Pete’s V2 gravel bike
I built Pete’s original gravel bike in 2020 – that bike was designed around 35mm tires, with a 2x groupset. Over the intervening years, Pete rode the sh*t out of his bike, and learnt about the limitations which led us to version 2.
This time we designed around 55mm tires, and went to 1×13 with SRAM’s XPLR groupset. The design shifted to internal brake hoses, with an Enve In-Route fork (with the cargo bosses removed, thanks to Ruckus Composites) and FSA/Vision headset/cockpit. We were able to reuse the crank, wheels and shifters. To continue the aero theme of the bar/stem, the frame has an aero downtube. The seattube is offset forward on the the BB shell to help keep the chainstays short.
The first build was full weight weenie, coming in at 15.3lbs. The bigger rubber, UDH and internal-routing considerations increased that a bit, but 18.9lbs is still light for a fat-tire gravel bike.
And then the paint! So much detail – hard to even conceive how Colorworks pulled this off, but it is glorious, even down to updating the accent colors on the wheels and saddle.
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English Cycles is Rob English, winner of Best in Show at the 2013 North American Handmade Bike Show. Custom bicycles built in Eugene, Oregon, USA since 2009.
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When I saw the pictures of Pete’s lightweight gravelbike in 2020, it was my benchmark for how a gravelbike has to look like, when I ever get one for my own. And here ist version 2 and again it’s a “stunning beauty” and the benchmark climbs a step higher. And I wonder if the story Pete tells us, when he gets the gravel bike, will repeat and he again has to wrestle it back from his wife…
What a special beauty!
Reinhard! Thank you, my friend. Your comment genuinely made my day.
This bike does have a story behind it—and like many good stories, it begins somewhere in the remote NV Desert.
As Rob mentioned, I absolutely rode the life out of the first bike. Out here in the Las Vegas desert, “gravel” often means something closer to mountain bike terrain: sharp rock, rough climbs, and a rugged lunar landscape instead of the smooth champagne gravel many riders enjoy elsewhere. But the reward for early starts is worth it—sunrises, open silence, and the occasional meeting with the locals… especially the wild burros.
One morning, my riding buddy Kyle and I came around a corner and looked up to see a rare white burro standing on a hill like some majestic desert guardian. Kyle immediately named him DonkeyCorn. The name stuck, and so the legend was born. We’ve seen him many times since. Tough, resilient, probably not as aerodynamic as its thoroughbred cousins… but still sleek and IMPOSSIBLE not to love.
Fast forward to designing version two. I had the shape, the details, and the design callbacks to the first bike—but I was stuck on the color.
So I asked my 7-year-old daughter what we should do. She lit up like Christmas morning, took the biggest breath imaginable, threw her hands on her head, and shouted:
“CAN IT BE PINK AND WHITE LIKE A UNICORN?!”
And just like that, it all clicked. DonkeyCorn. Of course. “The DONK!” For short.
That became the guiding idea for the whole build. A little magic mixed with dust and durability. Less polished fairytale, more glitter hidden in desert rocks. That’s why we chose the satin rather than gloss finish, the faded tones inspired by the burros out here, and the custom DonkeyCorn graphic under the bottom bracket.
The first bike may have won over my wife… but this one belongs to my daughter’s heart and of course that means it holds mine as well.
Thanks again to Rob for the build and Bethany for the paint work. I feel truly blessed each ride!