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Top UK frame-builders share expertise in panel discussion at London's Barbican Centre next month

Matthew Sowter of Saffron Frameworks and Caren Hartley from Hartley Cycles are among those on the panel

The Barbican Centre in London will next month host a panel discussion featuring some of the UK’s top frame-builders who will pass on their experience and knowledge to attendees.

Entitled On Bike Building: A Panel Discussion, the event on 3 May lasts two hours and forms part of the venue’s Make! A Season of Contemporary Craft season.

The discussion will be chaired by Andrew Denham of The Bicycle Academy, who says: “What is most interesting to me is the number of ways that the process of making a bicycle can bring so much happiness and fulfilment to those who have never done it before. Learning to make things is incredibly nourishing.”

According to the Barbican’s website,

With the revival of craft, there's a fresh appreciation for the handmade and the personal.

As cycling becomes more and more popular, so too has the demand for the bespoke bike. In this discussion, our panellists will look at the ways in which the craft of bike building has changed in recent years.

They will outline the process of collaborating with clients on their tailor-made bikes, from sizing and materials to style and finish, considering how their own unique skills and backgrounds shape their practice.

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The panel members, each of whom brings a unique background and approach to frame-building, are Adeline O'Moreau (Mercredi Bikes), Matthew Sowter (Saffron Frameworks), Caren Hartley (Hartley Cycles), Tom Donhou (Donhou Bicycles), and Matthew McDonough (Talbot Framework).

Further details, including a link to book tickets, which cost £8, can be found here.

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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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