You move to a new city for work, you get swept up by the enthusiasm and excitement of the cycling community there, so you leave your job, start working in a bike shop and then become a frame builder. Happens all the time, right? Not!
That’s what happened to Charles Thompson after moving to Raleigh, North Carolina. He wasn’t new to cycling, and he’d always enjoyed working with his hands. Besides that, mass produced bikes somehow always left a few boxes unchecked on his personal wish list, so it seemed only logical that his next step would be to learn frame building.
Charle’s drive was not only to make the bikes that he wanted for himself, but more broadly for other cyclists. Compiling bike build kits with purpose and aesthetics had always been the focal point of his work in the bike shop, now his intention was to start that process at the most fundamental level: the frame design.
To get himself started, he took a frame building class with Steve Garn of Brew Bikes, and a painting class with Carl Schlemowitz of Vicious Cycles. Then in 2022 he hung out his shingle and started making frames for customers.
Charles maintains a close relationship with the shop that got it all started for him, Oak City Cycling in Raleigh. He makes custom frames, forks and stems, and if the customer is looking for a full build, Oak City Cycling provides the build kit and after-sales service