old school, new bike

I was too ill to go on Laura OLPH's scheduled ride yesterday. Afterwards, she copied me an email from a rider I don't know, who has a beautiful bike. In his Flicker photostream, he refers to it as a midlife crisis reaction, and it's certainly a much less stupid and dangerous one than the motorcycle I bought all those years ago!

Like with motorcycles, with bicycle enthusiasts, there's a divide between those who pursue the latest technology, and those who seek what they perceive as beauty. The owner/assembler of this bike is definitely in the latter camp (I lean more to beauty than bike technology, but I'm not as deep into it as he). I'm linking a few of his pics, so you can see what a great job he's done.

It starts with a Mercian frame:

Mercian is a custom frame builder in England; they've been at it for over 60 years. The rider has built it up with excellent components:

I love the cotton bar tape. I also love that he's picked up, not the main color of the bike, but the pinstripe color, for the tape and cable housing. (And I like the unpainted handlebar; I may get one myself for my silver-and-black titanium bike.)

This might be the current configuration. I recognize cranks from Velo-Orange; Honjo fenders; bags, rack, and probably bell from Rivendell Bikes. Big tires; this bike can do roads that my maximum 25mm tires cannot. And, of course, a Brooks saddle (I'd bet the B-17, but I could be wrong).

Last week, I did that ride with the fast guys. This bike is for a kind of riding that those guys don't do, and probably have no interest in. But the bike, and the riding style, suit me down to the ground. Well done, sir.