Cast your minds back to last year and you might remember our Muc-Off Built in Britain campaign, aimed at showcasing British bike manufacturing talent. As part of this, one lucky participant won their dream bike in the raffle raising money for CALM. Well, this is it, the bike is a reality so we thought we'd show you the result of when experts in their field combine to create something incredible.
The bike has been built up by Spoon customs around a custom Rourke 853 frameset and fork (rim brake) with a rather special paint job from Gun Control Paint.
Sean, the raffle winner, told us: "The bike looks absolutely beautiful and it really stands out compared to the generic black carbon bikes that are the norm at the moment.
"The frameset has been built to my exact spec and it fits like a glove. Wayne and Jason did a brilliant job in bringing my requirements to life. Andy at Spoon Customs has also given the frame a beautiful paint job, the way the paint switches from blue to green is amazing!"
We're certainly big fans of this paint scheme, and if you want to learn more about either Rourke Handbuilt Cycles or Gun Control Paint then check out the following videos:
Muc-Off said: "We are heavily grounded in innovation, still adopting the small business attention to detail that brands like Pacenti, Gun Control, and Brian Rourke are known for.
"Alex our CEO is still incredibly involved with product development and his passion runs through everything that we do. That’s reflected in our products we supplied for this bike build, and our core values remain very similar to these great independent brands that we’re championing.
"We have incredible talent in this country, and a strong bike-building heritage – We couldn’t be more stoked to have supported a campaign which celebrates that."
> Review: Sram Force eTap AXS Wide groupset
> Review: Muc-Off tubeless valves V2
The build has been specced with a 12-speed Sram Force eTap AXS 2X D1 electronic groupset with a 46/33T crankset, 10/33T cassette and Sram DUB T47 bottom bracket.
Wheels come from British wheel building specialists Pacenti design in the form of their PR38 rim brake. These are set up tubeless using Muc-Off V2 tubeless valves and sealant paired with Schwalbe Pro One tyres.
> Review: Zipp Service Course stem (2020)
For the bars, stem and seatpost, Zipp Service Course components were selected. We don't see many modern components use the classic silver finish, but having seen them used on this bike it's something we'd like to see more of!
> Review: Zipp Service Course seatpost
Upon seeing the final results, Muc-Off told us: "It’s British engineering at its best, and that’s what Muc-Off’s all about.
"Having come from humble beginnings ourselves and being led by a strong passion for getting more people on bikes, 28 years on from that first bottle of the pink stuff being produced, we now produce bike care and maintenance ranges for over a hundred countries. But the heart of the operation – our R&D facility, our engineers, tribologists, product designers, and technicians remain based in the UK."
Sean added: "It is the type of bike that gets lots of comments wherever I go with it. I plan to ride the Cat & Fiddle challenge in the Peak District (organised by Rourke Cycles) in mid-September and it will be my everyday ride going forward."
We're glad you like the bike Sean, and are even happier to see that it's getting used in earnest! Finally, thank you to all the brands and participants that took part. As a result, collectively we raised £3,764 for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).
How would you spec a custom bike? Would it look similar to this? Let us know in the comments section below...
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