Gideon's bike life - Genesis, Graham Weigh, Cinelli, Land Shark & Ritchey

Been thinking about making one of these threads for a while, since I'm always changing my bikes in one way or another. Since I've sort of approached an equilibrium of N = 4, where I probably won't buy any more bikes, as all my cycling interests are currently satisfied & there isn't really enough room in the flat - second bedroom is our 'bike room'.

So as it currently stands - two fixed gears (Cinelli & Graham Weigh), one fast road bike (Paul Donohue) & one CX/adventure bike (Genesis).

Paul Donohue - PedalRoom.

Made of Reynolds 853 with an unusual teardrop downtube & flattened oval top tube. I love this bike, as my first geared bike. It feels so fast, despite not being that light really. It's pretty aggressive in its setup, but I find it pretty comfortable, having taken it bikepacking in Scotland, France, Spain, Italy & Switzerland. I used to ride it in all sorts of weather, but these days it's a fair-weather bike.

There isn't a huge amount I'd change with this one. The frame probably needs a bit of TLC & perhaps a higher end groupset one day as I've put over nine thousand miles on the current one.

Came across this frame on here for a steal, I @TM forwarded it to me as he so enjoys his Donohue bikes. It's stamped with the name of a rider & a cycling club up near Durham (where Paul Donohue used to have his shop) & I've tried to find out a bit more about the frame, but no joy.

Graham Weigh - PedalRoom.

Reynolds 531C with a teardrop downtube again, sadly non-original fork. It's got a lovely sparkle to the paint job, even if the tribal graphics are a bit suspect (90s paint jobs, eh?). This is my third fixed gear, & it rides the best out of any of them. Someone once rode into me when I was riding this bike, but miraculously the frame had no damage. However, after the crash I managed to drop the bike & it fell on a conveniently placed rock & put a nasty dent in the top tube, which I'm still annoyed about. I think the frame is chromed underneath though, as it's never shown any sign of rust.

Since I have a bunch of 1" forks lying around, I occasionally change them on this bike to fit the original Graham Weigh quill stem, but the Integralters are so comfortable they usually stay on. Wheels are in need of a true (maybe new rims as current are a bit grotty) & I could really do with a bit more seatpost (current one is at min insertion), so both could change, but low priority for now.

Probably also built by Paul Donohue, I've been in contact with Mr Graham Weigh himself & this is potentially one of the last frames made by them in the UK which is pretty cool.

Cinelli Mash Bolt (2013) - PedalRoom.

Columbus Airplane with sloping top tube. This is my second fixed gear, Planet X having one frame left in my size & at half price just after a tax rebate made it happen. It's relatively light & a lot of fun as a fixie skidder, this one.

It's a pretty generic build - Thomson finishing kit, MASH bullhorns, Mavic Ellipses, Omniums etc. It's my occasional commuter & the only bike which has mudguards (SKS velcro ones). Closest I've got to a rat bike too, with a fair few little dents & scratches, wheels out of true & the rear hub with a cog essentially welded on, but it still works great.

Genesis Croix de Fer Decade Edition - PedalRoom.

Reynolds 725 compact frame with plenty of clearance & practical brackets for mudguards/racks. Have replaced the original heavy forks with some Chinese carbon ones. I was hunting for a hydro 1x radventure bike for ages, & this came up for sale in Manchester for so little I couldn't say no. Apparently it's ridden thousands of miles around Europe before I even got it.

This bike is my most practical of all my bikes, & regularly sees use commuting in winter, night rides, CX rides & occasional touring with its big tyres & dynamo front/rear lights. I've got a spare set of wheels with knobbly tyres for the muddier stuff. I do have some mudguards for it, but I'm forever umming & ahhing about putting them on as I don't think they'd handle the amount of mud I usually put this bike through.

I'm not particularly fond of the weight of this bike, or its compact geometry. Realistically, I'm never going to get it or any steel adventure bike like it to weigh less than ten kilograms, so I'm not too fussed.

Ritchey Swiss Cross Disc - PedalRoom.

Ritchey Logic tubed CX bike. Not as practical as the Croix de Fer, but a chunk lighter & a much livelier ride. The frame came up on eBay & I couldn't say no.

Built up with Ultegra R8020 hydro with Hope RX4 calipers & Ultimate USE finishing kit. Loved the Ultegra on my Donohue so just wanted it again for this. Considering going 1x in the future as I'd only need a new RX mech & a new chainring.

Today I'm WFH so in my lunch hour I've put a new (to me) headset in the CdF & given it a new chain too. Previous headset was getting notched, which isn't ideal for off road when you need to make precise adjustments to lines, & previous chain was well, rather stretched.

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Strong stable. Would like to see the mash replaced with an SSCX commuter / bash around / tracklocross

Cheers, @TM, yours is always an inspiration!

I've thought a few times about getting rid of the MASH, but I don't think it'd be worth all that much. Three dents in the top tube from being hit by drivers & from slipping with cleats in a takeaway, I don't think anyone would take it.

I plan on putting some drop bar back on the MASH & then putting those SRAM S900 levers on for a road fixed at some point hopefully for A Harder Day in the Peaks so I can take it out into the Dales & smash some hard climbs again. Used to love that when it was my only bike & I had no choice of gears.

I sold my tracklocross recently as I can't get along with wide bars. Drop bar SSCX would be rad though.

Nice little post on Restrap - All the Gear, No Idea - featuring me when I went touring around Scotland on the Donohue on Veloflex Masters (no puncture protection) & somehow didn't get a single puncture.

Can someone please convince me not to buy these blue/brown GravelKing SKs for my Croix de Fer? I'm seriously tempted by them but it might look awful.

I think it'll look good.

Buy first, think later.

They're sick, do it

Thrown together a quick mockup. I dig it.

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As much as I do dig the blue GK SKs, I couldn't justify the expense, so have somehow ended up with four tyres for a lower cost. I do have a habit of hoarding tyres.

• 42mm Continental Sport Contact II - big slicks for commuting. Disappointingly, sized up as 39mm on my 22mm internal rims. Only £8 a pop from Planet X though.
  
• 38mm G-One All Rounds - ideal for Dirty Reiver next month.
  
  

Am thinking of maybe using the slicks for Dirty Reiver if the weather is dry, will have to see how it pans out.

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Missed this thread first time round somehow. I love your Don. Assumed it was aluminium at first because of the big tubes. Are they quite narrow where they’ve been flattened or are they just massively oversized in all directions?

Cheers! They're relatively narrow profile really, it's difficult to photograph.

(Excuse the dirt. It's such a fun bike to ride, I can't resist riding it in winter sometimes. Will give it some proper TLC in the near future.)

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Great quiver of bikes. The Donohue looks aggressive and fast. I love it.

Thanks! It certainly feels like it after riding my Croix de Fer a lot recently. The CdF feels like a hammer & the Donohue feels like a knife.

Currently contemplating an upgrade to Ultegra R8000 on the roadie as my brother can get it on trade. I really shouldn't though, as I'll be buying a house soon.

Been playing around with some muddy explores to track down some wild garlic recently (found some last night & had a lovely simple pasta dish with it). These slicks are more capable than I expected, though part of me is putting that down to getting better at riding off road. They also feel so much better on the road than the Gravel Kings SKs which surprises me as the GK SKs aren't super knobbly.

Also considering riding up from Leeds to Dirty Reiver (Kielder Forest) in April with @Tor. It's about a 150 miles, so would set off on the Thursday to be riding the event on the Saturday & maybe hostel it. Will see if the weather is good then!

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Ive been saying for months that they’re great tyres. Nobody believes me

There was loads of wild garlic down by the river off Kirkstall road recently! Look down where the sign for Fish Pass is on that bit between Woodrups and Morrisons.

Oo yes, I know the bit down on the goit. Seldom go down there, will have to check it out! I went to my usual spot at the top of Meanwood Park just before the path opens out onto the field on the right.

Top of Woodhouse Ridge is good for wild garlic too, heaps just down off the MVT.

I do

Me too.

Only reason I haven't got a set is that they weren't in stock at my LBS when I was building up my Pelago.
Glad to hear Gideon rates them too. Now I just need to wear out the randonneurs I got instead.

I've done 10,000 miles on the 105 groupset on the Donohue, & the chainrings are starting to look a little worn, so close-to-payday brain says buy a whole new groupset! Came up for a steal on here last night, & the seller was by coincidence coming up to Leeds today - meant to be!

Should be doing a 140 mile ride on Sunday with the bike in its current state, then will get around to putting the new stuff on some time next week. Excited!

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Nice.