English Cycles | Custom Bicycles

Posted by Rob on Jun 13, 2021

John’s stainless road disc

This is the third bike I have built for John over the last ten years – his position means he is best served by a custom frame. For this one he asked for something similar to his first bike, but modernised with disc brakes, wireless shifting and more tire clearance. The lightest steel tubing currently available (due to the high strength of the alloy, it can be drawn to a thinner wall) is Reynolds...

Posted by Rob on Jun 2, 2021

Reinhard’s road bike

I had a great time working with Reinhard to create his perfect bike for the Austrian mountains. The final build ended up, to my eye, just so clean and simple – and the paint scheme is reminiscent of my first ‘proper’ bike, my 1991 Stumpjumper comp. The lightweight rim brake frame is paired to a Columbus fork with a custom stem to match. Campagnolo Super Record shifting is...

Posted by Rob on May 24, 2021

20″ aero road frameset

This one is a little different – I have done a LOT of riding on my Bike Friday, so am very familiar with 20″ (451) road bikes. That is what was requested here, along with some aero features. A full length aero seatmast would have reduced the intended compactness of this bike, so I created a custom stainless steel aero seatpost to fit into the ovalised seattube. This is matched with the aero...

Posted by Rob on May 15, 2021

Lalit’s road bike

This build started out as the final tenth anniversary build, then got modified a fair amount – kept the exclusive orange anodised parts but otherwise very custom! Lalit wanted to allow for a wide range of handlebar adjustment, so we specced a custom stem with 8 degree rise and a removable faceplate – this enables for easy flipping of the stem to provide a 25mm bar height difference. With 25mm...

Posted by Rob on May 6, 2021

Project Right #7

Gary asked me to build him a Project Right, with a bit of added strength for a heavier rider. So the custom hubs are 32h, built onto Easton rims. But with the modular design of the previous few PR bikes – front and rear wheels are interchangeable, fitting onto tri-lobe hub bodies which leave the disc rotors and drivetrain in place on the bike when the wheels are removed. The custom wide BB shell...

Posted by Rob on Apr 23, 2021

Ted’s aero road disc

Ten years ago I built Ted’s first bike, and he has been riding it ever since! But he decided he wanted a modern version to join it. The frame has a custom butted and ovalised integrated seatmast with matching adjustable cap. There is a rear wheel cut out that will clear up to a 32mm tire. Dropped seatstays complete the contemporary look, with a subtle bend to clear the brake caliper. Keeping the...

Posted by Rob on Apr 11, 2021

Stephanie’s FGC

Stephanie wanted a bike that would fit, inspire confidence on descents, fit tires up to 40mm, or 35mm with fenders. Oh, and fit into a checkable case for travel…… So I designed and built her bike around my ‘Folding Gravel Concept’ system. This adds discreet pivots at the chainstay/BB and dropout/seatstay junctions, with a telescopic joint at the top of the seatstay. With the pivots...

Posted by Rob on Mar 16, 2021

Verena’s e-bike

Only the third e-bike I have built, but super happy with how this one turned out! Verena is small of stature, and asked me to build her a bike to fit that she could use for errands and for towing the kiddie trailer. Shimano offer 160mm crank arms for the STEPS mid-drive motor, which is a good length for this rider and allowed for lowering the bottom bracket to match – making it easier to get a...