Simon came to us wanting a bike to ride for 2-5 day trips away, traveling light using bike-packing bags. Also a bike he could ride throughout the year without luggage for training and group rides. With these clear specs in mind his frame was designed using a mixture of Columbus life and Zona tubes, keeping strength and stiffness where it’s needed but reducing weight where we could.  A 44mm head tube allows us to use a 1.5″ tapered fork so the steering is direct, and with the angles as they are the bike handles in a lively way. The geometry of the frame allows for quite a large amount of exposed seatpost making attachment of a large saddlebag simple, as well as improving comfort for long days in the saddle.

When specifying the bike we tried to keep the levels of maintenance and complication (both visual and for the rider) to a minimum. Shimano’s Ultegra Di2 is as close as a “fit and forget” items as groupsets get, with only a quick charge needed every couple of thousand miles. Disc brakes mean the rims will last, within reason, forever, and the brakes perform well in all weathers. Colour matched mudguards keep the rider dry and comfortable and the bike as clean as possible, increasing longevity of the parts. The Hutchinson tyres are set up tubeless with a liquid sealant meaning the majority of punctures should “fix themselves” and require only a quick top up of air.  Lights are from Supernova and we added a second rear light with custom wiring, meaning visibility is great from all angles and with internal cables visual impact is minimised. Chris King provided the hubs and headset for this bike, and give a great contrast of colour against the metallic grey of the main frame and fork.

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