Reader’s Rig: Will’s Brother Cycles Mehteh

Words by Will Meyer (@thisiswilma), photos by Tom Farrell (@fomtaz) and Pannier (@panniercc)

My name is Will Meyer and I’m one of the co-founders (and brothers) behind Brother Cycles. For most of my adult life I lived in London. However, three years ago I made the move out to the Margate on the Kent coast for a slower pace of life and to be closer to nature. Around the same time we also moved the business out of the city, which turned out to be one of best decisions ever. We now have a workshop on a farm with plenty of space to run the business from—something we always struggled with in London!

I’m lucky to have some pretty good cycling on my doorstep, with coastal trails heading off in both directions. People don’t often associate Kent with great cycling, but if you spend some time looking there are some really fun gravel tracks and bridleways criss-crossing the countryside.

My real passion is bigger, more adventurous trips, weekends spent exploring remote parts of the country, usually off-road and with a night or two in a bothy, YHA Hut, or just outside in a bivvy. Last year, I was lucky enough to get out on the bike quite a lot. The Cambrian Mountains in Wales and the Central Highlands of Scotland were definite highlights.

I don’t cycle for fitness and I’m not that fussed about miles ridden or feet climbed. I’m just after that sense of adventure that even the smallest ride can give you.

I built this bike for a specific trip to Scotland with the guys from Pannier.cc, who wanted to test out a route following some of the Scottish Drove Roads (ancient paths used for walking livestock to market). It sounded like a perfect way to test out our new gravel frame, the Mehteh. The terrain would be a mix of everything from tarmac to singletrack and we were heading up in November (after the wettest summer on record since 1984) so we knew conditions would be tough! I went with 700c wheels and some 42mm WTB Resolute tyres. They’re nice and grippy in the mud, but not too sluggish on the road sections. As is usually the case with my bikes, the rest was made up of components we already had in the workshop. I don’t like waste, hence the mashup up of SRAM Apex and Rival! You’ll notice I also put on a little 36T chainring up front to make life easier getting up the steep stuff with a fully loaded bike. I treated myself to some Hope and Thomson components to finish it all off. Pretty happy with how it turned out!

• Frame/Fork Brother Cycles Mehteh (Large)
• Wheels Halo Vapour GXC
• Tires WTB Resolute 42mm
• Handlebars Salsa Cowchipper
• Headset Hope
• Crankset SRAM Rival w/ 36T Superstar Components chainring
• Derailleur SRAM Apex
• Brakes TRP Spyre mechanical
• Shifter(s) SRAM Rival
• Saddle Brooks C15 All Weather
• Seatpost Thomson Elite Layback
• Stem Thomson Elite X4
• Front bags Ortlieb
• Frame bags Ortlieb & Restrap
• Rear bags Ortlieb

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The trip was spectacular, as you can tell from the photos. We’re actually making a film about it called ‘Rainspotting’ so keep an eye out for that a little later in the year. And one last note: the name Mehteh actually comes from a Himalayan word for the mountain dwelling Yeti, which literally translates as ‘Man Beast’!

You can find Will on Instagram @thisiswilma, and Brother Cycles @brothercycles.

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