I've just finished a write-up on my blog of the process of getting a custom bike. In all it took two years from very early conception to completion. A large proportion of that time is the seed of an idea in my head, and the actual process of getting bike built didn't actually take all that long. The various steps I went through along the way were both educational and rewarding and as a process, going down the route of a custom bike has a lot more in it that just the bike at the end

Link to the blog is here: http://ianbarrington.com/2015/04/29/going-custom/

Great blog Ian and as for the bike, just wow.

Oooft! The paintwork Russell produces looks amazing. Not sure about the gold bits but as you say this is personal so fair do's! Kids running rings round me just now will check out the blog later on...

Wow, what a looker!


What's the difference between your bike and a normal Bahookie?

Slack Chain!

Jokes aside, it's a real beauty mate. Makes me want steel just so I can paint it (can't bring myself to paint Ti).

Nice.
I've been trying to work out what the yellow/black dragon represented since I saw the sneek peak in the other thread.
I was thinking a mix of Lion of Flanders with Welsh dragon.

Thanks for the comments chaps.

Gabe - The chain goes tight when I pedal

Benp1 - the geometry differences are subtle, but enough to make a difference for me. Head angle is a fraction slacker, making it a bit more forgiving/ easier to pilot on the trail (especially when I've been on the bike all day/ multiday and I'm knackered). The stack and reach measurements are tailored to my body proportions, from which the main gain comes in terms of comfort / control, which again is aimed at my spending long periods at a time riding it.

Touch - I asked for something that replicated the Agip logo featured on the car, and this is what Russ came up with. My first preference was the Shand hare, but the proportions weren't right for the fork. The dragon alternative is a work of genius though, as the colours of the bike are also the same as those found on the Welsh Flag.

Looks nice

Having component colours that complement the frame is nice, my wife's hardtail can use the Hope gunmetal parts to achieve this.

Only ever had one custom made bike: a 531 tubed road bike way back in the 1980s, fitted as they say "like a glove". At the moment I'm making one bike do it all by swapping seatpost, handlebars, etc. in and out. Time to start saving

Veddy nice :) What's the wheel build, Ian?

Greetz

S.

Great concept and a great bike!

Cheers Scott - the wheels are Light Bicycle 35mm carbon rims laced to Chris King ISO disc hubs, Sapim race spokes and brass nipples. Light (419g each), wide, stiff and give a good volume for a 2.2"+ tyre, which means I can drop pressure a bit and improve comfort. About 20psi seemed about right.

What does it weigh Ian?

Apologies if I missed it in the write up.

Good to see you go more public. Nobody should miss on such staggering beauty.
Not only the visuals are very appealing, also the build. Solid work mate.

Looking forward to reading (and hopefully seeing with my own eyes) how you give it a beating

Can you tell us which suggested and subtle changes in geo suprised you the most?

Cheers for that, Ian. The writeup mentioned the ISO's and rim material but not the rest. Race over D-Lights is an interesting choice.

Greetz

S.

Stu - it's just under 22 lbs as pictured.

Thanks Gian
I wanted to get the blog post up first before I started the flag waving proper. But thanks for picking it out for on mtb-news.de in the interim, and you were right, the Jones bar is carbon

During the frame design, we had a very long discussion about two things; chainstay length and stack height. I was in favour of a shorter chainstay, to aid lifting the front of a loaded bike over obstacles. But shortening the chainstay down to, say 435mm, meant you took more of a beating from the bike as you're more over the axle, which wasn't good for riding comfort for hours on end. The chainstays are shorter than on my last bike, and we went with chain tension adjustment at the BB instead of the drop out so my position relative to the axle stays the same, and thus handling is predictable. Stack height ended up being higher than first specified, where I felt it was needed to get the most out of a Jones bar and also provide that all day comfort I needed. With the not-short chainstays and the higher stack height, you sit in the bike more more than on it, which makes it a pleasure to ride and gives me a lot of confidence and control on technical stuff.

Besides the comfort derived from getting the stack/ reach right, I notice the steering response the most; 69.5 degree head angle with 478mm a-c rigid fork, which coupled with a 70mm stem and a 710mm bar, gives quick and razor sharp handling. I've not ridden a bike that responds so well to rider input before, yet it doesn't feel nervous to ride at all.

Scattamah wrote:Cheers for that, Ian. The writeup mentioned the ISO's and rim material but not the rest. Race over D-Lights is an interesting choice.

I've been using Sapim Race spokes for the last 10 years, and I've not yet broken one, so I guess I'm sticking to what I know I can trust :)

That looks great Ian. Shand's paint finishes are always stunningly good quality but that's as good as it gets. Couldn't agree more about the EBB and stays/stack balance you ended up with either. Short stays are imo overrated, with the benefits of less reach and more stack generally overlooked.

Matching new luggage planned?

Cheers James - I certainly learnt a lot more about geometry in my discussions with Steven during the design. Part of the overall experience.

Yes, luggage will be next. Expectations will no doubt be high to match the caliber of the bike, but we have a few ideas up our sleeve to make something suitably special.

And I need to get fit again too... Last two months of not doing very much have not been good for the singlespeed legs!

JohnClimber..

Take note.

This is what a nice bike looks like...
Not that God awful Fugly bendy monstrosity you're currently peddling..

Ian wrote:
Yes, luggage will be next. Expectations will no doubt be high to match the caliber of the bike, but we have a few ideas up our sleeve to make something suitably special.

Cuben luggage with yellow green and red velcro and zips/straps?

ianfitz wrote:

Ian wrote:
Yes, luggage will be next. Expectations will no doubt be high to match the caliber of the bike, but we have a few ideas up our sleeve to make something suitably special.

Cuben luggage with yellow green and red velcro and zips/straps?

I think less is more to an extent, so colour is unlikely to add to the existing design for fear of detracting from it. The main feature will be the method of attachment to the frame.

That is a very pretty bike Ian. I am pleased to see that even though it's a steel frame and a carbon fork the fork doesn't overpower the front end as it does on so many of the bikes displayed at bespoked. I don't know if that is a combination of the paint along with the fork and tubing sizes, but it looks good.

Do you have any full on side elevation photos?

Ian wrote: Thanks Gian
I wanted to get the blog post up first before I started the flag waving proper. But thanks for picking it out for on mtb-news.de in the interim, and you were right, the Jones bar is carbon

During the frame design, we had a very long discussion about two things; chainstay length and stack [...]

Yeah, I didn't want to tell them where to find the images as it's your business, but couldn't resist a tease...

Cheers. Some really good inputs here. Never gave stack too much thought. I do feel like this on my long distance bike too (not too short chainstays, not too long toptube), but go very different ways on my more gravity fed bikes.

jameso wrote:That looks great Ian. Shand's paint finishes are always stunningly good quality but that's as good as it gets. Couldn't agree more about the EBB and stays/stack balance you ended up with either. Short stays are imo overrated, with the benefits of less reach and more stack generally overlooked.

Matching new luggage planned?

Short stays for a flickable feel and easy handling in tight situations and long reach for ample space for easier weight distribution, max use of a dynamic geometry and stability at high speed may be the right thing for trail hammering on sussed bikes (have owned many bikes with adjustable geo and always ended up with a long wheelbase, flat headangles and short chainstays), but that's mostly only a small part of regular bikepacking trips. I'm sure there's a golden mean for the intended use (in this case mainly British bikepacking etc.) and it seems that our welsh mate with the beauty has hit it spot on. So what's the chainstay length Ian?

firedfromthecircus wrote:That is a very pretty bike Ian. I am pleased to see that even though it's a steel frame and a carbon fork the fork doesn't overpower the front end as it does on so many of the bikes displayed at bespoked. I don't know if that is a combination of the paint along with the fork and tubing sizes, but it looks good.

Do you have any full on side elevation photos?

Indeed. That black paint on the rear of the fork breaks it's dimensions nicely to fit the steel tubing.