Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Video about J.P. Ryffranck


     When I checked my email this morning I go a nice surprise. It contained an email from Guy Otsieguy informing me about this short film he made about J.P. Ryffranck. Below is a portion of the message:

    " J.P Ryffranck started building bikes in the 70s, part time. By the 1990s, it seemed every one on the local racing team had one of his bikes, including me. He left his job as a tool maker at 58 years old to pursue bike building full time, until 2011. He his 86 today and when I went to meet him (in early may 2016) he was working in his trusty old shed, tuning up a client's bike. He his a very interesting character and I tried to capture this in my interview with him.  He talks about his beginnings, the templates he made during his many years of bike building and brazing among other things. I still own my Riffranck bike, which he made to my specifications 25 years ago, and I show it off a bit in the video. " 
     
     In the video he mentions Bill Vetter who was a small builder in Vermont. We had a really nice Vetter touring bike here at the shop which sold a little while back. It is one of the only other times I have heard mention of Mr. Vetter. Enjoy the video! Thanks to Mr. Otsieguy for making and sharing it with me and the world! 

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