Custom road bike: Building the right bike for the right users
When Akif was looking to get himself a single-speed road bike, he realised that there were barely any options available from a local manufacturer. This was when – and how – Akif decided to build a custom bicycle of his own
If you live in Dhaka and are looking to buy a bicycle, chances are, you'll probably be thinking of visiting Old Dhaka's Bangshal Cycle Market - the largest cycle market in Bangladesh. There you'll find a variety of bicycles for sale, both from local manufacturers as well as established international brands.
However, given the country's road conditions and lack of proper cycle lanes, commuter bicycles or geared mountain bikes dominate the market due to their high demand. And so, when Akif was looking to get himself a single-speed road bike, he realised that there were barely any options available from a local manufacturer.
And though he had the option to preorder from abroad, the total price for such a bike (including the shipping fees and the duty) wasn't justifiable to him, especially for the specifications they offered.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
This was when Akif decided to build a custom bicycle of his own.
Looking through local custom bike workshops, he came across Bikesmith, one of the largest custom hand-made bicycle manufacturers in Bangladesh. Founded in 2013 by Md Abu Noman Shaikat, the workshop specialises in the manufacturing of custom bicycles which are manufactured in-house by specifically taking into consideration the body structure of the individual customer.
One advantage of building a custom bike is that users have the option to choose each and every component that would be used in the bicycle. However, custom bicycles aren't only about making bicycles with one's favourite specifications.
Although many models do have a small range of frame sizes to choose from, most of them are designed as per European body measurements as Bangladesh is one of the largest exporter of bicycles to the European market. This means the limited variety of sizes still doesn't guarantee the most optimised bicycle shape for Bangladeshi riders.
"When I visited Bikesmith to talk about building my custom road bike, they asked me whether I wanted it for casual rides, daily commutes or for delivery work even before they asked me about my budget," said Akif in an interview with The Business Standard.
"After mentioning that I intend to use it for some casual rides, the owner of Bikesmith who's usually the mastermind behind all their builds, measured my height, length of my legs, shoulder etc. before giving me a price quotation for my custom bike."
For the customisation process, Bikesmith takes the measurement of the customer's lower part of the navel to the upper part. Following that, the length of the arms, the width of the shoulder and the distance of the feet from the ground.
Once the measurement process is complete, a 3D illustration model of the bicycle is made on a computer based on which Bikesmith begins the final step of manufacturing the bike itself.
"While other bicycle workshops can source the frames and assemble the parts to build a perfect bike, chances are that the shape of the bike might not be the optimal one for the specific user it is built for," Md. Abu Noman Shaikat said in an interview with The Business Standard. "Hence, we manufacture the bicycle frames ourselves after taking appropriate measurements of the rider we're building them for."
A single speed road-bike is as simple as a bicycle can get in terms of its mechanics. These are designed to be lightweight to ensure riders can ride for long hours and reach decent speeds.
Thus, the body of Akif's custom road bike was built from locally sourced aluminium alloy pipes of various diameters, carefully welded to maintain the angles as per the rider's height and body posture.
The drivetrain consists of a single-speed crankset from Prowheel paired with KMC single-speed chain and Meghna freewheel with Wellgo pedals. The 29-inch alloy rims are locally sourced by Bikesmith and are wrapped with Mtrax 700*23 tires with Quando alloy hubs in the centre.
Akif wanted the bike's look to be similar to high-end racing bikes so he opted for drop bar brake levers fitted to an NL400mm drop bar handlebar with a Wake 31.8 stem in the centre. Being a lightweight bike, a traditional V-brake set with callipers sourced from Tektro suited it well enough.
When it came to the paint job, Akif's first choice was a custom white paint he sourced from his friend's workshop.
"Even before I went to Bikesmith for my custom bicycle, I had already decided to paint it in this custom shade of pearl-white with purple flakes," the cyclist mentioned. "The only two vehicles to be ever painted in this custom colour are my bike and my friend's Toyota Celica GT-Four."
Bikesmith took about a month to deliver the bicycle to Akif and the whole project cost him Tk21,000. Their workshop's only branch is located in the capital's Mohammadpur area where founder Noman Shaikat directly takes part in handling most of the operations of the production process from computer illustrations to the welding job and even the painting process.
"Riding it for the first time, I instantly started to realise the importance of getting the right size bicycle for the riders. I was blown away by how easy it was to cover distances compared to my old BMX and even compared to my friend's off-the-shelf Core Fixie," Akif said.
Purchasing a bike with similar specifications to this custom Fixe would cost almost the same if sourced from abroad or even cost one-third the price if one plans to get a commuter bike from a local cycle brand.
However, what these riders would miss out on is the option to add a personal touch, the choice of specifications and most importantly, the right size that fits its user. Besides, if anyone is in the market for a single-speed road bike, then the only way to get one is to build a custom model like Akif Hamid.
Specification:
Frame Set:
Frame: Bikesmith 4041 aluminium alloy
Fork: Bikesmith 4041
Drivetrain:
Crankset: Prowheel Single
Chain: KMC
Cassette Freewheel: Meghna
Brakes:
Lever: Alloy drop bar brake lever single
Calliper: Tektro
Wheelset:
Hubs: Quando Alloy
Rims: Bikesmith alloy
Tires: Mtrax-700*23
