Ricky Feather x John Smedley custom build

so i recently commissioned ricky to build a bike to my spec.

I have a design agency oop north and john smedley is one of my favourite clients for which i've wanted to find an excuse to build a bike for! i think the olympics seems like a good one so there we go

it had to be a british take on a pure track bike and planned a pretty standard frame with a pretty fancy paint job along with a solid groupset of dura-ace/nitto/brooks but Ricky thankfully got quite excited about it all and was busting to do something different with the headtube which he did! and it worked a treat!
he basically fillet brazed a 1'1/8 headtube to built the frame then sliced it and brazed in a 1" headtube to frame the union jack design with a nice sharp edge.

Safe to say i am over the moon with the results and on a separate project for the window display the stand we made at work for it looks great too

john smedley brook street by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

velodrome bike stand by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

feather head tube by monomaniac(tom), on Flickr

p.s this is in the window at John Smedley, 24 brook street, london... i'll update with lots more details and studio shots once the info goes live on the john smedley site next week

dibs wheelset if you split...

well technically the whole thing could be yours - more details to follow ;)

Nice, will it be ridden?

we have some plans for it yes - would be a waste not to

spec btw :
custom steel 55cm square frame with fillet brazed headtube and hand cut lugs
silver on silver masked graphics paintjob with reb and blue bands + union flag headtube
dura-ace bb, cranks, headset and hubs with gunmetal TB14 rims
nitto seatpost, jaguar stem and bars
brooks titanium swallow and brooks leather tape (both black)
conti supersport tyres
red and blue valve caps (the details count!)

Tom, lovely.

Lovely bike and a great idea too.
I grew up in derbyshire down the road from John Smedleys mill in Matlock.
Nice to see a familiar brand.
Never realised they were so well known.

Well done.

Union jack is very easy to make naff and that works superbly.

I have a design agency oop north

sorry to hijack, but do you need an intern?
fishing for my recently graduated offspring.

where are you mr fatoldbloke? we're in harrogate and sam (founder of fixed gear leeds) works with me - if you have a portfolio get it over to us, we could always do with a hand

Lovely bike and a great idea too.
I grew up in derbyshire down the road from John Smedleys mill in Matlock.
Nice to see a familiar brand.
Never realised they were so well known.

amazing brand and huge in the far east - we're trying to get them huge everywhere else too and the product speaks for itself - pretty much the finest knitwear brand bar-none

Valve caps mate!

Apart from that, muchos excellento

i sprayed those valve caps myself! its all about the detail - i wish i'd been able to line them up better but you only have so many options when you're trying to line up the crank to fit into the stand :(

Ha, yeah, the rear is blue ;)

Nice work Tom (& Feather Cycles), looks good on the 'boards', any other close ups of the head tube?

thanks mr everett - lots of pics to come once we get it all online with www.johnsmedley.com

http://instagram.com/p/NjgkGIH1US/

I saw the caps on facebag and wondered what all the fuss was about :)

This is ace.

It's a bit hard to see, but is the outer headtube sleeve sliced in half vertically, so it's 'open' at the front? I really like it.

As an aside, I have a John Smedley merino v-neck and it is top notch.

i work on brook street will pop out and have a look at lunchtime

had a quick look at the bike yesterday really nice in the flesh
nice job all concerned

so tell me again how do i win it ?

Fixed ;)

Well done.

Union flag is very easy to make naff and that works superbly.

10/10

Awesome project and fantastic garments from Smedley as well. Just bought myself one of these recently. Any chance of a forum discount?! Cheeky yes, but if you don't ask you don't get

I loves me some Smedley.

It is the best knitwear.