Calling it a day...

Any follower of this blog will know that a few months back we stumbled, lost momentum and, despite a few stutters, never quite got going again.

So sadly I must announce that the Such Bicycles venture will be abandoned. This does not mean the end of my foray into designing and building bicycles; just that the focus and flavour of what I intend to put together will change.

Further details will be posted here in due course. Thanks for your interest.

Edit:
Building bicycles again: http://engineeredbikes.blogspot.co.uk/

Flak Jacket for the Kula

The weekend in Afan was very very hard on the poor Kona. Apart from going through a complete set (front and rear) of new pads in a day, I'd also suffered from gear cables that stiffened on day one and all but jammed on the second day. So something had to be done. My plan was to try cleaning the cables out to see if that would help, and then, if that didn't work, splashing out on some Gore professional sealed cables.

So, while poking through my parts box (as you do) I remembered that I had some leftovers from some SRAM Flak Jacket cables. I'd used that kit for full cable runs so I had the sealed ferrules and sealing tube left over. The ferrules were a bit of a loose fit on the Kona OE cables, which may have been a route in for muck, but a but of tape suitably sealed those off.

The task of fitting was really easy, and in the process I manged to ease out the sharp bends from the cable routes to further help smooth cable operation. I'd never tried fitting the Flak Jacket before for a broken cable run - I must admit that I was quite impressed with how easy it was. And it all fits well, so I trust it will be able to keep out most of the trail muck while also providing some resistance to the inevitable attack with a pressure cleaner.


I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out - but I was also quite amazed with how much muck came out of the existing cable outers! The only bit that I wasn't happy with was the end of the rear derailleur cable - I'd already used the rubber boot to seal off the open end of the cable so that will be vulnerable to pulling in muck; Thankfully I had a nice Shimano boot for for the end of the front cable.

Afan Raid

My road racing friends Andrew and Stu invited me to join on a mountain biking weekend in the valley. I couldn't wait and was counting the days - but little did I know that it would so massively exceed my expectations.

Firstly off, I could not have asked for a better group of guys - and, apart from battling a little with names, I felt at home from the start. Then the trails, just totally sick. I don't know if I've ever used that term before but it just makes sense here.

Despite leaving Bath to glorious sunny skies, Saturday morning in South Wales was bleak; heavy showers threatening to make a misery of any riding. So we procrastinated. And it paid off - the rain abated and so at least we didn't get rained on. But the trail was extremely wet - brilliant conditions for me to become reacquainted with this whole mountain biking lark!

So we set off up White's Level, a great up and down course. The climb gains 525m through nice single track - a few little technical sections but mostly just straightforward, flowing trail with a few hairpins - the MTB feels like a tanker compared to the crosser! Then from the top the trail cascades back down the hill to the trail centre; the Energy section being particularly brilliant with the table tops and some rocky banked turns.

I need to grow bigger balls - I found it difficult to resist confidence braking into corners, only to realise I could have carried a load more speed! I'm sure it will come with time, but I still feel a little out of sorts come the descents.

So I wasn't too surprised when I managed to clip a rock the next morning and then put my wheel off the edge of the trail. I emerged bruised, still not entirely sure how I did that, but learning that perhaps over-thinking is my enemy. Later I got happier to just let it flow; not that I quite got the knack, but thanks Steve for constantly nagging me to leave the brakes!

Speaking of brakes - goodness - the Welsh mud is vicious! One set of pads (front and rear) after two circuits of White's on Saturday! Madness.

And apart from the crash (and the annoyingly stiffening knee that resulted), Sunday we hit W2 - a combination of White's and a trail ominously named The Wall. It was a good day on the bike, but hard. Not that I could complain: Simon, who had done zero exercise in the last 6 months, let alone having ever ridden an MTB, gamely took it on and finished it. The dude was simply mega.

So overall, a totally awesome weekend. What I've described of the riding is just the tip of the iceberg. More so, I've hardly talked about the group - suffice to say that they are just stellar bunch. I couldn't have asked for a better crew to ride & hang out with, talk bike-geek stuff, stretching techniques and ponder 21-year-olds.

Ace! Thanks guys!

The Hotel Gym

I hate gyms. Passionately.

Being outside and getting exercise is fun, liberating, exciting. Gyms are just boring. The only diversions are good looking women who tend to look back at you like a sad loser if you're caught appreciating.

So I don't usually do gyms, but my sub-standard performance in recent races, and stupid schedule have driven me to using the most dreaded of all gyms; the sad, deserted confines of the hotel gym.

But all in all it was actually quite a good experience. A good half hour each of running and cycling, looking at flashing lines on the screen, managed to feel particularly good today. I was training! A rare occurrence, I know.

So, hopefully I'll be able to keep up this good habit. Bring on the weekend!

The worst part of cyclocross

Mud. It gets everywhere.

Don't get me wrong. I love cross. It is the best from of cyclesport, ever. But it is hard on equipment. Sure, the Battersea proto is designed and specced to take this sort of abuse, but now living in a top floor apartment I do find bike cleaning a bit, er ... difficult.

So after the Purdown Race today, the bike was a mess. Faced with the problem of how the hell to clean the bike in my "Fight Club" apartment, I decided to head to the car wash. The dudes are the car wash were more than slightly perplexed that I wanted the bike cleaned and not the car - but when they saw the state of it, I think they got the idea.

And they jumped in will full enthusiasm, blasting every last bit of mud off the bike, pulling all the grass out of the cassette and the jockey wheels - they even shampooed it down!

Ok, I am well aware that high pressure cleaning is hardly the best way to take care of a bike, so the next step was getting the bike onto the workstand pronto to properly dry and re-lube it, but what a pleasure to have a clean bike - especially after getting it completely plastered.

Thank goodness for car washes.

Pre-race cleanliness

One thing I love and hate about cyclocross is the mud.

Here is a pic of the pre-race cleanliness. Goodness, better enjoy it while it lasts.


ps. I raced without the bottle cage. In retrospect, given it wasn't muddy - I should have kept the cage with a 500ml bottle...

Discs and cross

The recent rule change initially sparked quite a debate, but it all seems to have gone quiet. Apart from the Tr!ckstuff CX brake master cylinder, there have been few examples of new kit and particularly new top level disc compatible frames hitting the market.

Now, I guess the rule announcement came pretty late so many manufacturers were well into polishing off their 2010/11 season equipment - but the (lack of) uptake of disc brakes has been (to me) startling. Certainly, as the tech stands, it adds substantial weight with benefit only in really mucky events, but from my outing at the end of last season I still believe that discs provide an advantage in muddy or very wet events.

Which brings me to my first outing of the season at Lydiard Park, a dry and very cold, windy day on a virtually bone dry circuit. I did notice the extra weight and, as fatigue took hold, I over-braked a few times. I must admit that at times I wished I was on my canti-braked Kinesis!

So what do I take from this? The seriously competitive cyclocross racer needs both. For fast hard-pack races, nothing will come close to a canti-braked bike for sheer speed - but in the murk I'm sure the disc brakes will help me out. May this be a really wet and mucky winter!

The Advantages of Bachelorhood

Last night I had to smile quietly to myself. I've been a bit torn up lately in my transition from (supposedly) happily married back to bachelorhood, but suddenly an advantage popped up.

I have a house guest, and so the room where the bikes are usually kept is occupied. OK most of the time, but a pain when I need to use the bike first thing in the morning. "No sweat," I thought, "I'll just stick in my bedroom." This is something I doubt I'd have gotten away with before, but here we go - just happily stuck in the bedroom.

And with the Gates Carbon Drive Belt, it is clean so no chance of getting oil all over my white bedding.

Getting down and dirty

Last night I joined a local MTB group for a thrash around the local trails. Given that I haven't got a (working) mountain bike (and because I am a bit otherwise), I took the proto out.

It was a bit mad getting out there. Despite trying to leave a lot of time, I ended up leaving my flat 2 mins before the meet time, making a madcap dash through Bath traffic (and possibly breaking a rule or two on the way).

For the outing, I took the bike out with the Alfine, belt and a pair of Conti Speed Kings; so I was a little apprehensive when I saw that most of the early arrivals were on serious looking full sussers - "Hmmm ... was I going to regret this?"

They are a great bunch of people and I felt at home from the off. The ride took us up a very steep road/trail on which I quickly ran out of gears and had to work hard to keep just enough weight on the rear to maintain traction but keep the front wheel down.

The ride got knarlier from there on, some crazy descents that had me wishing for something with suspension. That said, the proto felt pretty good. Fairly easy to control through the long slides over rough ground; the rigidity being a bonus as the steering remained wonderfully responsive. I gave myself a pat on the back for that!

The flowing singletrack was fun, the 'cross bike coming into its own - the only problem being nasty tree roots, but these could be fairly easily hopped - even with the Alfine out back. The Alfine itself is a wonderful piece of kit. Always precise, and utterly reliable in shifts. The limitations found in hard road riding failed to materialise on the trails where it just proved to be a great companion. Plus, now that I've ditched the standard Versa cable adjuster for an in-line adjuster on the cable, the adjustment issue have disappeared.

The last stop on the ride was a treat - a blast around the local BMX track. Not the natural stomping grounds of a 'cross bike but a helluva lot of fun. I was a little worried about the fork when I got a few landings a bit wrong, but with a bit of speed and keeping the weight back, it was a treat! Certainly must go back there again!

All in all a brilliant evenings ride, will definitely do it again. But most of all, from the point of view of developing the bike, I was really happy with the way it handled and felt on the rough stuff. 95% of the time I felt perfectly happy keeping up with the MTBs, only the really rough descents causing me any problems.

'Cross is life.

The benefits of taking the wrong train

So, somehow I managed to get onto the Swansea train instead of the train to Bath tonight, so I ended up having a rather tedious trip via Bristol Parkway and then Temple Meads which I really could have done without.

But the upshot was chatting to other cyclists on the train about Such Bikes, where we are and where we're going. I don't know why, but I tend to be a bit shy to talk about the bike - but it is great to talk to people about it and find that the ideas are positively received.

But apart from Such, it was so great to just chat to other guys who just love their bikes and love riding (if you're reading, "hi" and thanks for popping in). Kindred spirits.

Commuting on Knobs

Why is it that the combination of knobblies and single speed has me riding like a teenager?

Yesterday I'd gone out exploring with some 'cross tyres on, and then was too lazy to swap them for the (train assisted) commute today. So, tyres whirring away, I attacked the Swindon streets and cycle lanes. It was dodging around barriers and taking the odd, semi-legit detour across dirt paths. With softish, 'crossing-type pressure the bike felt unstoppable. I found myself flying off pavements, hopping obstacles. Just riding for the love of it.

But what about Such Bikes?
The break-up crisis and other unrelated events have put the boot in; Andy and I are trying to work out what to do next. But I'm really keen to get moving with this even if it is perhaps only framesets on a built to order.

Lansdown Hill

Given the issues with my parking situation (i.e. no parking within 1.5 miles of my flat!), I had to leave the bleeding car in the Lansdown Park and Ride. I took the bus down, but decided to rather cycle back up to fetch it (many will say the wrong way around, I know).

It was made all the more challenging by the bike having been reverted to the single speed set-up. And me deciding (pointlessly) to try racing a bus up the hill.

First, I must say, the single speed set-up is so much lighter and sprightly than the Alfine with the heavy 29er rims. No surprises there.

The 55x24 was pretty hard going up Lansdown (especially after trying to race the bus), but I managed and only stopped once (red light at the roadworks - though I was dying).

I do miss riding the bike more regularly. As a single speeder it is a joy. I found myself riding past my road a few times and just adventuring around town. I guess that is what riding is all about.

Racked up

I've been getting a lot of miles in lately, but more crucially testing out aspects of the bike that still need to be resolved - load carrying.

Although the bike is designed as a fast commuter, it does need to carry if a load if need be. Having ridden an entry level road frame with "load carrying capability", I realised that it isn't enough just to have the mounting points for the rack, the bike needs to handle properly with the load on it. This was always part of the concept, and was accounted for in the geometry - but needed to be tested.

So I've racked it up. A Racktime rack fitted beautifully, though I have found compatibility with some other racks quite problematic; this will be addressed for the production dropout design. I was very pleased with the rack mounting points. The bottom mounts directly on the 7mm thick dropouts are rock solid, and the top mounts - welded, not riveted, to the frame - add rigidity. All good.


I've ridden over varying terrain commuting between Bath and Swindon, taken it fully loaded across London and into Essex and humped it on and off a few trains. And I am pretty happy with how it rides. The handling is pretty good loaded, so I'm happy with the geometry. Certainly it is a compromise and it does lean towards better performance unloaded, but it is still pretty solid and confidence inspiring when loaded up on the rear.


The same rigidity issues that cause problems with the belt drive when really giving it can plague the stability on rough surfaces or when trying to crest a rise at a high cadence, but these will be resolved and I'm happy will be designed out of the next iteration.

I still stand by that it will be ready when it is ready, but that it feels like that point is coming closer.


ps. The belt drive and Alfine are a wonderful, wonderful combination.

Back in the saddle

It has been a long time. It will take a while to get the last few months, but I have started living the rest of my life.

Starting with my first commute to the office from my new home in Bath - my new abode.

Decided to ride it, 50km each way. It was good fun. I do love the bike, though the frame needs tuning as it beat the hell out of me on the rough tarmac. Also think a switch to a steel fork might be the answer.

Anyhow, more miles and more R&D. Watch this space!

Sorry I've been quiet

For regular followers of the blog, I must apologise for two things - the lack of postings here and (to a lesser extent) the lack of progress. A friend at work laughed when I referred to the breakdown of my marriage as "a minor setback"; this is certainly a low and unfortunately this has suffered.

A few words though, I've spent a lot of time on the bike lately. If anything, recent events have meant even more time in the saddle. I'm getting on well with the Alfine + Gates Carbon Drive - it certainly is a brilliant combo. But the way we have it at the moment is not perfect, and I've also picked up some minor issues with the Alfine 8 and Versa shifters.

More to come soon, I promise.

Been sick :(

I've been ill with a viral infection, so nothing much to write about (though I did ride the bike to the doc - goodness, it is nice).

So, here is a brilliant blog post that captures the joy of commuting in London.

A long time coming

I finally managed to prise the Alfine off Andy. Ok, I might be exaggerating slightly, Andy was always very happy to hand the Alfine over, but I was having a ball with the smooth simplicity of the single speed belt drive and certainly learning a lot about the belt drive.

I remember when I first mentioned the Alfine to Andy (many months back), he was skeptical; now he is a total convert. Personally, I've never ridden an Alfine for any significant period, certainly not on a day-to-day basis, so while I am sold on the concept, I'm yet to be totally won over.

Although I got the wheels on Tuesday, a seriously annoying bout of man-flu over the last few days has kept me from building and riding the proto, but finally I got around to it. In reality, it hasn't been that long, but it certainly has felt like it.

The build itself was fairly painless. The belt line was just about perfect and with the Alfine sprocket also being a 24T, the same as the single speed set-up, I didn't even need to adjust the EBB. The cable guide was also spot on, giving a very tidy routing.

The Versa VRS-8 shifters are also interesting. If you are used to Shimano STI levers, these do feel a little slender, but seem perfectly comfortable. The shape of the levers is fairly Shimano-esque so no surprises there. The action of the shifting is smooth and positive, though I'd probably have preferred a shorter shift lever arc. The only criticism I have of them at this point is that they are supplied with a rather flimsy cable adjuster (a Ritchey branded component); it does the job but I think I'll swap in some SRAM in-line adjusters on the weekend.

I've only ridden it around the block (a few times) so far to early to write about my experiences with it, but once I've got a few miles in, I will surely let you know how it goes.

ps. Thanks for all the interest. I was surprised with the response and questions that rolled immediately after I added the Contact link. We do have a lot of work still to do; particularly testing ver2.0 as well as resolving the numerous commercial issues. But we are getting there. Keep the questions coming, and thanks again for following our progress.

Stacks of Racks

I don't know how many racks I have looked at, either online or in the metal, over the last two weeks. The problem is that I am fussy. I wanted it all - something lightweight that could easily handle the load of a week long unsupported tour and provide enough clearance for my size 11 feet when carrying my large-ish pannier bags.

I also ended up buying (and returning) quite a few racks: the Tortec Ultralite, which I like a lot but proved incompatible with the frame; the Racktime Lightit, which proved to be too short, not providing enough heel clearance; the Tortec Velocity that fouled the 'guards; ...

To cut a long story short, I eventually settled on a Racktime Addit; a solid looking rack, only a very small weight penalty over the Lightit version, but crucially with longer rails which allow mounting the pannier bag further back (and a second set of rails to mount the bag lower, should I choose to), so giving very generous heel clearance. It is also helps that it is beautifully designed and built, certainly a good example of what the Germans are so famous for. I've done a test fit and it is spot-on; but I'll leave the final proper fitting until I do the "tourer conversion" during the week when the missing parts arrive.

Time to enjoy a beer, then!

Version 2.0

The last few days have been very busy trying to get the drawings finalised for the second prototype. Although the design remains fundamentally similar, in the tweak to Ver 2.0, every tube except the head tube changes subtly.

The biggest change will be the EBB that will be ditched in favour of adjustable sliding dropouts (though we are likely to keep the option of the original dropouts available for simpler derailleur-specific builds). Other smaller changes include a slightly smaller top tube and beefier chainstays. All in all, tweaks to make it easier to set-up but also simply ride better.

In parallel, while Andy continues trying to break the Alfine, I have also been preparing the Proto for a week long tour that will take in approximately 500-550 miles in 5 days. I cannot wait, though I do loathe swapping back to a chain after having been spoilt by running the Gates belt drive!

So this week I'll pry the Alfine kit off Andy to test fit it to the Proto just to make sure there are no issues, and then we'll be pressing the button on Ver 2.0. Can't wait!

Spring's here!

It is official. Spring has sprung. Today was sensational! As soon as I'd got the domestic chores out of the way (ok, some of them), I grabbed the bike and headed out in a t-shirt and shorts to enjoy the sun. It was great so great to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, and the wind in my hair after months of wrapping up!

A combination of the day-job, and a bad back have made it difficult to make the progress I'd have liked to with Such, so this weekend I was determined to get some of those issues ticked off the to-do list.

First up was fitting of 'guards and a rack - though I must admit to an ulterior motive: I do plan to go on tour later in the month.

I started with the rack but soon hit a snag, the rack I had chosen, a Tortec Tour Ultralite, would not fit without a compromise of a 2mm spacer each side - this being a result of a little fouling between the rack leg and the dropout. A Tubus Vega with "plate ended" legs as opposed the the "squashed tube" of the Tortec would fit perfectly, so I'll swap the rack for one of these in the meantime. That said, for production, the rack mount point will be modified a little to accommodate Tortec-style rack legs.

With that disappointment, I moved onto the 'guards (or fenders for our friends Stateside!). This was a pleasure. The design of the mounting points requires a little more effort in fitting the rack, but the end result is arguably a lot tidier and crucially does not interfere with the rack mounts (the disc caliper already being well out of the way).

I'm particularly chuffed with how the seatstay bridge mount point has turned out. It does require drilling the 'guard, but it eliminates the nasty bridge bracket that is required when attaching to a brake bolt, and also results in a much more rigid (and consequently rattle free) installation. But mostly (I think) it just looks really tidy.


Purely by coincidence, the Kinesis DC19 fork uses a similar arrangement with the 'guard mounting points halfway up the inside of the fork blades, so this maintains a visual symmetry. Neat, huh? We are looking at alternative fork options, including steel and Ti, hopefully we will be able to replicate this feature.



With disc brakes, plenty of clearance for cushy, pothole-friendly rubber even with full 'guards (32c Vittoria Randonneur Hypers on there at the moment, and loads more room), a completely fuss-free, clean belt-drive, single speed drivetrain (alternatively Alfine - belt or chain, or conventional derailleurs), a silky Ti frame and ready to tour or 'cross if that takes your fancy - is this perhaps the coolest commuter for London?

Better late than never ... and more about the belt

You never realise how much you depend on your computer until it breaks. My old workhorse had been groaning and complaining for the last few months, but finally gave in last weekend - simply refusing to boot up and leaving me quite distressed. I managed to get back online in a fashion by swapping in a spare hard disc and installing Ubuntu, but it was touch and go which made me think it was more likely a hardware than a software problem.

Fast forward a week and I have a shiny new "ultra-portable" laptop which works a peach, making me a happy camper. Anyhow, you probably aren't reading this for laptop reviews, so I'll just get on with it.

The belt itself has been a revelation. I've always thought the best inventions are those that you don't really notice. Take electricity. You flick the switch and you have light. While you are in the lit room, you don't think how great the electricity is. But when it isn't working you really notice it is there.

To me, the belt drive is kinda like that. When you ride it for the very first time, it feels very smooth, but before long you stop noticing it. You just get about your ride, the bike feels great - like it's just had a good lube - but otherwise you hardly notice it is there.

Then you ride with a friend and suddenly you hear the whirr (and occasional clatter) of the chain. A noise that was once taken for granted seems suddenly so invasive. The same goes for the feel; hop onto a chain driven bike and suddenly you notice the mechanical feel of the chain meshing with chainrings and sprockets. Not that it grates; to the contrary, I enjoy the mechanical feel of the bike in the same way I like old cars. Just that the belt erases any transmission vibration and is simply smooth, which is lovely.

Ok, granted my belt is still very new and I am keen to see just how it wears, but so far I am very impressed. At the moment I have been running it as a single speed, but I plan to try it out with the Alfine in the coming weeks - something I am looking forward to a lot.

In terms of the proto frame, fitting the belt did present a few snags. Nothing insurmountable, but certainly issues that I'll aim to resolve in the next iteration. This will almost certainly mean a switch to sliding dropouts instead of the EBB for the belt driven application, though we will most likely keep the option open for fixed dropouts. I'd be interested to hear your views!

So, with a good few miles under the wheels of the first prototype, I'm busy revising the drawings for the next prototype. None of the changes (besides the new sliding dropouts) are major, so I expect the next prototype frame will be with us soon. Not much time if we are going to keep to our schedule, so I'd better get back to it!

ps. The green tape was a little fun, and I'm loving the bullhorns.

Smooth, like butter ... yum

Rides beautifully.  

A few snags during fitting, but nothing that either can't be designed out for the production version, or that isn't just part of the learning process.

Now, I really must get around to the less exciting stuff like fitting a rack and guards!

ps.  More to follow, I am just too knackered for now.

Ooooh oooh! Is that box for me?

The UPS man popped by this morning and dropped off another apparently empty cardboard box.  The box was from Universal Transmissions, the European agents for the Gates Carbon Drive system.  For those who don't know, Carbon Drive is the relatively new bike drive concept that replaces the oily, mucky chain with a clean, lube free carbon fibre reinforced belt.

From the start we decided that Such Bikes are all about technology that makes sense, and this is reflected not only in our approach to design, but also selection of technology.  Part of this philosophy is the Gates Carbon Drive.

I hope to get this installed this weekend (there are just a few small bits and bobs I still need to do the job properly); can't wait to try it out!  I will definitely post my impressions of the belt drive as I gain experience of it and put it through its paces.

Look where you're going!

Countless times I've ridden along, mesmerised by the yellow line or the crumbling edge of the tarmac. You know the situation, head down into a headwind, keeping up that just uncomfortable, but steady rhythm.

The situation was like this. I was running a touch late to get to my wife's show, so I needed to give it stick. I'd got onto the relatively uninterrupted expanse of Chelsea Embankment and was in the zone. I was happily watching the Red Route double red whizzing by as I blasted into the cold north easterly when suddenly the double red became a single red line, and then the grey bumper of a Jaguar XJ.

It is quite odd that you have enough time to think "This is going to hurt. Idiot! Nice Jag though. Good thing it isn't a van or an estate", but not enough to actually touch the brakes.

Wham! Chin hits the rear window - I tumble over the roof and land on the pavement. I must have landed on my feet because I didn't have a single scrape or bump, apart from my chin. I'd like to put it down to a childhood spent wiping out on my BMX, but more likely a lot to do with luck.

Damage check, OK but dazed. The Pig, my utility/hack bike, is looking very much the worse for wear. The Jag looks perfect, just a small smudge of the bar tape I had wrapped onto the bar ends. It would easily polish out, if not just wash off. Not a dent or a scratch!

Back to The Pig, the lights are still attached and working. The front mudguard is detached, the fork is bent so that the front wheel is tucked underneath. The saddle is bent, probably from the landing on the pavement. The wheels are still perfectly round and seem to have shrugged off the impact. But it is unrideable.

I wheel it over to the tube station, lock it up and get myself to the Islington theatre late but amazingly in just in time to see my Darling on stage.

Somehow I managed to ride into a car at full tilt and emerge pretty much unscathed; a) I am extremely lucky, and b) I am very thankful that I got to learn this lesson with only minor loss to both me and negligible damage to the car I hit.

Fortunately a few months back I picked up a nice early 90s Tange Prestige tubed GT frame with horizontal dropouts which has been begging for a new lease on life - I feel a renovation project coming on!

Riding in the city

Waiting for the train at Fenchurch Street

I am really enjoying testing the Battersea prototype. Apart from the warm feeling I get riding a bike I designed from tube sizes down to the exact location of each cable guide, I just really love riding this bike. But I guess you'd expect me to say that.

This past weekend was a bit of pottering but also a long ride on Saturday out to Box Hill. For the role of road bike, I stuck on a set of 25c road tyres and pumped them up to their maximum. The bike certainly felt much more alive than running with the 32c rubber, but this had more to do with the reduction in rotational mass rather than rolling resistance. The narrower rubber takes marginally less effort to get up to speed; once rolling though, it is a more agitated and I was hard pressed to notice any difference in rolling resistance. If anything, the larger volume tyres made riding feel easier as all the roads felt billiard-table smooth.

Tyre comparisons aside, the long run out to Box Hill (and the climb itself) was very instructional, and what I learned will definitely feed into the revised design. I was also heartened by the attention that the bike got at the cafe, it seems to be generally well received.

This week has also been about testing in the environment that a Battersea would be expected to spend a lot of its working life, on the commute. The disc brakes once again proved their worth. As would be the case, I was faced with two SMIDSY incidents (pulling out from side roads) within the first mile, and in both cases the ability to drop anchors was crucial. While you certainly can get by perfectly adequately with rim brakes (and many do), I found that the order-of-magnitude-better stopping power discs provide gave me a lot of confidence.

Of course, this testing lark isn't all fun. Puncture on Wednesday saw me pumping up my tyre with my mini pump (on a cold railway platform when already running late). Not sure how much longer I will be able to resist CO2 canisters!

The "Hardship" of Testing

One "hardship" of developing a new bike is having to ride it, a lot. So this past weekend was largely spent in the saddle getting some quality miles in.

Saturday was spent out with Andy and Ryan in the Chilterns riding the lanes out to a lovely pub in Stoke Row for lunch. It was a great opportunity for the guys to get a feel for the proto, and for me to get a taste of the Alfine; the Alfine is a great piece of kit and I can't wait to get it onto the prototype. I also can't wait to get my hands on one of the new 11-speed versions later this year.

A good few laps of Richmond Park was the order for Sunday. I had intended to head out to Box Hill, but bad weather and house guests swayed me to stay closer to home. The proto makes a very relaxed road bike; I'm looking forward to taking it out for a tour - I think it is going shine at that.

For this coming weekend it will probably be much of the same, but there are still many more testing outings planned - from loaded touring to a little cross country riding. Tough life, hey? :-)

The Battersea prototype rolls

This has been one crazy weekend!

The build in earnest started on Friday afternoon, but working with relatively unfamiliar parts (discs brakes, Gore Ride On sealed cables, ...) I took my time to make sure I got it all right.

Ryan was over to make sure the graphics were applied to the frame just so, Bryan was on hand to lend enthusiasm and and extra hand whenever needed. Come about 1:30am, the bike was just about right. Come 3am I'd finally got myself into bed, but still hardly able to sleep with anticipation of riding it the next day.

A misunderstanding the night before had me taking my darling to breakfast at Bertie and the Boo coffee shop in Balham (highly recommended, but warning - the place can get chockers for all the prams and the like). At first I was terrified of leaving the bike locked up, but fortunately I was able to just about see it from where I was sitting.

Then home for a bit more fettling before Bryan and I headed out for a nice ride around town, mostly inbetween drinking coffee. Ok, I am the designer, so you'd expect me to say good things about the bike, but I must say it handles much better than I'd expected. Mostly I love the way it feels planted and reassuring without being stodgy. In fact, if anything it feels chuckable. Ride quality is always going to be good on 32mm tyres, but a good deal of that must also be down to the frame. I was aiming at every road imperfection; sure you feel the bumps - but they don't pummel you. This is a bike I can imagine riding all day quite happily; good thing, because I have a 6-day tour planned - for testing purposes, of course!

It was interesting watching people's reaction to the bike when it was parked up. I was very pleasantly surprised how many people would stop to look at it, pointing to various aspects of he design. It has certainly given me a lot more confidence in what we have here.

After getting it back, and realising that I'd set the Avid BB7 brakes a little tightly, I gave the bike a once over to get it prepped for the London Cyclo Cross Team Championships. I was picked to run in the A-team, and was really looking forward to it. My performance on the day was, unfortunately, disappointing as I was troubled by my chest maladies, but the bike performed faultlessly. It proved an absolute hoot to ride, I was just a bit disappointed that the course didn't include more technical sections that would provide greater challenge to the bike! That said, the long downhill with a gentle, muddy sweep at the bottom was an absolute hoot and the brakes were a boon into all the tight corners.

I still need to get many more miles in on the bike, but my impressions so far are positive, I think we have a winner here. A rack and guards will soon be fitted and the bike tested in both real world, and some less than real world conditions. Geometry will remain the same, I'll just be tweaking some of the tube sizes, and altering the rear dropouts slightly.

But all that aside, not much comes close to the feeling of rolling out on a bike that you've created yourself. Thinking of how, just a few months back, this concept was just an in-progress CAD drawing gives me such a rush. And this is just the beginning!

The proto has landed!

Yesterday I get a call from the mailroom, "We have a package for you, but it feels like it's empty"

Needless to say, I legged it down to the mail room at full race pace.

It took ages unwrap the frame, and even longer for it to sink in that Such Bikes is no longer just an idea, but has been translated into metal in my hands. Apart from very minor finishing issues that took me 20 mins at most to resolve, the frame looks great - very well finished. Certainly something I am proud to put my name to.

My friend Ryan, firmly part of what is Such, finished off the branding this afternoon - so at the moment the intention is to get it all together and then finish up the build later in the week, and then debut it on Sunday racing in the London League Cyclocross Team Champs.

I can't wait to feel how it rides; not just on the rough stuff, but also through the cut and thrust of the city with a backpack, chasing through the lanes and ambling fully loaded on an epic.

Why I hate integrated headsets

Today I stripped and cleaned my cross bike in preparation before the next race. The last event at Herne Hill was incredibly muddy and so the oily bits took a pounding.


The frame has the usual accumulation of water and muck, but pulling out the integrated headset confirmed why I despise the confounded things! The top cartridge bearing (left) was perfect - all contact surfaces still perfect thanks to a good smearing of waterproof grease on assembly. The bottom bearing was a mess. It was jammed in place by a horrible brown paste - a mixture of the fitting grease and the fine mud.

The bearings themselves, being reasonably good quality, were fine. The problem is the grease/mud grinding paste that had worked its way between the frame and the bearing. Chris King has a great explanation of exactly why these headsets are evil, but in short, this muck gets into the seat between the frame and the bearing. With use it will cause the bearing to slowly damage the bearing seat; depending how much the bike is ridden in this state, this might at best need the bearing seats to be recut - at worst it makes the frame a throwaway. Sure, keeping it clean helps, but who really wants to be stripping out the headset after every wet ride?

Perhaps traditional cups don't look as good (though I don't agree with that), but at least the worst a bearing failure can do is wreck an easily replaceable bearing cup. And this is why Such frames won't use integrated headsets. Ever.

Waiting waiting waiting!!!

All the parts for the prototype (bar the gear cables) have been procured and are littering our little flat. Everything is here apart from ... the frame!

It's killing me, and it is killing Andy. It's crazy. I cannot wait to see the frame. It was dispatched on Saturday, so it must be about a week away.

The suspense - it's murder.

http://www.suchbikes.co.uk

Starting the build of the Prototype

What a weekend! Bikes bikes bikes. Heaven. ;-)

With the arrival of the prototype frame immiment, we have purchased all the parts required for the first test build - which will be in the format of a conventionally geared, but disc braked cross bike. Certainly, it isn't suitable for the top level of Cross, where discs are outlawed. But that is missing the point. This bike (among other things) is aimed at being fun in the mud. Plus, it will have several other cards up its sleeve.


One of the first components to arrive were the rims and spokes. I'd picked the hubs up a while ago and they'd been staring at me accusingly for the last month or so. The kit is not especially exotic, but I expect it certainly will do the job well; Halo Aerotrack rims laced on Shimano LX hubs with DT Swiss Competition spokes. Friday night I started the front and now, Sunday, I'm feeling pretty chuffed with myself having just finished the rear. And if I may say, the result looks pretty hot indeed.

That said, I haven't been working on them all the way through. It was a good weekend, a lot of Saturday spent wandering around town doing a lot of window shopping, and today preparing my cross bike for next weekend; it had been caked with mud after the last outing at Herne Hill and had only been hosed off and the chain lubed to prevent corrosion. Today I did a nice strip down, and re-lube - and I cleaned all the mud out of everything.

All in all, a knackering weekend, but well worth it now having a spotlessly clean cross bike, but more importantly a pair of kick-ass looking wheels for the first Such Bikes prototype.