Situated at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado city of Durango is called a mountain bikers paradise. One local frame builder, Eric Tomczak, knows the regional trails well and just finished this hardtail for himself to explore them.
Eric’s workshop is called Myth Cycles and is based in Durango, where he grew up. A welder by trade, he was drawn to the craft of custom frame building by searching for a tandem MTB for his partner and himself, without finding any that ticked all of his boxes.
A few standard ‘models’ are offered by Myth Cycles, but Eric quickly points out that he builds custom bikes. While they may be loosely based on the models listed on his site, each project is tailored to the needs and tastes of the customer.
Eric’s personal ride takes the Talos as a starting point, but it’s explicitly designed for Durango’s in-town trails during spring and then, once the mountains have melted out, exploring the high country along the Colorado trail.
The curved seat tube is a feature of the Myth Talos — only just takes a 175mm dropper post, maximizing the room available for a frame bag if Eric heads off for a bike-packing adventure. The curved top tube, however, is something you’ll find on the Myth Slaypnir.
The proprietary chainstay yoke is a surprisingly simple and pleasing solution to the design conundrum of balancing short chainstays with big wheels. A detail that will keep Eric company on the trail is Gus the Gecko, silver brazed onto the seat tube.
Eric obsesses over his work, evidenced by the results and the philosophy behind the Myth and model names. He believes our lives consist of the personal myths we weave, and how most of them are centered around bikes. Not a bad life goal, if you ask me.