My Experience

Who’s building your next bicycle?

My name is Richard Murphy and I design and build each and every Solace frame from bare materials to final clear coats and polishing. I have been building custom frames since 1975.

It would be remiss to talk about Solace Cycles without mentioning Columbine custom bikes. I began building bikes after high school and eventually started Columbine Cycle Works with my brother John Murphy in 1979. We both had a love for cycling and bicycles and had ridden together since childhood.

Amazingly, we each built our first bikes without even realizing that we were both doing so! John was away at college and working in a machine shop; I was experimenting in the back of the neighborhood bike shop where I was employed. Soon we were comparing notes and began building bikes for friends. While on a long tour together the seeds of what would become Columbine were germinating.

In 1979 we made the plunge, quit our jobs and started living our dream. It wasn’t long before Columbine bikes became nationally recognized for outstanding craftsmanship and ride quality. The first of numerous road tests came in 1984 with many more to come over the years. Followers of the hand made bicycle scene will no doubt have heard of the recent accolades heaped upon John’s Columbines at the North American Hand Made Bicycle Show in March 2006.

After many life changes and new addresses, John and I find ourselves in different states now but with no less passion for building bikes. John continues to build his fine bicycles in Mendocino, California and I am here in Colorado building my Solace frames. We have always been fortunate to have each other to bounce ideas off of and continue to do so. I am grateful to know that I can talk to John about a design or a process and get constructive feedback.

Even though we build bikes separately now, our bikes share many aesthetic and design similarities. We both remain dedicated to setting the highest standards and to building bicycles comparable to any in the world. There are more fine American bike builders today than there has been in a very long time. You will find a Solace or Columbine to be unique and a passionate statement of the craft.