First Look - The Capital Frame

Some of the very first Wethepeople frames were made in the USA almost 20 years ago. Since that time we have moved our frame production to Taiwan, simply due to scale, growing improvements and evolution in quality. Innovation also played a big role in that choice and frame production in Taiwan gave us so many more possibilities.

The advance of the technology and frame manufacturing methods which have taken place during that time have been fundamental in the growth of Wethepeople. All of this work has meant that ultimately - we as BMX riders having an overall better ride. Without this move, we wouldn’t be at the same place we are today. When you take the very first Wethepeople frames and put them next to our most recent 2021 frames, the difference is quite staggering.

As a brand we have changed a lot since our birth in 1996, but as a rider owned and rider run company - our love and passion for creating and building bikes is still very much the same as it was in the very beginning.

We are proud to announce that we have been working with Montana based frame fabricator ‘Ben Smith’ at WHTHOUS on a 100% USA made Wethepeople frame called “The Capital”.

The effect of globalisation is not something we take lightly and whilst we are privileged in being able to produce the products we want and exactly how we want them in Taiwan we still have great respect and admiration for the brands out there making BMX products closer to home. There is something incredibly special and personal about riding a bike built on a smaller scale by an individual craftsman - it’s a magic which can’t be replicated. There is a growing movement of independent and dedicated bicycle fabricators around the world, who are creating some seriously incredible frames and products on a daily basis. These talented people incapsulate the same DIY mentality and passion to create and build which has fuelled BMX since day one.

Ben Smith has been hand crafting BMX frames and parts from his workshop in Helena, Montana for a few years now under his brand WHTHOUS. Ben is a dedicated BMX rider and shares the same love for creating BMX products to the highest standards as we do. We have been working with Ben over the past year to produce a new limited Wethepeople frame which incorporates many of the technical features and geometry of our most current frames. The task has not been an easy feat and many of the “simple” features you’ll find on our existing frames require complex tooling and methods which a small independent fabricator does not have access to. Since working with Ben we have watched him firsthand as he “replicates” these methods on a smaller scale, giving us the opportunity to produce a Wethepeople frame which carries the blood of our overseas frames but in a new USA made form.

The Capital is designed for the modern street rider looking for a technical and incredibly durable frame with many of the features we’ve pioneered with our Taiwanese frames but hand build and crafted in the USA. We are seriously hyped with the first samples of The Capital Frame, which are currently being tested by our team riders and with the aim to release the frame in limited numbers this year. The specs of the current samples are listed below and as always we are interested in your feedback so please let us know what you think via the post on our Instagram.

Keep your eyes open and look out for more info on The Capital over the next months!