose work we featured in the 2014 Cycle EXIF Custom Bicycle Calendar. It’s an honour to feature his work again today — his wife Aco just recently built up her own Indy Fab Crown Jewel, with the ideal mix of ENVE components, Chris King hubs, White Industries / Campagnolo drive train and TRP mechanical disc brakes.

Special thanks to Ichico for the beautiful photos… again. Head to his flickr stream for more.













