Richard is already a part of the Saffron family. He came to us wanting to have a winterbike, as he religiously commutes to work by bike. Richard’s first bike was an all out, no-nonsense race machine. The request of this bike was to keep it simple, clean and hassle-free. It was to have mudguards as well as disc breaks, giving it maximum stopping power in the wet weather.
We chose a mix of tubing, including a Columbus Life and Reynolds 853. The 853 was used for the chainstays as they are the thinnest on the market, as well as being super strong. To get a little bit of added comfort on the road, we went with 28mm tyres. Given the wide room that we matched up with the tyre, it ended up giving us an actual width of 30mm. This means Richard can run them at a low pressure, giving a little bit more comfort on the pothole-littered roads of London. We went down the route of using Ultegra R8070, an electronic groupset with disc breaks. This allows for a more hassle-free maintenance in the long run.
We used a T47 bottom bracket shell so that we could run the hydraulic hose throughout the frame, with no interference from the bottom bracket.
The paint scheme we inverted from his first bike. We used a House Of Kolor apple candy red as the main colour, and black to pick out the bosses and other small details on the frame.
Richard is one of our favourite customers. He is super laid back and has a desire to know exactly what is going on, but entrusts us to recommend him the best possible options. Given the ridiculously bad winter we have been having in London, this bike fits the bill perfectly.
