OutForALongTime NotForAGoodTime

Will does some really big rides. He needed his new bike to not only fit him perfectly, but handle predictably and safely when he’s flagging after the eleventy billionth kilometre. He wanted his existing dynamo lights and charging setup to be neatly integrated, and bags front and rear that would be secure and yet easy to remove.

I chose a mix of Columbus and Reynolds tubing, and classic geometry of 73deg head and 72deg seat angles, which combine with a low BB and tall stack height to make a well fitting package. The bike was designed around 700c wheels and 32mm tyres with mudguards for a balance between speed and comfort. The custom stem gets Will into the right position, and includes a stainless Garmin mount.

Will’s bike also uses my new twin plate flat mount rear dropouts.  Most flat mount dropout solutions require either ugly long flat plate dropouts or large chunks of the tube to be cut out for the brake bosses. I’ve designed mine to make a unique, strong and sensible to fabricate dropout.

There are light/charging cable guides on the frame and fork, with the cable going internally through the downtube and seat tube, to the rear light mount on the right hand seat stay. The amazing Berthoud mudguards have extra secure fixing points on the front rack and seat tube, giving great water protection and no rattling, ever.

The custom rack set was super fun. The front supports a handlebar bag and mudguard, and features a wrapped around light mount as Will wanted to make sure he didn’t bash the front light when he’s delirious at 3AM. The rear is designed to perfectly fit a Wizard Works Shazam,the curved rack hugging the saddlebag so there is no sway or sag. Rather than hanging the bag from the saddle rails like normal, I made my saddlebag decaleur, which releases the bag by unscrewing the big hand turned brass dial, so it can be removed quickly and brought into cafes.

Finally, Will wanted his motto/mantra/mania scrawled inside the chain stay:

OU TFORAL ONGT IMEN OTFO RAGO ODTI ME

Before I brazed that lot, I checked about twenty times that I’d spelt that right…