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For this edition, we have a second bike from Tom. He’s a very lucky boy – check out his other lush build here.
Why this bike?
The frame was chosen for how it looks, how Rå describe its intended use, and that it is made by a man in a (fantastic) shed/dream factory, an hour from my house. Others in the running were Curtis, Kingdom, Project 12 and Huhn cycles, but after seeing the Rå at the Bespoked Show in Harrogate, it was a one horse race. (NB, Bespoked is in London this year, 14-16th October).
Tom’s Candy Lollipop Red Rå .410 Specification
- Frame: T45 front triangle, Reynolds 853 rear. Hose guides for the rear brake but that’s it, because AXS. Colour is Candy Lollipop Red
- Fork: Intend Edge 29, 150mm travel 20x110mm axle. This is the mystery Intend fork that was auctioned off for World Bicycle Relief by STW. When it came to me, it had a whopping great chasm of a scratch in the stanchion, I’ve since found out came from its previous owner being less than careful taking it in and out of a van, and the damper was spouting oil like a cartoon well, so a bit of back and forth with Cornelius at Intend and I had a new stanchion with the latest damper, kindly fitted by Mojo Rising. I hoped to not have to go through all that again so was over the moon when Rulezman suspension in Italy announced some guards to protect the stanchions, so no more van related scratches from now on!
- Shock: Knackered legs. Could really do with a service/performance upgrade.
- Suspension Set Up: I’m around 90kg tooled up to ride, so there’s 80psi in theres to begin with to get to the recommended (by Rå) 30ish per cent sag. Rebound is set at halfway, compression fully open. The fork doesn’t accommodate tokens, so none of those.
- Wheels: KOM Xeno Hubs, on WTB CZR i30 rims. The hubs were the first thing I found on my first rummage around the internet bike shop. First ride impressions are good, the near instant engagement I like, the angry screamy wasp sound, I like (though not everyone will, meh) so looking good so far. The WTBs were chosen because they were in stock. They’re pretty light though, and aimed bang on what I’m going to use the bike for. Spokes are regular ol’ DT Swiss competitions. No posh string here.
- Tyres: Minion DHF/DHRII 2.6 Tanwalls. Was always of the opinion that tyres (and any contact points) should follow Henry Ford’s mantra on colouring, but here, I think it works really well. They’re 2.6″ wide, cuz it’s a hardtail and my bones hurt enough as it is.
- Tyre Inserts: I have inserted the finest Yorkshire air, at around 20 psi, and some sealant.
- Chainset: Recently rummaged items Sturdy Cycles 3D Printed Ti cranks, 165mm as the BB is pretty low, can’t say I’ve noticed any difference over 170s I’ve used almost exclusively to now. Also worthy of note is that the tip of the arm is very low profile relative to the pedal threads, so these 165s have nearly 10mm more ground clearance than other 170mm cranks. Bonus indeed. Ring is also from Sturdy, a 30T narrow wide Ti one. as with the crank, just look at it… BB and bashguard are both Ti, both from Dward Designs
- Rear Mech: SRAM GX AXS. I said it three years ago and I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not buying cable operated gears again. You may wonder why I haven’t gone higher up the range, simply because this functions the same as the more lofty options, for a tiny weight penalty. This is a steel hardtail so weight is not a consideration. Pointless bling addition of Dward Designs titanium jockey wheels make up for lack of badge anyway.
- Shifters: SRAM GX AXS. Functionally identical to XX1.
- Cassette: X01 Eagle. I’ve been really impressed by the posher SRAM cassettes, that seemingly last forever, and the XO1 comes in more subtle colours than XX1. Same logic applies for the XO1 chain
- Brakes: Trickstuff Maxima. Took two years to arrive, worth the wait. Crazy power, lovely feel.
- Bars & Stem: More things rummaged out of the internet, Beast Components Riser 25, at 800mm wide. lack of obvious branding a plus point, and carbon bars are my real ‘princess and the pea’ demand on any bike now. Stem is from 5Dev, a CNC machined Ti one, 35mm clamp, 32mm ‘long’. Saw it, couldn’t not have it. Also to go with the Ti theme (on a steel bike, I know, I know) are a Reilly Cycleworks Ti Headset and a Dward Designs Ti topcap
- Grips: ODI Vans waffle pattern. Had loads of these and really like them, so no point changing, Would be black but they work well with the tyres, assfettically like.
- Seatpost: 170mm AXS reverb. See the above comment about gears. Guess I could fit a 200mm one in if they made such a thing, but no biggie.
- Saddle: SDG Radar, Sensus Grips colab. Tan leather, diamond stitched to mimic old race cars. I like old race cars. Ti rails.
- Accessories: 5Dev Pedals, Dward Designs Ti Seatclamp, Ti headset spacers. T-shirt was a gift from my sister. I wear it on new bike days.
- Size and Weight: Large, 32lbs 4oz. *shrugs*
Tom Says…
About a year ago I had that itch that every, let’s say, seasoned FS bike rider gets for the direct connection that a hardtail brings as I hadn’t had one for over five years. I had a ton of spares in the garage and worked out that I only needed a frame, wheels and fork plus one or two small bits to make a bike (I can hear you all laughing at the back). Plan was to get cheap or second hand bits. The first second hand bit was the fork, then Singletrack asked me to do some articles on shiny or interesting things I’d found on the internet. What you see here is the physical embodiment of those articles. I now have more spares than I started with.
A word about Rå. Main man Rafi has been brilliant from start to finish, this frame has not had an easy birth (issues beyond his control) but he really has gone above and beyond expectations here, culminating in an invite to his shed to build the bike, (where he was able to machine some unexpectedly required spacers there and then) before taking me out for a shakedown ride on some equally impressive local trails. Truly a day to remember.
Also, unexpected delays have been a royal pain in the arse, Plague, war and famine, plus errors have meant this ‘quick and easy’ build has had some choice language been screamed, but all that is forgotten now. Something something, character building, something something.
I’m beyond happy with how this has turned out and funnily enough, no plans to change anything.
This lollipop certainly looks good enough to lick. We apologise to any of Tom’s dependents and creditors for having asked him to rummage around on the internet, it’s clearly been a costly role. For all those that read his articles and squawk ‘how much?!’ or wonder ‘who buys this stuff?’, you have your answer. What’s your favourite component? Are there any that make you go ‘meh’? Head to the comments!
Thanks to Rafi Richardson of Rå for the pictures.
While you’re here, we’d like to draw your attention to our World Bicycle Relief fundraiser. If you’ve experienced the joy of a new bike day, you’ll know how great it is. Now imagine you get given a bike, and it changes your life, giving you and your family access to education, employment or healthcare. Through World Bicycle Relief, you’ve got the power to make that happen, and if you can spare a little, we invite you to make your donation here.
