Made In England - Celebrating Britain's artisan producers

Ask most people what they think the bike market is like for producers in the UK and they will most probably say that nobody builds bikes here any more and it's all done in the Far East. However, anyone who has been to Bespoked Bristol or follow the likes of Ricky Feather and Tom Donhou on Instagram will know that the British bike building businesses is thriving, you just need to know where to look. The authors of Made In England, one of them being Ricky Feather himself, wanted to celebrate this fact and show off some of the amazing work which is going on in workshops, sheds and shipping containers up and down the country.

The photography is provided by Kayti Peschke and gives a wonderful insight into the working lives of the builders. Accompanied with frank, informative and humorous interviews with the frame makers the book is a fantastic tome highlighting the great and good in the bicycle business.

Now available through their website I think it would be a great Christmas present for any cycling fans who love the craft which goes into building these machines. Also, it works as a fantastic catalogue if you are looking for a builder to create your dream bike. Just need to save up for a few years!

My view of Bespoked Bristol 2012

Slate Cycles

Long overdue but these are a few of my pictures from Bespoked Bristol 2012 event. It was a great show and it was nice to see a hall full of people admiring some of the finest bikes in the country. Including the frame above built by Christy Boothroyd of Slate cycles which is only his second complete build, showing great skills already.

Slate Cycles

Rapha + Feather

Rapha + Mather Cycles

Donhou

Donhou

il Soigneur

Schwalbe

Shand Cycles

Brother Cycles

Show winner by Robin Mather

Rapha's beautiful new Grand Tour shoes

Creux Clothing

Feather

Racer Rosa Cycles

Axalko - the wooden bike

 A quick search of the Internet will throw up a few different people's take on wooden bikes from Bamboo frames in place of steel through to some workshop built creations. There is however one company, Axalko, making some sublime bikes using Ash wood to great effect.

The small firm from the Basque region build incredible hand-built frames using a technique they have developed themselves including four specially designed finger joints holding the frame together. These joints ensure the frame is lightweight, the road bike comes in at 6.5kg when built up, but rigid enough to deal with the forces put through the frame when you push the pedals round.

I had the chance to try one out a few weeks when I met Enrique from Axalko at Bespoked Bristol. This frame was set up for 'city mode' which was very responsive and the acceleration was great. I had a quick ride round the train station over the cobbled streets of Bristol and was amazed at how little vibration was passed through the frame. The bike itself has been tested on both Paris-Roubaix and Bastogne - Liege so it can certainly cope with the pave and I just wish I could of took some time riding it round some twisting country lanes.

Every bike is fitted to the customers exact measurements and the whole process takes 3 months from initial consultation through to delivery. Much like a hand made suit from Saville Row the Axalko is the pinnacle of bike building and the sort of bike you hope to hand down to the next generation. The bike is a truly beautiful piece of craftsmanship and you get lots of admiring looks from people as you ride it around. With prices starting from £3,500 it would be an investment worth if you are thinking of spending a big amount on a bike.

Melbourne Bikefest - Chasing Rainbows

Gareth Servant 

Another post from the land down under, Melbourne Bikefest ran a poster competition to promote the upcoming UCI Track World Championships in the city. Submissions seem to be of a really high standard and these are few of my favourite but loads more are in their gallery. Worth checking out if you like a bit of graphic design.

Gary Seaman

Karen Wong

Whitney Farrell

Look Mum no hands!

I was cycling round East London on a Boris Bike last week and had the opportunity to pop into London's cycling Mecca, Look Mum no Hands! on Old Street. It seems like a lot of events from the launch of Boneshaker issues to Artcrank London are held at LMNH and for good reason. The place is a cafe come bar come bike shop, so you can grab a coffee or a beer and watch a bit of cycling, catch up with friends or buy some new bits for your bike. The idea came about after the founders couldn't find anywhere to watch the Tour de France and decided they should set up their own place dedicated to cycling. I imagine the atmosphere was awesome when Cavendish was sprinting down the Champs-Élysées to win the green jersey last July.

I was there to watch the first time trial of the Paris-Nice, (well played Wiggo!) and meet a friend for lunch. We both had one of their legendary pies which were really good and served with some really interesting salads. The coffee is also from the awesome Square Mile roasters and so obviously very tasty. Can't wait to catch up with them again at Bespoked Bristol, just wish they would open up in Birmingham. If you're in London you should definitely check it out, whether you like cycling, food, coffee or just beer!

Another addition to the wall of bike art

I received this little beauty in the post the other day from Lauren Peppiatt a talented illustrator who is also designer with the very cool cycling apparel company Shutt Velo Rapide. Her love of cycling comes out in a lot of her work which is available to buy at her Etsy store and the Shutt VR site. The Le Tour print is hand printed on a retro Gocco machine and the colours which come out are really nice. The print is also one of a  very limited run of 35, so get in quick before they sell out, at £10 it's a bargain!

As always you can follow her on twitter and facebook, if like me you fancy a bit of a cycling art collection she is definitely one to check out.

Feats per minute - the bike which is also a record player

'What if you were able to generate music by the simple act of riding your bike?'

This was the question which drove a group of Dutch designers to come up with Feats per Minute. They took an old bike, switched the crank to the left side and added a vertical record player to the rear. After a lot of tinkering then adding a cone and amp to increase the volume of the record they had managed to build a working prototype where the speed of the record was determined by how fast you ride. So if you're a fan of Barry White it might slow down your commute to work.

The video below shows the guys bringing over the bike to London to show at a pop up exhibition at Dezeen. At the moment they don't have plans to get the bike into a mass production by they would like 'every city will have at least one Feats per minute biking around.'  And maybe a few DJ battles along the way.

Monocle - Designer Bikes

Monocle, a great magazine based out of London has got a video on their site talking about the importance of great design in bicycle culture and the manufacture of bikes. Its a great little video and mentions a firm called Biomega who approach the design of a cycle from the viewpoint of 'furniture for locomotion'. They have a great range of bikes including the Bamboo shown above. Based in Copenhagen, where else?, they aim to make urban-landscape-changing bikes. With a goal of 'creating a paradigm shift in the way society imagines transportation'.


Big goal, I hope they can do it. 

boneshaker magazine

I returned home to my first edition of Boneshaker magazine sitting on the door mat. which was an unexpected delight. Boneshaker is:

a celebration of cycling and the people who do it. Full of articles, personal stories and anecdotes about people and projects doing great things with bicycles around the globe.

It is our hope that the magazine will both inspire and entertain, raise awareness and bring a smile

to your face.

Appealing to both bike-heads and those who may not yet have experienced the true joy and freedom that can be found from our two-wheeled friends.

And for me it delivers just that, inspiring for those who want to spread the love for the bicycle and gently encouraging for those looking to be persuaded into cycling to work. I particularly liked the sentiment behind the piece by Doug Gordon entitled 'We don't need more cyclists. We need more people who ride bikes.' I couldn't agree more.

The magazine is full of like minded comment on cycling and how it can enrich your life, that and some great illustrations combined with fantastic design. You can buy a copy online here or if you're lucky enough to live anywhere near one of these great shops.

4. Axalko Wooden Frame

Here's one which you certainly won't find in Halfords or Evans, created by a Spanish firm who according to their website went through a long R&D process to bring cycle frame manufacturing back to its roots. Every frame is handcrafted to ensure perfect balance, strength, lightness and style.

Not sure how well it will hold up in the great British weather but you will win a lot of kudos for this lovely environmentally friendly ride.

If you're Spanish is better than mine you can find out more on their facebook page here..

Creme Vinyl Uno Fixed Gear

3. Creme Vinyl Uno 

Fixed gears aren't for everyone, depending on the terrain of your ride to work they make life a lot quicker or a lot slower if hills are involved. Super light and uncomplicated they represent cycling in it's purest form and are really easy to maintain due to the fact there are very few components to deal with. They are very popular with couriers, students and trendies from Shoreditch. I like the Uno above for it's nod back to traditional styling whilst remain very modern looking.