samc
Retro Guru
Finished in 5-speed, with 90s Bontrager carbon brake levers (ok they’re late 90s, sure), Ritchey SPDs, Stronglight, Suntour bits and it's even got a Mt Zefal bottle now! The saddle’s a bit modern but apart from that. It’s been such a joy rebuilding and restoring it, stripped down to every single bearing and cleaned/protected right up to completion.
Quick back story on why building this Silk Road was so special for me; my dad died a few years ago, he and I didn’t have much in common but bikes was one thing. Near the end of his life he fulfilled his dream and had a steel frame (F Wilson) custom built for him in the north of England, and truth be told that bike is extraordinary. I can’t bear to take the thing further than around the block, but it’s clearly a work of art. Growing up, I was always more a mountain biker, and though dad’s bike is waiting, mint, in an attic, it still feels like ‘his’.
In the 1990s, Cannondale was always my dream kit, I was so inspired by the engineering risks they took, and went on to study industrial design and build and restore bikes for years. But never road bikes, that was always dad’s thing. But he’s been gone a while now and maybe part of the latter grief has been tackling some of my own hang-ups. So.
This is the Silk Road, part mountain bike, all racer.
This is my bike, it’s not perfect but I’m using it. Took it for a shakedown 50k on Friday; fastest ffckng thing I’ve ever ridden!
Quick back story on why building this Silk Road was so special for me; my dad died a few years ago, he and I didn’t have much in common but bikes was one thing. Near the end of his life he fulfilled his dream and had a steel frame (F Wilson) custom built for him in the north of England, and truth be told that bike is extraordinary. I can’t bear to take the thing further than around the block, but it’s clearly a work of art. Growing up, I was always more a mountain biker, and though dad’s bike is waiting, mint, in an attic, it still feels like ‘his’.
In the 1990s, Cannondale was always my dream kit, I was so inspired by the engineering risks they took, and went on to study industrial design and build and restore bikes for years. But never road bikes, that was always dad’s thing. But he’s been gone a while now and maybe part of the latter grief has been tackling some of my own hang-ups. So.
This is the Silk Road, part mountain bike, all racer.
This is my bike, it’s not perfect but I’m using it. Took it for a shakedown 50k on Friday; fastest ffckng thing I’ve ever ridden!
