Pratt Frameworks

While studying Furniture Design at RISD, I began what would become the most complex and rewarding project of my life. I had been focused heavily on high-craft woodworking in my program, but when I learned how to manipulate metal, and the basics of TIG welding, my focus shifted towards the making of bicycle frames.

I was not new to the cycling industry; I had been a professional bike mechanic both in Cambridge, MA and Providence, RI before my newfound interest. But my knowledge of material and manufacturing made the world around me malleable, I found myself working relentlessly to design, prototype, test, and fabricate a better bicycle. Later that year, I started selling custom steel frames under the company name Pratt Frameworks. 

In 2021, we grew the company, splitting the workload between me and my partner. We designed and built our bikes at the forefront of technological and material sophistication in steel, incorporating heat treated high-chrome steel tubing and 3D printed stainless steel frame components, designed in house and manufactured with DLMS (Direct Laser Metal Sintering) and Binder-Jetting partners. Our work has been featured in Outside, Bicycling Magazine, VeloNews, Bicycle Quarterly, The Radavist, Road Bike Action, and more.

In 2022, with the reorganization of our racing team into nice bikes, I worked as the Technical Director, designing and building custom racing bicycles within the non-profit organization for athletes, staff, and supporters of the organization as fundraising and activation tools for the support of gender inclusivity in the outdoor industry.

Learn more at nicebikes.org and follow us on Instagram @nicebikes

Pictured right is stress test simulations done using Fusion 360, to test the ISO compliance of 3D printed metal frame parts I designed; this is one example of the many processes which cross the boundaries of modern digital fabrication and traditional metal bicycle making.