Bikes and Builders of 2025 Bespoked Manchester (Part 3)

Buttoning up this week’s show coverage is Bikes and Builders of 2025 Bespoked Manchester Part 3. Featuring yet another Alonukis bike, the inestimable Ted James’s trail bike, the future of gravel bikes, and one quite literally made from wood and linen, this final look at the fantastic attendees of this custom bike show is quite the bookend to a memorable year. Dive in below.

Axalko link

Euskadi, Spain

Meeting Felipe of Axalko was about as interesting as the bike itself. Drawn to the bike by nature of its material, Felipe explained the almost magical nature of this Basque-based bike company. Harvesting wood that’s local to the small manufacturing facility amid the forest of northern Spain, the Axalko Gravel was made of entirely bio-based materials. Using a combinations of wood and linen for most of its construction, each Axalko bike is made by hand. They take about 700 manufacturing hours to complete, and due to the nature of the construction, are unique to each rider.

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Having familial roots in Spain myself, I was glad I was able to listen to Felipe in his native tongue. The story and nature of Axalko seemed like a fairy tale. Named after the fox-like woodland spirit that protects the forest of the Basque Country, Axalko frames are made by hand, from three people in a facility that is largely removed from the rest of civilization. Funnily enough, these creations were something of a drunken bet. Felipe explained that the founder of the company created the first frames just to see if he could, after someone had jokingly asked, “Why would you make a bike out of wood?”

After disappearing into his family’s basement for a few months, he came out with something that resembled what you see here. Coming in at a scant 17.3 pounds without pedals, the Axalko gravel is the bio-based race bike that is bound to turn some heads. As mentioned, each of these has to be made specific for the rider, given the limitations of the materials used and individual weight restrictions requiring more or less material, but the total price of around 4,000 euros isn’t completely unreasonable given what carbon bikes cost these days. The bikes are also UDH compatible, feature the same headtube and bottom bracket standards you might find on a carbon counterpart, and can be made in road, gravel, and urban stylings.

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Ted James link

Gloucester, England

Ted James is a framebuilder’s framebuilder. The MF DOOM of the bespoke cycling industry, his creations are unique, mind-blowing, and a pure form of what it is to create something truly fantastical. Though he’s dazzled at Bespoked before, 2025 was yet another hallmark year for the Gloucester-based builder as he brought a trail bike that could really only come from the mind of someone so experienced. Featuring an adjustment system that allows users to change the bottom bracket height, this full-suspension Pinion trail bike is a brutal, mechanistic prototype dubbed the “Moto-proto.” As a personal tester Ted sought to make for himself before unleashing it on his clients (usually a year, if not a six month minimum waitlist, by the way), Ted was still assembling the bike at four in the morning on the first day of the show. In fact, one of the moveable fixtures in the linkage near the pinion system is using a solid metal bolt from the construction jig to keep it together.

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Of course, after a long day of handshakes and chatting, Ted was eager to take it for a rip. As he gleefully showed me videos of his family ripping massive jumps, I looked down and saw the damage. “Ah yeah, wasn’t even on that bike. My shirt got stuck in the BMX back down to the car. Properly stuck in there now. Gotta take out the wheel!” Using a 27.5-inch rear wheel with a 29er up front, Ted said he wanted to try the bike with 26″ wheel in the rear and a 27.5″ in the front. Speaking to the adjustment he built in just behind the Pinion gear box, Ted said, “I want to have less bikes that can do more stuff. I don’t really like having loads of bikes for different purposes. With the adjustment I built into this, it’s a bike I feel I can pedal long miles, sort of like a cross-country hardtail, but also shred and hit the trails really hard on. It’s obviously asking a lot from the bike, but with the adjustable BB height and chainstay length, as well as horizontal dropouts, you can change the wheel size but also the feel of the bike.”

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The bike also has two positions on those steely rocker plates for greater geometry variation. Built with 140-160 mm of rear travel, the Moto Proto can support a massive range of 120-180mm front travel. Ted also mentioned that he built the shock mounts off the main tubes of the frame for the sake of keeping a similar design for clients while maintain the ability to change tubing profiles to allow for different ride feels. It’s the kind of design work that makes you realize Ted is operating on a completely different level from most people. But, like all of us, he just wants to shred.

Ted James Custom Mini Velo

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Ted also brought a custom belt-drive mini velo he built for a customer. Made of stainless steel and featuring a hand-cut dropout/seatstay splitter for the Rohloff system because Ted thought the off-the-shelf options were too heavy, this tour-ready mini-velo maintains the ability to both support a light load via the custom integrated front rack, while also remaining nimble enough to fit in hotel rooms and small European elevators. The frame style bases itself off of the Cannondale Delta V, which Ted says provides low standover and works quite well for this style of frame.

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Tomo Bikes link

Chertsey, England

Tomo’s apocalypse bike was the star of the expo once we were subject to its racing process, but his more typical tall bike was another creation that more quietly blew people away. Profiled by Cass a while back, Jonathan Thompson is no stranger to tall bikes. Seen as something of a novelty by most of the cycling world, Jonathan takes the creation of his vertically gifted bikes a little more intentionally than simply welding two or even three frames together. Intent on tackling the issue of seeing and being seen over your typical English garden hedge, Jonathan spoke to a greater, more community-focused idea behind the creation of these larger rides.

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“There was a film crew that came down to shoot us riding our tall bikes and they asked how long the ride would take. I had to tell them I really had no idea. Every time I ride these in city centres, people always stop me. They always stop and chat. I think that’s a reason I quite prefer them. They let you connect with people even more than a regular bike does,” he said. A star in the Frankenbiking film that Bespoked played on Saturday night, the culture behind tall bikes is a rich one. Though normal bikes already offer greater means to a sense of community, Tomo’s tall bike took that sentiment and added rocket fuel.

To speak more directly to the rig he brought to the show, it’s based on a “giraffe bike” design from the 19th century and features a folding joint near the bottom bracket. The rack at the rear also offers a bit of stiffness through the construction that braces at the seat stays. Jonathan sought to complete the look of his unique, semi-tall bike by sporting these 700c, wood-vinyl rims. This version features a drum brake, but Jonathan built the bike with the capacity to run proper disc brakes as he intends to tour on it.

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Sideways Bikeslink

Newcastle, England

Although didn’t get to spend too much time with Viola Townsend of Sideways Bikes, I was impressed with what she had in store. Logan got a fair bit of her story last year, but I was unfamiliar with Sideways and thus all the more taken with the nature of her hand-laid carbon frames. At first look, it might seem that Sideways hits at a redundancy in the market. People who want carbon frames are usually performance focused, and they tend to favor weight and other seemingly related performance metrics over qualities more commonly preferred in the bespoke bike space. But as I spoke to her and her partner about the what and why of Sideways, I began to understand.

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Tube-to-tube carbon creation is an uncommon practice for a few reasons. As Viola shared, the mass-production method used to create production carbon frames is simply better at saving weight than the tube-to-tube practice she employs. However, since Viola has the capacity to 3D print her own molds and joints, she has the ability the big brands don’t as far as customizations goes. And that doesn’t just mean geometry, although that alone might be worth the price of admission for folks at the extreme ends of the fit spectrum who still want a carbon bike. Sideways is able to add pretty much anything the customer desires because of the control they hold over the process of the tube-to-tube creation. It’s a pretty cool method of construction that adds an almost artisanal dimension to carbon bikes that most people probably don’t know about. Viola’s history in engineering and design creating components for F1 teams and the like makes her an extremely qualified builder, aside from the fact that some of her early clients have already achieved some impressive personal ultra-distance goals on her early frames.

Alfano Frameworks link

Leicester, England

A framebuilder and bike mechanic, Pete Alfano’s background as a trained archaeologist seems to inform his considered design when it comes to bikes. With a history building frames for about six years, this is Pete’s first year running the workshop full time. His background is in road and gravel riding, but he really just loves solving the problem of framebuilding and being able to work creatively within a space defined by the goals of the project. Such was the remit with his “froad” bike, a task that asked him to create a “gravel” bike that could also fit fat bike tires.

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Per pete, “This bike is the future of gravel. Based around fat bike hub and BB standards, it’s designed to give the customer the chance to enjoy more drop-bar road and gravel riding whilst still making use of his current fat bike components.” With the customer already owning a variety of fat bike bits and bobs, it’s an evolution of the components and riding style they’re already used to. Though this was Pete’s first foray into this style of bike, the symmetry and consideration shown throughout the design is indicative of his experience over the years. With an internally routed front brake, handling that somehow spans a range of several inches without being total crap, and aesthetics that compliment the thick tubing needed for the project, Pete’s “froad” bike was one of the under-discussed gems in Manchester.

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Condor Cycles link

London, England

Condor Cycles is one of the oldest bike shops in London and one that has its own line of bikes. The Bivio is their gravel and bikepacking option, and it’s loaded with mounts, plenty of tire clearance, and many industry standards that make it a great modern option for a do-it-all adventure rig.

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Made in batches the shop contracts out in Italy, the Bivio features a variety of small, relatively unexciting details that add to an altogether valuable package. With clearance up to 60mm in 29er mode, milled CNC dropouts that offer future UDH compatibility through an insert, and middle-of-the-road geometry that extends itself to holding a modest load, the Bivio+ offers an interesting prospect at £1,299 for a frame and fork. With a burly full steel fork that has standard and offset mounting points, this bike could be anything from a basket-bike to a performance machine.

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Asteroid Bikes link

UK

Unveiled in near-final form at this year’s Bespoked UK show, the Asteroid Cargo Bike is a purpose-built cargo machine. From a distance, the Asteroid looks like a familiar front-loader. And, as the designer told me, they’re intent on moving what is currently a split market more toward their front-loading-style models. But as we wheeled it out of the show floor above the pool, a few details stood out. Most notably, it steers via a linkage system at the hub. The system wasn’t fully connected at the show, but the intention is such that the front wheel can sit closer to the cargo platform to make for better handling. With that in mind, it feels like the entire bike is built around real-world usability. It splits into two pieces, which is ideal for anyone dealing with tight stairwells, storage lockers, or the back of a small van. The 20-inch wheels aren’t just a stylistic choice either—they help lower the center of gravity.

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Capacity-wise, it can handle up to 200 kilograms (440 pounds), and you can fit a 400mm, 600mm, or full meter-long front platform, depending on your hauling needs. For folks short on space, the compact 20” version with a 40cm box is actually shorter than a standard bicycle, which means it fits neatly into public bike racks and can even be stored upright in an office corner or hallway. And because e-bike motors and battery systems are all over the map in terms of mounting standards, the Asteroid smartly uses a modular adapter plate to keep things plug-and-play, regardless of what system you’re running. Overall, it’s the kind of thoughtfully designed, future-facing cargo bike that makes a real case for rethinking how we move through cities.

Alonukis Frameworks Too Tired Sidetracker link

Murnau am Staffelsee, Germany

The second of the Alonukis bikes we’re featuring this year won an award at the show. The Sidetracker is a cruise around town, get to work without thinking about the route kind of bike from Johannes that screams fun. Inspired by typical ’90s mountain bike design, it sports incredibly long chainstays, a cork plugged fork, a spoke holder on the rear seat stay, and a few other fun details that pay homage to the bike’s owner. Called, “Too Tired” on Instagram (Sebastian Strobl), the upside-down Columbus tubing bird is a nod to their name and a fun detail that personalizes the frame.

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Constructed with a set of tubes the owner bestowed upon Johannes a few years back, this collaboratively built bike has a number of bespoke additions that make it all the more interesting. With a custom head badge from Vincent Vandaele and paint by B-Schicht Stelle, it’s a deeply custom take on a style of a frame design that has seen a real resurgence in popularity over the last few years. Though it may be simple, the elegance of the frame’s various retro-oriented details strike a near-perfect balance of modern manufacturing capabilities and classic design.

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That’s it from 2025 Bespoked Manchester! Let us know your favorites from the show in the conversation below, and if you missed them, find our first two installments and some other gems from the archive in the Further Reading. Thanks for reading!

Further Reading

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