Custom Rob English MTB

So I've been slowly tweaking the English the past few weeks.
The plan was to get every part of it exactly how I want it, and trim as much excess fat from it as possible without affecting function or real world strength.

So far I have converted the wheels to tubeless, which was so ridiculously easy I was worried I must be missing something. :]

I swapped from the Alfine trigger shifter to a slightly modified and blacked out nexus twist grip, as I don't like the oversized indicator window on the Alfine twist grip.

I then switched to Time Atac xc 12 carbon/titanium pedals,with the red seals blacked out.

I swapped the heavy, overlong alfine axle nuts for some Gusset 3/8" aluminium axle nuts.

I swapped the saddle to a Tune speedneedle marathon,as I love the regular version, and the Marathon is even better for MTB use.

I also swapped to a Thomson masterpiece seatpost which I then modified with a pair of titanium bolts, and replaced the whole upper clamp assembly with some Parts of passion yokes.

The next on the list is to swap all bolts for black titanium, except the chainring bolts which will be black aluminium.

I'm also waiting for a set of Extralite Ultralever 2's which they are custom anodizing for me with black lever blades...at 56g a pair they cut a hundred grams off the Avids, and are better suited to the grip shifter and jones bars.

The weight at the moment without bags, rack and aerobars is exactly 26lbs, which for an all steel, folding, hub geared MTB,with two rear wheels,2.4" tyres, Jones bars, and fat front compatible forks is pretty bloody good!
Once I swap the levers and bolts it will drop to about 25.5lbs...which I'm very happy with. :]

Disgustingly nice bike. Well done ;)

very very nice. Where are you planning to tour with it first?

The coffee shop and the Apple store of course!

^ He's just going to pull wheelies outside Asda and do bunnyhops in the car park.

if i ever actually see this bike in the flesh i will d-lock it to something thinking it must be stolen, even if scott is near by

wow, how did i completely miss this thread, amazing!

Has the bike seen any real use and where are the pics? Are there still Divide plans?

I think Scot is laid up with a slipped disc at the moment (from one of his garment threads).

Unfortunately 2013 was a disastrous year both mentally and physically. I barely covered any miles, on any bike. But I did ride this bike more than any other...just not for anything worth talking about, and certainly no over-nighters. :[
But the rides I did do on it, I loved.
It rides beautifully.

This year is probably going to be taken up with Black Rainbow Project for the most part as there is lots going on, and lots to be done...but I intend to get out on this bike much more than last year.
As usual though, everything good and bad was happening at the same time.

I did manage to change a few more parts I'd been wanting to change since getting the bike though...

I switched the stock Avid rotors for KCNC Razor rotors...great weight savings considering they're a fairly small part, and not particularly expensive.
They also work better than the stock rotors...and look amazing!

I also taped the Jones loop bars with Lizard skins tape, which is excellent for grip and comfort, and I got my Extralite ultra lever 2's, with the custom matt black blades....LOVE these levers! Again, great weight savings, as these are only 28gms per lever...but they also work and feel great!
The last upgrade was a switch to some custom 'JONES' length ESI chunky grips, which are awesome! Light weight, and REALLY comfy!

What's the grip beside the Lizard tape? I thought you rated those Ergon highly.

some custom 'JONES' length ESI chunky grips

?

http://www.esigrips.com/CustomGrips.htm

Missed that completely, cheer.

ESIs are super nice. Cushioning even when your gripping hard.

The shape of Ergon's is really comfortable, but i find that the fairly hard rubber, and plastic core, with them being a lock on, transmit a lot more vibration through to your hands off road. The ESI absorb vibrations really well.

Just noticed that the 2014 Tour Divide race is underway. Is this competing this year?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AnV6xT65HkPRdE5WZ2c4S0pyZnd5Tk51cko1ZzJneFE&usp=sharing

Don't see any English listed there.

Any updates on this? One of my all time faves.....

As ashamed as I am of the fact that this bike has STILL not done the Divide route (life and money getting in the way/excuses), it IS in the process of having some modifications done at the moment ready for this summer.
I had again planned to 'definitely' race the Tour Divide this year, but alas, it's still not to be...so instead it's joining myself and my girlfriend on our own adventure somewhere in Europe this summer. The good thing about that is that it will allow me the time to complete a two part 're-do' and then thoroughly test everything out ready to 'definitely' do The Tour Divide in 2019. :)

Phase one is the front end!
Rob is about to start my new fork. It's based on the original design, with a few tweaks.
It will use the same 'no steerer' design with the steerer remaining part of the stem. The same rear wheel spacing and rear specific brake mount for potential wheel swapping. The same width clearance for full fat bike tyres. The same rearward bottle mounts, forward anything cage mounts.
The same integrated custom rack mounting.

The difference with the new fork is that it will now be longer, to allow the use of the largest 29+ tyres, which gives the option of 29+, regular 29, 26 x 4.8, 27.5 x 4 etc
Another reason was to slacken the angles a bit too for a slightly more relaxed loaded ride. The offset is being tweaked along with this.
The bottle/anything cage mounts will be moving up a bit too but will be the same configuration.
The new front wheel is being built around a 135 spaced SON dyno hub so it will be getting internal dyno cable routing, but with dynasnaps near the hub, and at the top of the fork. Partly for ease of dismantling the bike and packing into it's case, partly for ease of wheel removal, and at the top end for less chance of snagging the cable and ripping it out of the light, leaving me powerless.
On the opposite side the disc cable will also be routed internally to keep things tidy.

Lastly, the rack is getting a few modifications based on my experience of using it, and in order to implement a new idea I had to go along with my plans to integrate things as much as possible and create my vision of my ultimate bikepacking setup...but I'll keep this bit to myself for now until I see if it works as planned. :)
It's a crime that this bike doesn't get ridden more, but I try and justify it by the fact that it's also a work project for me, designing and integrating bags and bike in the best way possible.

Rob has my drawings for everything and we just nailed down the final details, so I'll keep you all posted. :)

<3 this bike

Now fix your broken pictures ;-)

Bloody photobucket... What's that all about?

Not sure what's happening there, but a lot of people seem to have the same problem with broken links :/

I think photobucket changed their policy, something about not allowing links to PB for free.

Annoying isn't it! I've just downloaded a chrome extension that sorts it out.

'photobucket hotlink fix'