About Ted Wojcik: (from the S and S Machine web site)
With his multi-colored eyes, long grey beard and robust physique, Ted Wojcik (pronounced whoa-jik) looks to be a cross between a medieval magician, a motorcycle renegade and Santa Claus. Ted's custom made bicycles have gained a cult following. One look at them will tell you why.
Seldom is the line between art and science, form and function, yet in Ted's work, they are so completely merged. Near invisible welds fuse select butted steel tubing, and the only limitation on your paint job is your own imagination.
Ted Wojcik has extensive engineering and mechanical experience. He worked on gas turbine engines and helicopter transmission systems for the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. After an Honorable Discharge in 1970, Ted worked for several motorcycle specialty shops in New England. He became one of the leading motorcycle racers in New England competing on a national level.
Ted Wojcik Custom Bicycles got it's start when Ted met his future wife, Sue Abrahamson, an avid cyclist. At 5'2", she was having a hard time finding a bike that she could ride. Having already learned the art of motorcycle frame fabrication through his racing experience, Ted ordered tubing from a local bike shop to build his wife a bicycle.
Already an accomplished welder, Ted decided to try his hand at creating bicycle frames. Built in Ted's basement, the next frame was sold before it was completed. Ted figured this was a good sign so he made a few more frames, selling them locally. He worked out of his home until 1990 when he set up shop dedicated to producing more frames.
After 18 years of designing and manufacturing bicycle frames, Ted is revered as one of the masters of the trade. His bicycles have won medals at USCF championships, NORBA events, Tour Du Pont, the Pan-Am Games, and World Championship Track events.
In 1996 Ted moved to his current shop located where we are today, in Hampstead, NH. We currently offer frames for all aspects of cycling in sizes to specifically suit your needs. Custom geometries are available as well as complete bikes with your custom picked component group.
There are no two frames alike! They are considered by many to be works of art. Ted still cuts, welds, braises, and paints the frames by hand. Painstaking measures ensure that all of the bicycles that bear our name display the highest quality in precision craftsmanship. When not involved in the production of our bikes, Ted consults and does prototype work for other bike companies. Ted is also Dirt Rag's 'Manic Mechanic' offering rider insight to many technical bicycle questions.
In Ted's free time, he can also be found riding his BMW motorcycle around, working on Hot Rods, or racing model cars and flying R/C airplanes with his son Cody.
"I think it's best for riders to work with a local builder, because there's no substitute for that rapport," he says. " The best bicycles are made in America, and there's no doubt in my mind that alignment or accuracy of a frame is as important as the materials that go into it. Otherwise, why bother?"
