The weather’s been pretty cold around Baltimore this week, but that only means Chris Bishop has been holed up in his workshop catching up on frame orders. The finishing and details on his frames are near-peerless, so it’s no surprise they are in high demand.

One of the latest to be despatched is this disc and Di2-equipped road bike and it’s the perfect example of what you’d expect from a Bishop.

It’s inspiring to read of the history that brought Chris to where he is today: the influence his father and his various teachers has had on his work ethic, his other occupations and messenger work that have only been steps on his chosen career path. The details are rich and so are those found on this frame.

The Bishop Bikes custom stem has been seen on many of his bikes and are as much of a consideration as his thinned lugs. This design of this one has been modified to carry the Di2 junction with a clean and uncluttered silhouette.

There’s no escaping the hoses necessary for running disc brakes, but Chris has tidily routed the front one through the fork leg and the rear through the frame, alongside the Di2 wiring.

Lugs that have been filed down to an almost-imperceptible convergence with their tubes have become somewhat of a house trademark for Bishop Bikes. It gives the impression that the frame is almost an organic, living thing rather than an assembly of tubes.

A custom stainless steel ‘brake’ bridge was fabricated — with no obvious regard for the time it would’ve taken to add such an elaborate and functional component.

Chris explored some different avenues of construction with this frame, like sleeved seat stays that, along with the chain stays, meet and wrap over the ends of the Paragon Machine Works dropouts, transforming their original design and providing an outlet for the rear derailleur wiring.

Fresh Frame’s Bryan Myers has worked extensively with Chris over the years and has been instrumental in establishing Bishop Bikes as the name on some of the most eye-catching frames on the road.

He’s been known to paint the inside flanges of a pair of Campagnolo ‘sheriff star’ track hubs for an older build and today’s bike is rolling on a wheelset with custom painted Industry Nine hub shells.





One thing’s for sure: if anything is going to beat away the cold weather in Baltimore, and herald the Spring, it’s a brand new bike from Chris Bishop.

Massive thanks to Keith Trotta for the photos — see more on the Bishop Flickr, as well as construction photos, which will give an insight into Chris’ superb work.