Frame Journey - James’ Pollock Inspired ANTUR

Jan 4

Build Brief

The N-1 project. James wanted a bike that could do everything from road, gravel and be loaded up for bikepacking.

Owning two bikes that had turned into similar style builds and were starting to show signs of wear James was looking for a replacement build.

James was after the ability to run single speed as well as gears and wanted internal cable and dynamo routing to keep things looking clean and to stop cables interfering when the bike is loaded with bags.

The N-1 relates to the fact that this bike has replaced both of his current builds that were no longer getting much use which goes against the grain of the industry standard of N+1 which I quite like.

One of his main requests was to have the option of running the bike single speed as he used to ride mtb single speed and loved the simplicity of one gear.

Paint Inspiration

Paint is overwhelming and it will always be the trickiest part of the build as possibilities are endless.

I always ask customers to create a collection of interests, influences & hobbies to help with the design process. Whether this is artists they love, a particular place that is close to their heart or even their favourite album cover. It doesn’t matter, I just need to see what you are about.

From the medely of ideas we pick out various aspects and details such as textures, patterns, colour and any other features that might work on the bike.

Initially James sent over a file full of bikes he liked the look of which was not exactly what we are after. I try to persuade people to collect ideas from the world that surrounds them as this produces an organic, original and personal design which helps separate us from trends in the cycling market.

His file included frame bags used for bikepacking which were earthy tones of brown and red with a contrasting bright blue and yellow which together created a nice complimentary colour pallette which was to act as the base for his design. The file also included artwork by the American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock.

Playful, fun, expressive and paired to James’s colour pallette this paint technique created a truly unique and personal touch which could be said to reflect riding gravel.

Painter Jackson Pollock working in his studio, dropping paint onto canvas Photo By Martha Holmes/The LIFE Premium Collection/Getty Images

Pollock would drip, drizzle, pour and flick paint onto his canvas to produce his ‘drip’ paintings which is a physical technique and you can almost imagine Pollock dancing around the canvas to produce his work.

Painting of James’ ANTUR was carried out by Jack Kingston. He also dripped, drizzled and flicked paint over the frame to produce the style.

I know this because I’d received a photo of paint covered shoes & spray booth with “THANKS FOR THAT! sarcastically written underneath.

Bike Fit Session

Slammed stem, too smaller frame and with an aggressive setup on James’ existing bike made for poor posture and inefficient pedalling.

Ian, the fitter at Cyclopaedia needed to drastically raise the handle bar position on James’ bike as the slammed stem and short frame was causing James to ‘fall’ onto the hoods to keep himself upright.

This poor setup also meant James was not balanced on the bike with the majority of his weight going through his wrists, which you could imagine over time would result in discomfort and pain.

By raising the handlebar position allowed James to sit upright and engage his core muscles which would keep his body balanced on the frame and he no longer needed to ‘fall’ onto the bars, improving posture, removing wrist pain and also improved bike handling.

Build

Having grown up riding single speed MTB around his local trails James wanted the option to easily switch from gears to a single gear. This needed to be simple to do and also needed to be in keeping with the clean look of the frame.

Paragon Machine Works sliding dropouts were the right choice and ticked every box. Only needing a 5mm allen key to adjust and set up the chain tension and the flat mount brake kept everything clean and simple.

The frame was built using a mixture of Columbus Life and Zona tubing which is nice combination that is suited for off-road gravel riding and bikepacking resulting in the frame weighing just under 2000g which is not bad for such a large frame.

Adjustable dropouts by Paragon Machine Works

'Just wanted to say how pleased I am with the bike. Went for a short spin yesterday and I’m totally in love with it.’

Complete Build

Since receiving the bike James has been in touch to say.

‘Just wanted to say how pleased i am with the bike. Went for a short spin yesterday and I’m totally in love with it.’

This has been a fun and exciting project from the get go with James’s idea of being able to run single speed with sliding dropouts and the super fun Jackson Pollock inspired paint job carried out by Jack Kingston.

It’s always refreshing when people are willing to push their boundaries and try new ideas out that they may not have initially considered.

Building a frame is definitely a team effort. From the initial concept, the bikefitting and the paint execution, all these skills and ideas combine to create something that is unique, fit for purpose and desired.

James is a regular to gravel and bikepacking events across the UK so you may be able to catch this build in the flesh. I’m sure he’ll be happy to chat about the build.

Build Kit

Frame - ANTUR
Fork - ENVE Adventure
Headset - Wolftooth
Bottom Bracket - ChrisKing
Finishing Kit - Easton
Groupset - SRAM Rival AXS
Wheelset - PuraVelo ESCAPE
Tyres - Hutchinson Touareg