A handmade bicycle! How quaint! By rights, this should be most people’s reaction when you say the words ‘handmade bicycle’ to them.

But fortunately robots haven’t taken over the world just yet — at least not the bicycle industry — and the work done by skilled human craftsmen is still better than that done by our mechanical masters-in-waiting.

Not had much chance to catch up with the blog recently but here goes…………

Simon Smythe has had the test bike for just over a month now and is getting along with it really well. Apparently there is a six page feature on the bike in Cycling Active next month, it makes a change for them to have a real frame from a proper UK manufacturer (not just a glorified box opener).

Test bike is well on schedule now. The finished frame was taken down to Gerry at C & G Finishes for the paint job (blue frost). The frame came back looking superb 1 week later and was built up to Simon’s own spec with the new Shimano Ultegra 2012 Glossy Grey groupset.

It’s funny isn’t it?  It never rains but it pours, in my case it seems to be raining wheels & frames!

I’ve got a couple of hundred custom built wheels to finish, a stack of new bike orders on the go and yet I have still found time to finish Simon Smyth’s custom frame/bike for Cycling Weekly’s long term test.

Cycling Weekly invented the BBAR. Now we have a new competition for time trialling tinkerers like Simon Smythe.

The latest addition to the Hinde frame range is made for more than just racing. If you’re after a versatile performer that will excel at any task, look no further.

Dave Hinde’s new range of race bikes offers a great value route to a truly responsive ride.

The new Dave Hinde Race range of frames are designed with one purpose in mind: to race. This isn’t as obvious as it sounds. There are a lot of frames out there at the moment with geometry better suited to sportives or training. As Dave himself says: “The Race series is aimed solely and squarely at the entry-level road racer. We have had many requests for a standard geometry road race frame at a reasonable price, this is our response.” The result is a no-nonsense race frame that will give you many years of service without breaking the bank.