2025 Bespoked UK Day 03: Aeight, Antidote, Asteroid, Auckland, Ballern, Dawley, Gaza Sunbirds, Hrok, Jaegher, No-Ni, Shand, Wizard Works – John Watson | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

Bespoked UK has long been on John’s “must-see” list of framebuilder showcases, and this year, he finally got to attend the UK event. Read on for a jam-packed gallery, oozing with fillets, finishes, and more from some of his favorites during day 03 at the 2025 Bespoked UK!

The Radavist thanks Tailfin for supporting our 2025 Bespoked UK coverage and our independent Reportage!

Æight Bike Company Axe Drop-Bar 29er

Glen from Æight Bike Company has been building frames for twelve years. His company name is named after a mashup of his childhood favorite bike company, Seven, and the name Æthelwealh, who was the first king of the Sussex area where his shop is presently located. This Axe model is Æight’s hardtail, and originally Glen rode it with flat bars.

Wanting something more fast-paced for beach racing, he built it up as it sits today and decided to do a refresh on the frame. Glen contacted Velofique, his only instruction: “Do as you wish.” The resulting paint job is one of wonder and awe, with a dark, deep, dank forest scheme up front, faded to a candle-smoke-striped rear. As I circled the bike, I couldn’t help but admire not only the execution of the paint but the detail within the depths of this Mirkwood-looking forest.

Glen’s bike was a show highlight for me. The custom Cerakote Hope Pro5 Hubs by Cerakote Up North are delightful! Glen, it was a pleasure to hang out and learn about your bike that afternoon. Cheers, mate.

@ÆightBikeCo

Antidote Pathseeker Full Suspension Gravel Bike with Garbaruk Components

Kraków, Poland-based Antidote Bikes has been pushing the possibilities for carbon fiber manufacturing since 2014. In that time, they’ve become best known for their mountain bikes and have won a number of awards, including the Design & Innovation Award. Having debuted last week, the Antidote Pathseeker is their latest design endeavor. These bikes look sleek and futuristic in the truest sense of the word.

True to the brand’s ethos, the design intent was to start from scratch and re-imagine what suspension could look like with a gravel bike. Antidote developed their own suspension design called NanoFlex. This rear suspension design offers 20 mm of rear travel as the seat stays pivot counter-clockwise along an eccentric elastomer to maintain traction while the chainstay flexes. As for the fork, it has 20 mm of suspension travel, with a lock-out knob on the top cap.

As I photographed the bike, light was catching the ornamental carbon weave, added to the frame for mere aesthetics – as structural carbon would have visual inconsistencies. All of the carbon layup manufacturing and finish work is done in-house. The Pathseeker also comes in a hardtail version without the NanoFlex rear suspension, and all models are crafted from carbon fiber and built on a non-boost chassis, complete with internal cable routing.

This particular build was done in conjunction with the Poland-based component manufacturer Garbaruk and features the brand’s new prototype electronic rear derailleur, as well as the brand’s new hubs, spokes, and (outsourced) carbon rims. Full suspension models start at €10,099 to €12,299 for complete bikes, and €4,099 for a frameset which includes the suspension fork, stem, and headset.

@AntidoteBikes

Asteroid Modular Split Cargo Bike

Shown in a almost complete assemblage at Bespoked UK, the Asteroid Cargo Bike is meant to encourage families to go “car light.” Even those living in a small apartment where space is in short supply. Why “Asteroid?” Well, when an asteroid hits earth, these will be a great solution for transport. ;-) As Steveo, the creator of the design, from Asteroid and I began to wheel the bike out of the show, I noticed it steered via linkage at the hub – while it wasn’t completely connected at the show, the intent was there.

Hub steering allows the front wheel to be closer to the load, making a shorter wheelbase, which helps with steering and handling. Cargo Bikes have an inherent wobble, due to the conventional fork. “Hub-Steering” hubs do not wobble, making them ideal for Cargo Bikes.

The bike breaks into two pieces, making transport easy and the smaller, 20″ wheels keeps the center of gravity low for transporting cargo or children. With a 200 kg (440 lb) Max weight, Asteroid can be configured to have a 400 mm, 600 mm or, 1 meter front loading platform. The Asteroid 60cm option will keep the load safe and low, allowing you to carry three kids plus groceries, or as your kids grow, the family dog can come along too. The 20inch model with 40cm box is shorter than a regular bike, so that you can use secure public bike lockups or vertical storage in the corner of the office. All of the e-bike motors and batteries use different mounting systems, so Asteroid has a modular adapter plate.

@AsteroidCargo

Auckland Cycle Works Marra V2.3 Full Suspension

Around 2002, Gary Ewing was riding around the Peak District on a full-suspension bike with Mike Hall, known to many for his legendary status as a Tour Divide and ultra-distance racer (ride in peace, Mike). Gary mused that the dominant theory for calculating anti-squat forces in the rear triangle assumed the swingarm and chain formed a triangle, but the vertical height of the cassette meant it couldn’t be a triangle, it had to be a parallelogram. Mike commented to Gary that the answer for this could be building a bike with suspension, in Mike’s words, “Kind of like a rearward pivot.” The idea stuck in Gary’s mind.

After Mike’s untimely death in 2017, Gary was riding around Hamsterley Forest, on a nicely balanced 4-bar Horst Link full sus, near his Inspiral Cycles bike shop in Bishop Auckland, Northeast England. Gary was pondering questions about braking anti-rise when realized that he could test the rearward pivot idea, challenge the existing theory, and pay homage to his friend Mike at the same time. The Marra was born… but it took a while to refine.

The first prototype was very rough test mule that proved there were opportunities to make improvements over existing conventional designs. Gary’s Eureka moment came in 2021 and he named his KOLARP (Kind Of Like A Rearward Pivot) suspension platform after Mike’s cryptic comment. The first Marra and Reiver bikes were awarded the Mike Burrows’ Award for Innovation at Bespoked in London 2022.

Branded as Auckland Cycle Works, after the original 1890’s cycle factory in his home town, Gary and his wife Fiona have brought more refined, tried and tested bikes to Bespoked in Dresden and Manchester. The Marra pictured here is version 2.3. Now, v2.4 is ready for bespoke custom orders.

Check out Auckland Cycle Works’ YouTube for a nifty video showcasing suspension system animation using Legos!

@AucklandCycleWorks

Ballern Cycle Works Bügeleisen Full Suspension

There are four meanings for the word Ballern in German:

To do copious amounts of drugs and rage all night
To shoot heavy artillery into the air, indiscriminately
To drive recklessly at the risk of personal and population harm
To ride head off, legs on

Bennet from Ballern might dabble in each, perhaps minus the driving. His Bügeleisen full suspension won “Best MTB” at Bespoked UK and it’s easy to see why at first glance. Translating to “pressing iron,” the Bügeleisen is meant to smooth out the trail, creating a traction-filled riding experience.

“Inspired” by the kinematics of a Specialized Epic EVO, the bike literally uses the yoke and linkage from an off-the-shelf model, as well as the custom-painted SID Ultimate fork that shipped on the EVO model. Bennet had help from BTR on the lower main pivot bearing design and even “borrowed” tubing from Konstantin from Drust Bikes. The rear shock lockout cable is internally routed, and he left the step-down shim in the seat tube brass hole and the line exposed under the red metal fleck clear.

He fillet brazed the front triangle but decided to TIG weld the rear swing arm, mostly for clearance issues in the tighter connections. For these joints, he used stainless filler rod for its higher tensile strength. The Bügeleisen is a 105/110 mm travel bike with a 66.6º (hell, yeah!) head tube, 74.5º seat tube, and 437 mm chainstays. The custom Wizard Works framebag and front bag really tie the room together, dude.

Oh yeah, and he built this after finishing a 60-page thesis project: a frame fixture. Truly impressive.

@BallernCycleWorks

Dawley Bikes T16 Blackest Ever Black Full Suspension

While not officially on display at the 2025 Bespoked UK, Dawley Bikes had the latest model of its renowned T16 full-suspension bike on display at the Schwalbe tires booth. Painted so dark that the logo was barely visible, this bike was a proper sleeper, but eagle-eyed Dawley fans will notice a new prototype rear sliding dropout design that the small manufacturer is currently developing. This allows for a tunable rear center to fully take advantage of the 115 mm rear travel of the bike.

I’ve long been intrigued by these bikes, so seeing one in person was a real treat. Knowing the price for a frame is only £1,800 makes owning one a likelihood at some point.

@DawleyBikes

Gaza Sunbirds Para-Cycling Adaptive Prototype

During a peaceful protest, members of the Gaza Sunbirds, a Palestinian cycling club, were fired upon by Israeli forces using exploding bullets. This resulted in several of the members needing amputation above the knee, due to the toxic slag emitted by the exploding rounds. To make matters worse, medical treatment, rehabilitation, and even prostheses have been impossible to access within the country, and travel visas for treatment have been denied. Never relenting, the Sunbirds continue to ride, but losing your leg above the knee makes it very hard to pedal a bicycle.

Unlike an amputation below the knee, which allows for a prosthetic leg, losing a leg above the kneecap limits mobility further, as your hips tend to pedal as usual – your body does not know it has lost a leg. This rocking motion can lead to significant inefficiencies, so a brace was required. Hoping to help out, several UK builders teamed up and developed a proof-of-concept prototype for the Sunbirds: a carbon “stub” cover with a cleat that bolts to an adjustable arm, which clamps onto a seatpost. This allows the amputee’s leg to be inserted into the carbon fiber sleeve, locking the rider’s hip in place and allowing the other leg to drive power to the pedal with efficiency.

The rider can then adjust the positioning of the stub sleeve with a series of linkages to lock the amputated leg in position. This prototype is not a final product; it’s an innovation and a call to action for manufacturers to help develop a more refined one. The Sunbirds are working tirelessly to help the people of Palestine by establishing a mutual aid fundraiser, and cycling has given them hope and a collective goal.

If you are a mechanical engineer, industrial designer, or anyone who would like to help in the para-cycling team’s efforts, contact the team at Gaza Sunbirds. Framebuilder showcases like Bespoked are often the home for innovation in the cycling industry, and it’s amazing to see the platform working within its community for the betterment of survivors of war. Tailwinds to the Sunbirds.

@GazaSunbirds

Stout Cycles Hrok Drop Bar 29er

Named after the corvid family of birds, the Hrok, pronounced “rook,” is a drop-bar 29er with finished welds and a beautiful green paint job. Russell Stout was a co-founder of Shand Cycles along with Steven Shand, and in 2018, he left the company after it sold to a technology conglomerate. After spending some time deciding what to do with his talents, Stout taught himself to weld aluminum and focused on his frame painting company, Big Bada-Boom.

Russell noted that his welds aren’t smooth enough to display on the frame without being smoothed down and that he’s enjoyed returning to framebuilding. The Hrok presents a wonderfully minimal and sensible approach to the drop bar mountain bike category, and its beautiful silhouette was the only aluminum bike I documented (or could find) at Bespoked UK.

“Why aluminium? Well, why not?” he said to me, noting that he thinks it’s an overlooked material in the bespoke framebuilder community. It’s easier to work with than steel, lighter, and more resistant to corrosion. For Russell, who builds from his home, keeping overhead down is crucial. Working with this material is also more cost-effective for machining or CNCing small parts without resorting to 3D printing or other processes in steel.

@StoutCycles

Jaegher FLX Hurricane Gravel Bike

Back in 2016, I documented the Belgium-based stainless steel framebuilders Jaegher Cycles at the Berliner Fahrradschau. It was nice to reconnect with the brand’s clean lines and stunning finish work almost ten years later at Bespoked UK. Each of the brand’s bike models is named after planes, and this FLX Hurricane featured a stunning spongework finish.

Jaegher works solely with Columbus stainless steel tubing and has the top tube custom-drawn by the Italian tubing manufacturer. They use .7 mm chainstays to highlight stainless’ unique ride characteristics. For maximum bottom bracket stiffness, the brand was an early adopter of the T47 bottom bracket standard, and the integrated cockpit ups the ante of the bike’s sleek silhouette.

@JaegherCycles

No-Ni Cycles Stainless Gravel Touring Bike

Kevin Pollock is a furniture designer and fabricator based in Govan, Glasgow. His love of bicycles moved him to build his first bike frame last year and debut the No-Ni Cycles name. No-Ni is a nickname he had for his sister growing up. That first frame used traditional techniques without any 3D printed components. Ever curious about how 3D printed tech could aid in production for his furniture business, he decided to give it a go on frame number two for his partner, which he displayed at Bespoked.

Most people mistook this frame for titanium, as I did at first when I saw the bike in passing all weekend. It wasn’t until I spotted the silver soldered line around the seat tube cluster intersection while photographing the bike that I realized it was stainless. This gravel touring bike uses 155PH printed parts from Ram 3D in New Zealand and Columbus XCR tubes. The ends of the chainstays were inspired by a furniture detail Pollock used on a previous project, hence their square profile.

My favorite detail on the frame is the fastback seat stays, which elevate the cluster with beautiful minimalism. The Made in Govan, Glasgow on the seat stay bridge is an homage to the Glaswegian shipbuilders who used to add that to the boats they built.

Adorning the headbadge is a badger, or in Gaelic, an ibrox. Kevin, it was a joy to meet you and document frame number two. Well done!

@NoniCycles

Shand Cycles Stramash Gravel

British component manufacturer Rideworks purchased Shand Cycles from the investors who bought the brand from its founders. In doing so, Paul Macdonald, the founder of Rideworks, brought frame production for Shand under one roof. This allows for a more vertically-integrated environment and for the two brands to cohabitate the same PR&D.

Displayed at 2025 Bespoked UK, this Stramash sported a lovely rootbeer paint job with baby blue circles painted as accent pieces. A Stramash in the Scottish tongue is a disturbance, racket, brawl, or uproar. This Rohloff-equipped Stramash was designed for gravel suspension forks and came equipped with a painted-to-match Cane Creek Invert. The SRAM shifters use a Gebla to enable shifting of the Rohloff Speed Hub.

@ShandCycles

Wizard Works and Clandestine

Veronica and Harry from Wizard Works had so many of their sewn-in-London bags adorning the creations of the many talented builders at Bespoked UK. Their collaboration with Pi Mason from Clandestine won them “Best Luggage.” The two UK makers teamed up to produce a specific Carrier Bag for the custom Clandestine front rack, resulting in the Clandestine Carrier.

The bike also featured a custom Partial Frame Bag and a Shazam Saddle Bag in a stunning graphite grey and sea foam fabric that complemented the subtle and fine detailing Pi Mason is known for. Note the dark forest green color of the racks – talk about a truly Beautiful Bicycle.