Tag: town bike

  • Bespoked 26 Apocalypse bike

    Screenshot

    After last years offering, I thought I’d go small this year, not least of which because of shed space! The Apocalypse build off has some rules, that change every year. A few things led to the design of this. I still had some ex rental bikes that needed a use. The fact they were shaft drive seemed perfectly bullet proof. The rule that scored an extra point if the wheel base was less than 100cm drove the mini velo design (although not being able to change the chain stay length because of the shaft drive didn’t help matters). I had a knackered old snowboard I had been waiting for an excuse to use on a cargo bike so seemed perfect for cycle truck duty here. And lastly I wanted to use some of my Tailfin bags for their Apocalypseproofness.

    From donor bike to full cycle truck mode. It grew a rear rack from an elephant bike and a custom set of handlebars that were really comfy and more than enough accessories. Now the event is over I think it will get a lick of paint, ‘reduced’ slightly and be pressed into service as an actual cargo bike for local stuff. Very tempted to try it for a bit of bike packing too:-)

    GCN Tech review of the Apocalypse bikes – very fair;-)

  • Custom rack and frame mods

    For my entry into the recycle project, where we took old city bikes and gave them a refresh for a future useful life, I (obviously) did a bit of fabrication.

    I chose to do some frame changes, to make it look a little more unisex, add some branding, a custom rack and some paint in a hardwearing coating in BMW Mini Orange.

  • Mini Velo (back catalog)

    This was a built a long time ago but still fun to get it out for a spin. I love the idea of Mini Velos as a bike that takes up less space still rides well. Great for shed space or fitting in a flat. This one has an old Dura Ace 8 speed set up (because that’s what I had) and I like the look of it!

    It has a mixture of Columbus tubes and some really tight geometry for sneaking through the traffic as I used to use it commuting. To be honest it would be helped by some wider tyres in town, given the condition of the roads but these ones make it pretty lively. It was originally built to take to a bike show and did a great job of steering people over to the stand.