I used to cycle when I was a youngster. My parents were cyclists and I grew up having bikes from the day I first learned to ride when I was 4 years old. As a teenager I would go on cycle holidays with my father and brothers. Around the age of 10, I started going away on my own or with cousins. Most of these trips were weekends to youth hostels where my mother, a youth hostel warden herself, could keep tabs on me with a phone call.

I all but lost interest in cycling when I left school apart from a couple of years when I lived in Sweden. While I was there I taught myself to ride a unicycle but although that was fun it wasn’t really practical. I also re-cycled a bike which I had found in a ditch and used that regularly to get around. Sweden’s cycle paths were extensive and as a form of every-day transport, cycling was so much more pleasurable than in Scotland at that time.

On returning to Scotland I bought a couple of ex-hire bikes for my son and me. One was stolen and I gave the other away as I had nowhere to store it so I didn’t really get the chance to cycle regularly. In 2006 the Scottish Government brought in a law to ban smoking in public places. I decided it was time to quit and in order to get healthier, I used the money I was going to save not smoking and invested in a new bicycle. I went in to a local cycle dealer and came out with a brand new TREK mountain bike. I used it regularly for a few years, irregularly for a couple of years more, though I did take it when I went on camping trips on a rack on the car. Gradually it was used less and less and eventually put away in the shed and not used for many years. Then, in 2019, Covid arrived and for one reason and another, I decided it was time to get back on the bike and get cycling again. After a few months I was hooked. I found it gave me a freedom and a level of fitness I hadn’t had for years.

I currently own and regularly use two bikes. Here I will chronical the development of those.

_{my original TREK mountain bike}

The bike I had for years was becoming a bit worse for wear. So I went out and bought myself a brand new CUBE bike. I had thoughts of getting something which I could use through the winter and would need less maintainance on a daily basis. I bought a bike with belt drive, hub gears. 700c wheels, and a fitted rack. Basically it was a city bike and after a month or two realised I had made a big mistake. I just couldn’t take to it at all. It didn’t feel right, the gearing wasn’t ideal and it still needed cleaning daily, just not the chain lubed. Really the only thing I was entirely happy with was the larger wheel size. After persevering for a couple of months, I went back to using the old mountain bike and put the CUBE up for sale. The TREK felt a bit tired after using the new CUBE. The cable brakes were getting a bit weak, the grips uncomfortable and the forks needed upgrading. So I decided it was time for another upgrade.

I replaced the wheels with a set of mavic ones with red hubs and to match them bought Hope discs. I then decided to go down the Hope route, mainly because of the ability to replace any of the components. Most other brake manufacturers make their calipers and cylinders so that if they break the whole unit needs replacing. I switched the cable brakes to hydraulic ones then moved on to the drive train. I scrapped the front derailleur and went to a single chain ring and fitted a new rear derailleur with a 10 speed chainset. I fitted a rear rack and bought panniers to use on my daily commute. Most of the components I bought were second hand from e-bay. A great source of parts and ideas. The next time I upgraded was to a different ratio gearing to suit the type of riding I was doing.

_{Pedl Powr (a TREK in disguise)}

One day I realised that I was amassing a fair collection of spare parts and was running out of space in my spare room which was gradually becoming my workshop. I decided to go back to e-bay and look at frames. The TREK had a steel frame and was quite heavy so I bought another TREK alloy frame and which had a slightly different geometry. I was going to build a second bike from scratch. I took this opportunity to upgrade parts, like the bottom bracket and pedals, still using pre-used items where I could find serviceable ones. The older and less “top of the range” parts going on to the original frame. I powdercoated the “new” frame, with some customised stickers named it “PEDL POWR” and soon I had a bike which was original, hand built and all mine. The other one I sold to a neighbour who wanted it to get back and forth to work. The money I got for it subsidised some of the more expensive parts I bought. I used the bike daily, mainly commuting to and from work along the Forth and Clyde canal between Glasgow and Kirkintilloch. It served me well and got its final upgrades when I decided that the next steps would be into cycle touring. I fitted a front rack to take additional panniers and a handlebar bag and off I went to do the Hebridean Way.

The bike known as Pedl Powr did well over the 300 mile trip and all it needed doing was the brackets on the front rack adjusted slightly. It was a hard slog though, especially on a couple of days when I did over 50 miles. The weight on the front, combined with suspension, made the steering a bit wobbly and I sometimes wished I had wheels bigger than 26″. So this got me thinking that I could do with a bike which was more suited to touring. I went on-line to try to work out what was needed. Most of the bikes I had seen on my tour were so-called “Gravel Bikes”. More like road bikes with wider wheels and drop bars. I had a look at a few (well a lot) of different bikes, both new and second hand. One bike which caught my eye was an ALICE which was advertised on gumtree. I messaged the seller but unfortunately it had gone. He had recommended looking at the bike’s website, Pipedream Cycles, so I followed the links there. Pipedream sell steel frames, mainly mountain bikes but the ALICE is what they call an adventure bike. They recommend it for “bikepacking” but I could see its potential as a touring bike.

_{A.L.I.C.E. (all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment)}

I made my mind up to build a bike from scratch to my own specifications. I really enjoyed building up my previous two bikes so it was a challenge I was up for. I ordered a frame from Pipedream and set about sourcing the parts I needed. Once again I was planning to use the more top end components I already had and get as many as I could from the used parts market. I wanted to go to 29″ wheels and because I couldn’t find any, of the spec I wanted second hand, I decided to buy new. That’s when I made my biggest mistake so far in my bike building efforts. I looked up the wheels available to order through pipedream and because there was a 3 month turnaround, decided to source them from another supplier. I was going to stick with Hope as they were a brand I was learning to trust and like. I ordered the wheels I needed but then there turned out to be another problem with supply, this time it was at the Hope factory. Their system had been hacked and orders had a 3 weeks turnaround. During that delay a typical thing happened. I found a pair of wheels at nearly half the price but a previous model. A saving of that much was too good to pass up so I bought them. When they arrived I worked out that the first pair of wheels I ordered we not suitable for the non boost frame on the ALICE. It had been a steep learning curve. I tried to cancel the first order but sod’s law they were shipped that day. I also found some Hope brakes at a price I couldn’t turn down and so ordered them. I was beginning to gather spare parts once more. I was planning how the ALICE would be built and it was going to be so different from any bike I had previously had so I made a decision to build myself two bikes. One would be for touring and the other would be a mountain bike for day-to-day use. I returned the Hope wheels unopened and ordered ones with wider rims for the mountain bike at the same price. The delay in shipping was not a concern this time as I had enough work to get on with.

I had a frame, wheels, saddle (I decided to use the leather Brooks one as it was broken in and comfortable) bottom bracket and drive train. So I needed to source a seatpost bars and gearshifter. These all came from e-bay second hand. The last thing I had to decide was which handlebars. I thought about fitting drop bars for a while but eventually came round to rejecting that idea. I had never really had or spent any time riding a bike with drop bars and the cost of changing the controls was high. So it would preferably be flat bars. Then I read about Surley Corner Bars. These claim to be a compromise, somewhere between the two styles. And I was able to fit my existing brakes and shifters. I bought a set of the narrowest ones along with a new adjustable stem and fitted them to the bike. They felt great the first two or three time I went for a test run. The drop position was good for getting down lower and the flat, top section seemed the ideal everyday riding position. I taped them up, finished the build with a new Tubus Tara Lowrider front rack and headed off on my Arran trip. After an experience in Inverness station when I had trouble finding somewhere tom prop up my loaded bike, I had fitted a prop stand. The one I chose initially was a two-legged one but I found with that style it was too difficult to get the balance right, especially on uneven ground. When I went to Arran I hadn’t got round to buying one but there were times I could have used one so decided to fit one when I returned.

The corner bars weren’t as comfortable as I had thought when used over a few days. The “drop” position was good but awkward to access the brakes and the limited alternatives didn’t suit my style of riding. Most of the time I had my hands on the top of the bars but this space was too narrow to allow for much adjustment. I decided to go back to flat bars and eventually settled on Kona Denham bars. These have a swept back profile and bullhorns which offer a position similar to riding with hands on brake hoods on drop bars. Even with a handlebar bag fitted, the space between the horns is wide enough to allow for hand movement when cruising in an upright stance. I paired the bars up with a Vecnum suspension stem to give some give to the front end. After a couple of muti-day tours I decided to extend the range of my gearing and after some experimentation and a good bit of trial and error with components, I added a front derailleur and converted the drive-train to a x2 with oval chainrings.

For now the build is complete. No doubt I will continue to adjust and adapt things as I put more miles in but for touring I’m happy with my ALICE.

ON-ONE Scandal

On my return from the tour of Arran, I had almost a complete mountain bike waiting to be put together. I had bought a used On-one Scandal frame on e-bay for what seemed to be a ridiculously low price. When it arrived I discovered why. The bottom bracket shell had been cross-threaded and the bearings would not screw in. The sale was a “no return” so I would have to fix it somehow. There’s a charity bike shop not far from me so I took it in to see if there was anything they could do. The tool to re-cut the thread would have cost me £500 so there was no way I could have bought one. I have paid for tools which I only use very occasionally but that was just beyond my budget. They had the appropriate die so the job only took a few minutes but saved me a couple of hundred pounds. I decided to donate my Pedl Powr to them once I had the Scandal finished.

Forks, a new Brooks cambium saddle, bars/stem off the old bike, new brake hoses to fit through the frame and I was finished for then. I considered riding with bare tyres but took the softie option and bought mudguards. Further upgrades including a short-lived dropper seat-post were to come. For the summer months and longer day rides I added a rack which is easily fitted and removed, to allow me to carry panniers. I also swapped the blue cambium saddle for an orange one, purely for the aesthetic value. I’m also in the process of replacing the Shimano cranks with Hope ones.

Another conversion, to a mullet, meant swapping the 29″ rear wheel for a 27.5″ and fitting shorter travel forks. This slightly changes the geometry of the bike but not so much that it is really noticeable, mainly down to fitting a fatter tyre. It does reduce the feeling that I am perched on top of the bike. I also took the opportunity, while I had the bike up on the stand to renew some brake parts. I thought about upgrading to 11 speed but as I had a few different ratio 10 speed cassettes and some 10 speed chains as spares I decided that, for convenience, I’d be better keeping both bikes with the same drive so retained the 1×10 speed.

This is now my day to day ride.