So these were a long time coming. Phil Wasson over at SUPER RAT MACHINE put the pedal to the metal with the nails on these puppies and machined them up from my cad files. STOKED. They came out beautifully, and I just can't wait to build up the more refined version of the 29er I've been working on. Actually it will be how i originally intended it to be, but given the time frame and funds I had at the time, some exceptions had to be made. But with some patience and time, (which i have..) things will come together nicely. These allow you to run gears or singlespeed setup without any extra parts or sliding bits. I really like the simplicity of traditional horizontal dropouts, and the ability to switch back and forth sometimes can be a challenge, especially when the switch often involves specialty parts, or other add-ons. The main goal was to design something that used existing parts in a traditional fashion. The pretty cool part for me as a designer is not only doing the design work, but getting to build from start to finish what i design. Can't describe how rewarding this can be. The best part is that first ride when you throw a leg over and start to put the bike through its paces. A lot of information and feedback is gained from this experience. Not only are you getting to realize your design, you're also getting vital feedback on each and every ride on how the design is handling different terrain, conditions and circumstances first hand and comparing that with how you intended the platform to ride and perform in these circumstances. This feedback is taken directly back to the drawing board and put into action. Another aspect that I love is during the production process; actually figuring out how to build the frame. So not only is the design beign informed from the eventual ride feedback, but the design is also influenced by the methods put into practice as I fabricate the ride as well. The ride is now fully realized when it is being influenced by all aspects of the design and fabrication process.