Bird Cycleworks, a brand new British mountain bike brand, has broken cover with the first of its 650b-only frames.
The first frame to fly the nest – well, it’s fledgling because it’s on pre-order until June – is the Bird Zero, a 6061 aluminium hardtail with forged chainstays, stealth routing and a 142x12 rear axle. The Zero is available as a frameset only or in one of five high-end builds, says the company.
While the fact that the bikes are designed and built in the UK is interesting (the frames are actually made in Taiwan) in itself, it’s the business model and service that could be most attractive: Bird sells direct to customers, so prices are competitive, and the company offers a lifetime transferrable warranty on its products.
Perched at the top of the range bike is the Zero.AM (£2,000), which is fitted out with a RockShox Pike 150mm/120mm Dual Air fork, Hope Hoops Pro2 Evo, RaceFace Atlas cranks, Hayes Lightweight discs and Shimano XT shifter.
At the bottom of the pecking order is the Zero.4, a Shimano 2x10 bike kitted with an X-Fusion Velvet fork, a RaceFace Turbine 650b wheelset and Shimano Deore brakes.
Bird Cycleworks is nested near Swinley in Berkshire and was hatched in 2013 by three founding partners: Ben Pinnick, Dan Hodge and Dave Cutts. For a bird’s eye view of the all the bikes, visit Bird Cycleworks.
