Earlier this year, Guitar Ted and the rest of the dudes at TwentyNineInches.com did profiles of some of the best custom bike builders in the States. Including, of course, Brendan Collier of Siren Bicycles. The interview gives pretty good insight to Brendan's design philosophy and ethics as a custom builder. Really worth a read! Check it out:

Twentynineinches.com: So, who are you? Please introduce yourself.

Brendan Collier: Chicagoan, bike lover. I more or less grew up working in bike shops, starting the day I was old enough to get a work permit, through my time in the Air Force (I was a helicopter mechanic) and in the trenches through college. I made the jump from shop rat to industry rat when we moved to California in ‘05 and I got the Quality Control job at Intense.

I soaked up as much knowledge as I could from Jeff Steber (Intense founder) and the other employees, especially Mike and Rick the Welder, and Phil Strong. Phil and I used to commute together from Idyllwild and I spent a lot of drive time picking his brain. At some point, I decided it was a good idea to build a frame or two of my own.

The first Siren was on the trail in ‘06, a Fifty-Five singlespeed built with old Tracer tubing Jeff had donated. It might seem odd that I was building while working for a bike company, but you’ve got to understand – I was possessed. At the end of a long day of tackling production issues, all I wanted to do was go home and do more of the same. At first I built bikes for Mary, my friends, and myself but before long I had people offering money for them. I started Siren officially while working at Intense, and there was a period of overlap, more than a year, when I was building in the Idyllwild garage part time and putting in a full work week in Temecula. By the time I left Intense I was the company’s Project Manager and was having a ton of fun…it was a sad decision to leave.

TNI: Who is your typical customer?

Brendan: My typical customer is driven. I build for a lot of young professionals as well as family men and women… a lot of women. They work hard and want to maximize their time off. In many cases, they may have a goal or race in mind (Leadville 100, their first solo 24, etc) or they just want to gain better trail skills.

TNI: Why custom? Why not just an off-the-rack bike? They work well, don’t they?

Brendan: The bike I build for you shines when you clean that rock garden, or shave time off your PR on the racecourse. It has a responsive tube selection, or the right bottom bracket height for your trails, or the standover clearance you need. It works better because it was built for you.

TNI: Why did you choose the particular medium to work with, be it steel, Ti, or aluminum?

Brendan: I’m open to all materials, and have used a little of everything at one time or another. I like to think I put the right material in the right place… That’s what I’m after in the Song design- isolated flex, simplicity. Lately I’ve built a couple experimental bikes with aluminum main tubes and carbon fiber or titanium stays, with the Song plate positioned in such a way as to provide a small amount of passive suspension.

I do build primarily with aluminum though. I know it well. And it makes a lot of sense for my designs, especially the Song and the 4″ travel bike I’m developing. It’s light, stiff, and much more tunable than many builders seem to realize.

Steel? Well, I’m tinkering with steel too. I’ve got something I’m working on in that realm, but I won’t put forth a new bike unless it really brings something new and novel to market.

TNI: I know it is a complicated procedure in many ways, but how do you approach the challenge of assessing the needs of your customers? How does that process work?

Brendan: My clients and I have to get to know one another. I will build a better bike with a clearer picture of the rider’s goals, riding style… and their personality. It makes a difference. I spend a lot of time communicating with my customers on the phone, and in email correspondence… even Facebook. The measurements only tell half the story, the rider’s experience and goals are a huge part of the equation.

TNI: Let’s get this out of the way. The biggest knock against the small builder is the often shabby track record of missed deadlines, poor communication, etc. How do you run your business to avoid those issues?

Brendan: My Blackberry runs the show. Ha! I try to keep my clients informed while they’re waiting for their bike to come up. This is easier said than done, of course, and I have missed deadlines, as many builders have, but that’s not an acceptable status quo. My current thinking is to move toward even more transparency- a real time build queue that shows current progress on a timeline for each frame. We can do it perhaps on the website or shop blog, this is something I’ll be talking with my new web guy about.

I will continue to embrace emerging media- being on Facebook and Twitter has helped my clients be more connected with the process without taking too much of my work time away. That better connectivity and communication can help us all stay on the same page, and it can help me set realistic project goals as well.

TNI: How do you stay passionate about bikes? What keeps you stoked?

Brendan: The irony of working in the bike industry, for me anyway, is that I ride a bit less than I used to. Not long ago I could knock out dirt centuries at the drop of a hat. Now I’m lucky to get a few hours in a couple times a week. Not that I’m complaining – not at all. I love my job and look forward to it every day. But I like to sneak away from time to time. Overnighters are my latest passion. I like to pack light and disappear into the wilderness for a night under the stars.

The lighter the better, so I can enjoy the ride out and back. That’s my reward for a job well done, or a hard earned week.

TNI: Twenty Niners gave the custom builder a boost, what do you see as being the latest trend? Are 29″ers still a strong seller?

Brendan: To date, I’ve built mostly 29″ers, and mixed wheel bikes… it’s been perfect for the custom builder as it ushered in a new, creative design palette to play with, for sure.

TNI: What do you feel is the future of the custom builder especially now, in very challenging times?

Brendan: We’re in a recession- I choose to face it, to call it by its name. I will face the fact that people are watching their money. So am I. I believe there will always be a place for good mountain bikes, and as we collectively buckle down for some hard work we’ll need to hit the trails and blow off some steam. I’ll continue to build custom bikes and love it, but I’ll also be leaning on my production experience to branch out into batch building.

The latest trend, from my perspective, is urban/utility bikes. They make a lot of sense for a lot of reasons right now – high energy costs, environmental consciousness, traffic congestion…well designed commuter bikes help address all this, with the added benefit of physical exercise and sunshine as you go about your daily errands.

TNI: Anything else you want to say? Future plans, goals, visions, final words of wisdom to folks considering a frame build?

Brendan: What’s on the horizon? I’ve been working on a 4″ travel suspension design for a while, in the same vein as the Song insofar as I’m pushing for a very simple, reliable design. I’ll continue to offer as much technology as possible in a custom package.

I’m also very excited about a small collaboration, three or four guys with complimentary minds, for a domestic-built, cost-effective line of production Siren commuter bikes. Yeah, it’s a biggie for me right now, and I’m going to hold firm to certain design constraints and a reasonable retail price for the consumer. That’s all I care to divulge at the moment…exciting times ahead!