Luft Cycles – Luft Cycles – Bespoke Bicycles

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Finally using my winter/gravel/road bike for a bit

Finally using my winter/gravel/road bike for a bit of cycle touring. Obviously loading it up with tons of crap makes it handle like a truck but boy-oh-boy is it stable!

I like to think that I’m a person of simple pleasures however one of those pleasures is riding properly nice, bespoke bicycles… but I’m also pretty happy sleeping in a field and eating pot noddles.

#Fancyman

Lightening Bolt, Chubby Bobcats, Glitter, An Owl,

Here’s a few pictures of my new town bike - it’s essentially a flat bar/flat pedal road bike.

It’s mostly assembled using spare parts from other bikes so the build kit is a bit random but it’s perfect for what I need. It might even see the odd bit of off-road action.

Special features include:

-10 speed 1X Deore/Tiagra/GRX/Non-series groupset with extra knackered old KMC #superG good chain

-Deda carbon fork with #megalush post mount adapter (recovered from an old build and rattle-can painted)

-Shimano #Value levers and calipers (except the front caliper which is Ultegra for some forgotten reason)

-Various other actually really nice parts such as @hopetech clamp, @ridepdw cage, @fabriccycling saddle and grippy grips, @wildernesstrailbikes fatty tyres, @hunt.road 650b wheel set, @paragonmachine frame components, @columbus_official tubing

-Siiiiiiiiiick flippy iridescent powder coat from @williams_oakey_engineering

Future plans include:

-Mudguards for commuting (recommendations appreciated - mounts are hidden in stays and back of seat tube)

-Front basket/rack with some sort of thru axle adapter

This started as a budget build but ended up looking much cooler than initially planned.

#FancyCheapBike
#OldBitsAndNiceBits

The flat bar gravel bike has been plundered for co

The flat bar gravel bike has been plundered for components and added to some of the other former bikes hanging in the rafters.

Being able to test different geometries is brilliant - there’s always something different/interesting to try out.

If you’ve always wanted a second hand, slightly random 650b X 2.1” flat bar gravel frame with steel thru axle/post mount fork, ISO brake/135 QR rear end, PLUS a curvy sloped top tube then let me know!

#GoodnightBlueVelvet
#JustBecauseItLooksLikeAMountainbikeDoesntMeanItIs
#BasicallyaMTB

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ Just finished another fun bike. This one is a flat bar, fat tyre, 1X road bike for commuting.

It’ll be built up with all the random components that I have knocking around the workshop.

This bike will never be ridden hard enough to really need a brake brace but I couldn’t resist adding one when it occurred to me that I could weld one up in the shape of a lightning bolt!

It’s off for some zingy flip colour powder coat tomorrow.

#ZingZing
#ZapZap

It’s NBOBD (new bike old bits day) for me today!

Nice! Fresh powder coat on the frames I built a fe

Nice! Fresh powder coat on the frames I built a few weeks back. Minty green for Finn’s cyclocross bike and Navy blue for my road/off road/winter bike thing.

They’re pretty similar bikes with a few differences in geometry and tubing spec. Lots of nice @ParagonMachine works bits including an IS41/47 tapered head tube, boss mounted cable guides, dropouts and those little single cable guides.

Bonus features include stainless dropout faces & seat tube shims, braze on logos, mudguard mounts and chain pips. The blue bike also has added zits for touring accessories.

#MuddyBikes

If you like 90’s era bikes then check out my mat

If you like 90’s era bikes then check out my mate Omar’s page @OhmsCustom ⚡️

He finds bikes that have seen better days and gives them a new lease of life.

I had a go on this awesome Specialized Rockhopper today and it rides like a dream! If I could do stunts I’d do them on this and look 10X cooler doing them.

#LetsPartyLikeIts1993
#DoAKickflip

Finishing the last little bits on these frames and

Finishing the last little bits on these frames and the mess is taking over. I’m sure it’s impossible to keep the worktop tidy in the finishing stages.

Hopefully these frames will head over to powder coat this week.

#TidyUpTime

About this time last year I bought @sturdycycles o

About this time last year I bought @sturdycycles old TIG welder and (with his help) I’ve been working my way towards melting some bikes together ever since. Finally welded some full frames and it went pretty well... although I did poke myself in the eye with a bit of TIG rod.

Still a few bits to finish before powder coat but I’ve made myself a new winter/all-road/bikepacking thing and my mate Finn a lovely cyclocross bike.

Here’s a few pics of the almost finished bikes and some close ups of the good bits.

#BasicallyGravelBikes
#WeldYourDreamsTogether

Great to see this photo of Ash out in the cold wea

Great to see this photo of Ash out in the cold weather today. Loving his Luft!

#LuftLove

Here are a few close up photographs of the cargo b

Here are a few close up photographs of the cargo bike.

Big respect to people who frequently make non-standard bespoke bicycles. The little details, unique features and other random problem solving activities absolutely hoover up time.

The frame, fork and racking is made up of 47 tubes and 77 individual mitres... SEVENTY FLIPPING SEVEN! Perhaps unsurprisingly the whole build process was quite biscuit intensive. 🍪 🚲

#FrameBuilding
#PoweredByBiscuits
#TinYWheeliesOnMyTinyBike

Photos 📸 @joe_____thomas

Here’s my new commuter/cargo minivelo bike all b

Here’s my new commuter/cargo minivelo bike all built up.

I’ve wanted a nice reliable, weather proof commuting bike for ages and, despite my main passion for fancy road bikes, I really enjoyed making this bike.

Features include: segmented fork with internal routing, segmented cargo racking, 20” front wheel with dynamo disc hub, 24” rear wheel with 8 speed coaster brake hub (coasters ain’t dead), internal dynamo and gear routing, fancy little stainless Luft badges, bottle boss/accessory mounts, squishy tyres with full steel mudguards, dreamy tough blue powder coat AND a bunch of fancy build kit parts.

Thanks to @oldgreyelectricco and @clandestine.cc for the advice.

Photos 📸 @joe_____thomas

#Minivelo
#SoManyMitres
#TinySillyWheels
#CoasterBrakesForSickSkidz

The cargo bike is officially ALIVE. Here’s a few

The cargo bike is officially ALIVE. Here’s a few quick closeups before I get some proper photographs of it.

It’s the first minivelo-mullet-cargo-bike that I’ve built - it’s taken me flipping ages but it’s looking pretty cool!

Look at that blue! 🥶🧞‍♂️🦋🦕💦🚲💎💙🌀🐟 That’s what I’m talking about.

#Minivelo
#BusinessAtTheFront
#PartyAtTheBack

The mini cargo commuter bike thing is finally buil

The mini cargo commuter bike thing is finally built up for testing. First impressions are great!

How many hipster points do you get for a bespoke Patagonia bag front rack/basket? Surely the cheese plant backdrop also adds a few points? 🧀 🌱

I’ll add some full build photos when I’m happy that nothing needs hacking off and rebuilding. 🔥

#Framebuilding
#HipsterPointsGalore

Another little L for the cargo bike. This one is a

Another little L for the cargo bike. This one is an end cap on the rear rack.

Kudos to the people that make cargo bikes frequently, it takes ages... Including the forks it has 38 tubes!

#FrameBuilding
#TooManyTubes

Yas! How cool is this?! I wrote a little article a

Yas! How cool is this?! I wrote a little article about the scrap/gravel/not MTB/spare parts bike that I built right at the start of lockdown and I submitted it to the @rsfarchive Journal. Very cool to see it got included in the latest issue.

The RSF are an absolutely brilliant cycle club that focus almost entirely on the joy of adventure and being outdoors with a bike. Totally unpretentious and genuine in every respect. Often the cyclists featured on the cover aren’t even riding their bikes! (they’re usually pushing them through some mud). You should join.

#Framebuilding
#OutdoorsIsReallyCheap
#RealCyclistsTakeAKettleOnEveryRide

I usually like head tube logos to be painted becau

I usually like head tube logos to be painted because it’s lighter than sticking bits of metal onto a frame BUT it’s hard to deny that custom brazed on badges look awesome.

This cargo bike is going to weigh about 10 tons so a tiny stainless L is probably fine.

#Framebuilding
#100%WeightWeeny

Currently putting together a minivelo cargo commut

Currently putting together a minivelo cargo commuter bike - the frame is all ready to braze but there’s still plenty of work to do.

There’s a bunch of additional tubes to miter for the integrated racks and I also need to make a fork.

There’s also a bunch of 20” and 24” wheels parts heading my way! 🚲

#minivelo
#PipesPipesPipes

Fancy biscuits build fancy bikes - back in the wor

Fancy biscuits build fancy bikes - back in the workshop making something tubey 🍪 🚲

#BiscuitsBuildBikes

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