5 of the best handmade bicycles
Bristol’s Bespoked festival of hand-crafted bikes has a few gems we had to cycle around the web
From £1450, qoroz.com
A titanium bike built, as the name suggests, to win races. This sleek eye-catcher was developed using years of feedback from the u23 race team to put the stiffness in exactly the right spots for optimum power delivery.
It’s pricey at £1450 – though that’s actually very competitive for a titanium racer. You can pick out components on the Qoroz site’s bike builder. Definitely one worth trying at the Bristol Bespoked show as titanium bikes need to be tried to be believed.
The Bespoked Bristol Handmade Bike Show runs from Fri March 23rd to Sunday 25th at £7.50 on the door. All of these bikes should be on show for you to look at and, in some cases, try out.
Qoroz Race Won
£2800, boobicycles.com
While a bike made of bamboo might sound like a joke, in reality it’s shocking that it hasn’t been done sooner.
Bamboo provides a strong and ultra-light frame while also giving just enough bend to be forgiving on even the most ultra-distance cyclists. The Boo R’s been raced, tested at Princeton University and has netted a 100 percent happy customer feedback record – so it’s one two-wheeler you should definitely try out if you get the chance.
And of course the bamboo frames (made with some carbon for extra tension and responsiveness) are hand-made.
The Boo R
£Varies, crisptitanium.com
Crisp Titanium lives to build for individuals – which is why it runs a ‘know your builder’ scheme that lets you plan exactly how your bike will work, talking directly to the guy who’s making it.
As you can see from the shape of the above build there isn’t much they can’t do – and because it’s done with high-grade titanium (which doesn’t rust) you’ll likely never need another bike again.
Crisp Titanium MTB
From £1250, flatframesystems.com
You’re going to catch some sideways glances on this engineered wooden Zebrano frame – even if you’re cruising around the never-shocked streets of East London.
The Flat Frame technology uses naturally light timber sheets that are bonded together for strength and stability. The cool flat frame shape is just a great-looking bonus.
Flat Frame Zebrano
£Varies, bricklanebikes.co.uk
Brick Lane Bikes is, as the name suggests, based in the heart of East London – where you won’t feel left out without gears.
The La Piovra Framsets let you chose the Columbus tubing, paint and even the geometry as you can see from the bendy beauty above. Quick, efficient and easy to access, it’s a winning place to have your bike built and is ideally placed so you can show your new steed off to all your fixie-fanatic chums right after.
The Bespoked Bristol Handmade Bike Show runs from Fri March 23rd to Sunday 25th at £7.50 on the door.
You may also like
Brick Lane Bikes La Piovra Framesets
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
