Bicycle frame building classes

Montreal, Canada

Steel is a material full of potential.
Alloyed with the right ingredients and transformed with the best tools it can become almost anything.

Once every year, we stop the production work and turn the shop into a teaching space where you can build your own bicycle frame. For ten days you will learn how to design, cut, weld, and finish a bicycle frame. No experience necessary – just the motivation to step slightly out of your comfort zone and make a little dream come true.

Upcoming classes
November 3rd to 14th 2025 (FULL)
November 9th to 20th 2026
Contact us for details

I cannot recommend Jacques' frame building class enough to anyone with a passion for cycling. I signed up for the class with no welding experience and very little understanding of frame design, and by the end of the two weeks I not only had a beautiful new frame but also a whole set of new skills. Whether or not you plan to continue with frame building (I did), there is an unrivaled satisfaction in riding a bicycle you've crafted by hand, and Jacques' teaching makes that possible.

– Tucker

Jacques’ workshop came up at the perfect time for me and has resulted in such a positive change in so many aspects of my life. It really opened me up to the Montreal bike community as a whole, which is such an amazing thing. I’ve met so many new people as a result. It’s been really great.

– Adam

The bicycle frame building class is a unique experience that’s accessible to all. Jacques has the ability to transform and dissect a complex subject, namely the design and construction of bicycles, into a series of clear steps and methods adapted to each person's experience. By the end of the course, we not only have the bike of our dreams in hand, but also a useful foundation of workshop skills supported by Jacques’ passion for the transmission of metal working in general.

– Pierre-Alexandre

FAQ

The Gallant Metalworks shop located in the Mile-End neighbourhood in Montreal
The bicycle frame class typically happens once per year, usually in November. The exact dates for the fall class will be announced around the end of the summer, or before, depending on how our other projects are developing.
Get in touch on the Contact Page to express your interest.
We will add your name to the mailing list. When we are ready to take sign-ups, usually around the end of the summer, an e-mail will be sent to the mailing list of interested persons with all the details for the class including how to make a deposit.
Class tuition for 2026 will be $2700 plus frame materials, which usually cost around $400 depending on the style of frame being built. Sales tax (GST, QST) applies to these amounts.
For sure:
Road, All road, Gravel, Track, Cyclocross, Touring/Adventure, Hardtail, Commuter, Pony
Maybe, but we’ll have to talk:
BMX, circus
Definitely not:
Fat, cargo, recumbent, ski bike, e-bike, tricycle, unicycle, quadricycle
It’s a tough balance between helping someone accomplish their dream bike and designing a project that is appropriate to a first frame and that can be completed in the time we have. We can talk about your particular case.
We will do a project consultation prior to class, where we will discuss your desired frame, measurements, components, and fit requirements. We will draw a draft of your frame which will be adjusted and finalized in class.
Anyone doing this for the first time will be recommended to do a fillet brazed frame. TIG welding could be an option for somebody who already has a decent amount of experience with welding thin metal. For the average person starting with little or no metalworking experience there just isn’t enough time in ten days to develop the sufficient reflexes and responses to successfully TIG weld thin-walled bicycle tubing without destroying it. Fillet brazing is a little softer and can be more forgiving for the first-time builder.
If you need to cancel your enrollment four weeks or more before class begins we will refund your deposit right away. If you cancel with less than four weeks we will refund your deposit if we manage to fill the spot with another sign-up.
Yes, this class is designed for anyone to take, no previous experience necessary. That said, anything you have done in the past, drawing, design, math, bicycle mechanics, even carpentry will be useful skills and the more you know coming into class the better we can build on it to make a great project.

Jacques Gallant
Jacob Boyer-Pomerance
We usually have space for four students
The frame class will take place in both French and English. Group activities and demonstrations are by default begun in French and can easily be repeated in English. This sounds cumbersome but is really not much of a consideration and repetition is part of the natural process of teaching.
Most of the learning experiences happen in moments of one-on-one instruction and both instructors are bilingual and available to converse in the language of your preference.
Everything you need to know to start building bicycles. We will go over fitting and geometry, planning and material sourcing, selecting tubes and frame hardware, basic fabrication skills, using hand tools and industrial machinery, work holding and fixturing, framebuilding skills specific to the process, brazing skills, finishing fillets (filing/shaping/buffing), frame alignment, and post-weld finishing (reaming and facing). We can also discuss buying and making tooling and fixtures, and any interest surrounding what you need to pursue framebuilding as a hobby or professionally.
Under normal circumstance it will take the full ten days to get a frame built, aligned, and cleaned up. But if someone is on fire and has completely wrapped up their frame on day 8 or 9 we’re happy to let them carry that momentum into another part of the project like a fork, rack, or paint job assuming the appropriate materials can be had. Note that this is very unusual that this ever happens unless the person is coming with a lot of experience under their belt already or building a very simple frame. Our intention is that you can leave class with a full set of skills that you would be able to continue building steel bicycles and there are some good options to hire private shop time in Montréal to put these new skills to use on your fork.
We will design your frame to be compatible with a commercial fork or your future custom fork. It is not strictly necessary to have the fork on hand during class but it can on occasion be advantageous.
Cromoly frame tubes will be selected for each project according to the type of frame being built and the rider’s use. Frame tubes will come from many sources and may include Columbus, Tange, Dedachai, etc. Untra thin-walled tubing (Columbus Spirit, Reynolds 853) as well as stainless tubing are not appropriate for this class.
Absolutely, but this needs to be discussed well in advance of the beginning of the class to make sure the tubes and hardware are appropriate to the project and to the tooling we have available.
You should absolutely show up to class on a bike and we have space for you to park it inside. Having lots of bicycles on hand is also useful for illustrating details about geometry, design, components placement, etc. Plus, we like bikes.
Bring safety glasses, thin work gloves, and a half-face respirator fitted with dust/nuisance level organic vapor filters (ideally 3M 2097 “pancake” filters). Wear clothes made mainly of natural fibers and avoid blends containing high amounts of synthetics (nylon, polyester, etc). Close toed shoes.

The class runs for ten days over the course of two weeks, from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5pm.
You will be building yourself a custom steel bicycle frame! Each day is a mix of lessons, demonstrations, practice with brazing, one-on-one instruction and working on your project.
Each participant will have their own workstation for the duration of the class. This includes: bench space, a torch set, bicycle frame jig, vise, tube blocks, files and assorted measuring and hand tools. A vertical mill, band saw, grinder and sandblast will also be used to prepare tubes for welding.
Ideally, all of it. The ethos of this course is that you are learning the knowledge and skills to complete this process yourself, and as such we try to be as hands-off as possible be during the process. If you are unable to complete a process we will help you out, although we leave this as a last resort (eg. you are falling behind schedule.)
Yes, but this will require some advance planning and research to make sure that an appropriate set of lugs and matching tubes can be sourced before the class begins.
We do have in-house powder coat capabilities but there is already so much to cover in class that adding this would be too much. That said, if somebody is completely done their frame before the end of the last day of class, and has test-fitted it with components, we’re not opposed to running a quick paint job as a bonus.
Head tubes can be 1 inch, 1 1/8 or 44mm. BB ISO or T47. Caliper brakes, cantilever/V, disc ISO or post mount or Flat Mount (if integrated in the dropouts). Axle 10mm spaced 120, 130, 135 or 12mm thru axle spaced 142,5
It’s a pretty competitive and expensive neighborhood for car parking but we can sometimes liberate one little spot for someone in need.
A few weeks before class begins you will be sent a small survey asking about the bicycle that you would like to build, as many technical specifications as you can provide, and about what kind of riding you do. We will be asking about everything from wheel size, axle type, head tube size, headsets, cranks (especially important since large tires have come into style), forks, and tires. The more complete your list of parts is the better chance we have of making your project come out correctly. Ideally you will have purchased your crank set and be able to bring them to class. Having a fork already can be helpful too.
Bring your mom. We’ll have an open house on the evening of the second-last day of class where you can bring your friends, meet other members of the framebuilding community.