English Cycles | Custom Bicycles

Posted by Rob on Jan 28, 2023

Sit’s road bike

Sit asked me to build him a classic rim-brake road bike and requested silver components where possible. He also opted for a custom steel fork and stem to match. The frame features internal routing for the gear cables and rear brake, with those controlling Campagnolo gears and Cane Creek EE brakes. Ritchey’s classic series of components provides the silver handlebar, seatpost and headset, matched by...

Posted by Rob on Jan 20, 2023

Jackie’s touring bike

Jackie is a joyful rider who clocks up a lot of miles. She has been riding a 26″ wheeled Surly, but really needed a custom build for a better fit to help avoid injuries. After doing a fit session with her, we swapped the Surly to 150mm cranks to help reduce pressure on her hips. Then I was able to design a custom bike around that crank length, making the pedal the correct height from the ground, and...

Posted by Rob on Jan 11, 2023

Dave’s road bike

Before we started his design, Dave worked with a fitter locally, and then had further remote consultation with me to come up with the best fit to use for his new bike. He decided to go with a custom steel fork to complement the frame. Both frame and fork feature 12mm thru axles with flat mount disc mounts and internal hose routing. The bike is built up with a full SRAM Red AXS groupset, rolling on Enve...

Posted by Rob on Dec 26, 2022

Richard’s stainless steel all-road bike

This might be the largest bike I have built so far! Richard is 6’4″, so definitely a good candidate for a custom bike. He asked me to build him a bike from stainless steel, for all-weather riding (so able to fit full fenders), long rides (plenty of bottle mounts) and varied terrain (very wide gear range). I was able to use a full Columbus XCR tubeset, complimented with dropouts and BB shell...

Posted by Rob on Dec 17, 2022

V3 Disc frameset

This frame features an Enve carbon fork, seatmast and headtube insert, paired together with a Chris King headset. And matched with a custom steel stem. There is a custom adjustable cap for saddle adjustment, and internal routing for the rear hose and EPS wires. The frame and fork will clear up to 32mm tires. Lovely paint by...

Posted by Rob on Dec 9, 2022

Han’s Aeroish Road

Han used the ‘aeroish’ term when describing what he wanted me to build for him – in recognition that his position may not be pro-racer, but wanting the best tool for flat, windy riding. The frame has a custom butted and ovalised seatmast, with matching cap for saddle adjustment. This is offset slightly towards the rear of the bottom bracket, to allow for the wheel cutout to better shield...

Posted by Rob on Dec 2, 2022

Shimano GRX Ltd show bike

Back in the spring, Shimano asked if I would do a build to be shown at Unbound to display their limited edition polished silver GRX group and new carbon wheels. I took the opportunity to prototype some ideas, essentially testing a disc brake version of the Cane Creek bike, with some additional changes to the design and geometry. There is a custom butted 1” seatmast, curved for tire clearance and with a...

Posted by Rob on Nov 26, 2022

Martin’s skinny bike

Number three in this occasional series, Martin asked for a more traditional silhouette (toptube closer to level), and direct mount brakes with the rear positioned under the chainstays. The lightweight steel fork features a socketed crown into which bolts the one-piece 1″ stem/steerer. The 1″ headset is shimmed to install into the headtube for an 1-1/8″ version, which allows room each side...