Martyn makes a classic…”Keeper”!

Frame building courses are among some of our favourite days here at Bicycles By Design. We get to meet some amazing people and they make bikes that are a reflection of themselves as both individuals and riders! The people who join us to learn new skills are making “keepers”, those bikes that you keep forever, bikes that give you so many cycling memories.

Another amazing Frame Building Course underway with Pete. Martyn is making a traditional road bike. #handmadebike #artsandcrafts #handmade #cycles #cyclinglife #cycling #shropshire #ironbridgegorge flux, flow, heat, mitre, measure, cut, braze, silver, solder, #reynolds 853. 

Martyn recently joined us from the West Country, staying in our glorious Shropshire for a week long Frame and Fork building course. He studied contemporary craft at University, making furniture and design pieces. He wanted to bring these skills and learn many more while making a “bike for life”.

Clean lines, limited bosses, 28mm tyres, straight top tube, will give his bike a traditional and classic aesthetic, allied with some modern campag speccing. We still braze at BBD rather than weld as we are advocates of the traditional frame building methods. This skill is illustrated perfectly in the delicate job of brazing cable adjusters and bottle cage bosses, where the material is very thin and light weight. Under Pete’s expert / artisan tuition, Martyn was able to perfectly manage the heat, control the flux and silver solder and work with flow and fluidity. This care to attention and love of detail is illustrated in the entire frame building process, from cutting tubes, to brazing into the lugs.

Here is what Martyn had to say about his experience…

”I set out to make a modern classic road frame and at the end of the week that’s exactly what I achieved, with a little help from Pete..! I wanted the frame to have a clean simplified aesthetic, so opted not to have rack mounts or mudguard mounts. I have incorporated an internally routed top tube for rear brake cable, a braze on for front mech and bottle boss for just 1 bottle. The frame is yet to be painted but hoping to achieve something that is both classic and contemporary. I have always had an interest in craft skills and cycling, so this seemed the perfect course for me! I am by no means a cycling expert and was slightly nervous of this before hand. However, there was no need to worry as Pete and the team were amazing, very welcoming and full of info for my constant bombardment of questions! I genuinely feel so privileged to have been able to do the course and to have worked with Pete (master craftsman!) to produce a bike that I can use and enjoy for years to come; and that will hopefully be passed down the generations as well. A thank you to Geoff for a never ending mug of tea or coffee!” – Martyn.

Once the frame and fork are finished, they are sent to Argos for painting and then Martyn will return to us for wheel and bike building.

We can’t wait to see the finished bike! Will Martyn go for a single colour or a different / highlight colour to define the lugs and offer detailing?

https://www.bicycles-by-design.co.uk/frame-building-courses/ for more information on our unique courses.