Custom Rob English MTB

These are the fred bars I mentioned earlier...they allow you to get a much closer aerobar setup without too much hassle...so long as you have a bit of spare steerer....and your stem isn't too steep.

Looks very well thought out. The only main position you lose on the Loop bar is the front aero one. Which is kinda obsolete, with the aero bars.

Cant wait to see this bike covered in bags. Looks naked without any ;)

I have pretty small hands anyway, so I could probably still use that position too. :]

I just got the weight from Rob....412 grams complete. To put that into perspective...the Carbon Profile aerobars weigh anywhere between 483 and 6OO grams! Then add the weight of the fred bars i needed to get them far enough back....I'm even happier with this setup now. ;]

I also allowed a bit extra on the extensions just incase too...so they may end up a touch under 4OOg. :]

I assume you're planning on having padding on the armrests?

Of course. :]

The rack is all tacked together and just needs the final brazing.
All that leaves is the cable stops, and all the brazing cleaning up and it's ready for painting! :]

Just out of curiosity, have you already made the bags for this?
What's the max number of bags you'll be fitting?

This is gonna be a beast!

I'll be making the bags once I get the bike so that I can make sure everything fits perfectly...especially with some of them being mounted with bolts instead of velcro straps.

The plan is a full frame bag, front and rear gastanks on the top tube, saddlebag, harness/roll on front rack, possibly a feedbag of some kind on the bars if there's space, and the option of twin bags on the fork legs if needed.

All the fabrication is now complete! :]
The front rack came out exactly as I had pictured it too.
Just paint left now really which should hopefully see the bike complete this week.
The latest round of pics are HERE.

An amazing concept and build, one question really, how do you set headset bearing preload? Does the lower rack mount do it, and does that mean you have to have the rack for it to work?
Puzzled!

upside down headset cap, so under the fork and inside the stem/steerer.

Yup...Murtle knows. :]
The steerer is part of the stem rather than the fork....so the adjustment is upside down.
The 'top' cap is either the regular chris king one, or built into the rack if you're using it.

Yup...Murtle knows. :]
The steerer is part of the stem rather than the fork....so the adjustment is upside down.
The 'top' cap is either the regular chris king one, or built into the rack if you're using it.

Now I understand why you had trouble getting your StemCaptain to work.

;)

Bloody thing might as well have been down there! :]

All the fabrication is now complete! :]

This actually feels a little disappointing - really exciting bike, look forward to seeing it all in one piece. Is Rob building the whole bike for you or are you getting the frame / wheels shipped over here to build up yourself?

Any reasons for doing it upside down?
Because I'd be worried about the fork crown clamp strength. I assume it's a double bolt,

Surely its the same mechanically as a standard set-up. But everything is steel. Which is oodles better than the alu stem/ carbon steerer set-up which is so popular today.

I'm sitting here trying to work out if having my forks fall off, is any worse than my bars fall off.

Think I'll do some work instead.

2014 Divide?

Imma gonna buy an OTP piece of shit for <£1k and still beat you.

^^Depends if you're better at wheelies, or no-hands cycling.

That's a great looking rack, why aren't more that shape? makes a lot of sense for tents, sleeping bags, stuff bags, big bars bags, etc.
what kind of load can it take in that set up?

Can't wait to see it all pieced together.

This actually feels a little disappointing - really exciting bike, look forward to seeing it all in one piece. Is Rob building the whole bike for you or are you getting the frame / wheels shipped over here to build up yourself?

I thought the same...Seeing it all being built is a huge part of the attraction with custom bikes.:]

Rob has all the parts there. He ideally prefers to build the whole bike himself so he can make sure everything works together perfectly...especially with something like this.
It's also having a few proper photos taken at the end of the month too.

The few parts I sourced at my end I shipped to Rob a while ago.
It will be coming to me in a lot of pieces then anyway for me to put back together so I can make the bags...then potentially going straight back to Rob again for a while. :]

Rob was also able to get a better deal on a lot of the parts than I could too.

Any reasons for doing it upside down?
Because I'd be worried about the fork crown clamp strength. I assume it's a double bolt,

I'm not remotely worried about strength.
Pace research used the exact same system on their original RC1OO mountain bike about 25 years ago with no trouble.
Robs own MTB has also been running the same setup for the past couple of years, also with no trouble.

I wanted the setup for a few reasons. I think it looks much cleaner, it allowed more creativity with the aerobar setup, and more importantly, it keeps the forks shorter for fitting in the travel case.

I've seen plenty of people criticize the system after Rob showed his bike at nahbs a while ago...all claiming it must be weak, dangerous etc...but lab theories don't always prove to be significant in real world situations. Similar to when reviews mention component flex...some parts may show flex on lab apparatus, but more often than not it's completely unnoticeable in the end use.

2014 Divide?

Imma gonna buy an OTP piece of shit for <£1k and still beat you.

Well it wouldn't be difficult! :]

Surely its the same mechanically as a standard set-up.

not quite, the clamp now takes the dynamic loads of the front end (F>1/3 of bike+rider+load) which are not always linear with the steering column.

Sorry if I'm being skeptical.