Material

We rely on heat treated air-hardening steels for every Gunnar – mainly True Temper OX Platinum but also Reynolds 853. We order these alloys custom drawn to our rigorous specifications. We thoughtfully select the diameter and wall thickness of each tube to provide the right balance of strength, light weight, durability, and performance, according to the specific requirements of the style and size of your Gunnar.

Air-hardening alloys represent a significant advance in metallurgy. It is designed to be enhanced by TIG welding. “Air-hardening” refers to how the material responds to TIG welding. As it cools down, it becomes super-heat treated, but in a way that avoids becoming brittle in the weld zone. Traditional steel alloys, such as 4130 chromoly, embrittlement means that the joint (which receives the most stress on the bike) – is weaker than the parent tube. This limits how light a tubeset can be welded and still maintain structural integrity. Air-hardening alloys eliminate this problem and indeed the super-heat treated weld zones provide a nice balance with the heat treated parent tubes.

We didn’t stop there. We took advantage of these properties to develop a whole new system of tubes we call “OS2″. These tubes let us tune the ride the way we like at frame weights not possible with regular chromoly. It performs even better than the traditional tube dimensions using our air-hardening alloys.

By system of tubes we mean that we don’t just limit ourselves to one top tube, one down tube, etc. We instead offer a number of top tubes and downtubes, which we mix by size and application. This lets us provide you the same ride qualities throughout our range of sizes, so the big guys don’t have to live with wimpy frames. Also, we use heavier tubes for high-stress applications like anything off-road or unsupported touring.

The result are bikes that are a pleasure to ride, a pleasure to own and a great long-term investment.

Construction

It’s not just a great tubeset that makes a Gunnar. Every Gunnar is hand-built at Waterford Precision Cycles in Waterford, Wisconsin. We machine each frame with close-tolerance milling equipment to make sure each weld is clean and consistent. We use precision fixturing, aligning tools and fabrication protocols to insure that your Gunnar is straight and true, and we a blessed with talented craftspeople who are proud to build you your dream bike.

Innovation – and Common Sense

Many companies define innovation by the materials and visual look of their products – yet the designs themselves are a generation or more old. For us, innovation means helping you develop new ways to enjoy cycling. Most of our models didn’t even exist in the bicycle market before we started Gunnar in 1998. We continue to add models and improvements to our existing offerings that move forward the practice of cycling in its many forms. Yet when we like how it’s been done in the past, we provide common sense design – avoiding gimics and focusing on giving you exactly what you want.

Soul

There’s something about a hand-made steel bike. It has soul. It speaks to you. It begs to be ridden. Like a faithful canine pal, your Gunnar will be a friend for life, and it’ll always be ready to go out and play.