TV chef, environmentalist, writer and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall lives within riding distance of his famous River Cottage cafe, cooking school and venue in east Devon.
Rather than rely on a car to get between his farm home and the River Cottage, Fearnley-Whittingstall turned to award-winning bike designer and builder Darron Coppin of Sven Cycles.
That initial collaboration led to the Forager – a do-it-all cargo bike designed for off-road foraging excursions.
Fearnley-Whittingstall found the Forager a brilliant bike for day-to-day riding, birdwatching trips and as a vehicle to take him foraging for the wild fruit, veg and herbs that have made his cuisine world famous.
But the severely steep hills in his corner of Devon proved a bit much for him. For instance, the River Cottage is at the bottom of a 10 per cent gradient gravel road. This is a challenge on a lightweight gravel bike – on a heavyweight cargo bike, it's fierce.
So the Forager was auctioned and the proceeds went to the Soil Association.
Meanwhile, Fearnley-Whittingstall commissioned Coppin to produce a motor-equipped Forager replacement, and thus the River Cottage Rambler was born.
“The Rambler was created with my daily use in mind, so it must be able to cope with those crazy Devon hills and do a lot of what the Forager did, with plenty of storage for taking my bits and bobs”, says Fearnley-Whittingstall.
A Devon-proof motor and frameset
The heart of the Rambler is a fully custom Reynolds 853 steel frame.
The initial design was built around a lightweight rear hub motor, but after testing it around the double-digit ascents in Devon, it was decided the motor didn’t have the torque required to move a laden bike uphill efficiently.
Coppin reworked the frame and installed a Shimano Steps 7000 mid-drive unit.
The battery is mounted on the down tube inside a custom framebag made from recycled sails.
The bike also uses a Shimano Alfine Di2 internal gear hub. This syncs with the motor so it can be run as a fully automatic gearbox.
The details on the frame blend the beautiful with the beautifully practical.
For example, the twin downtubes of the step-through frame have been left raw (though highly polished), as Coppin knew that getting on and off the bike in walking boots or wellingtons would soon scratch or scuff paint.
Leaving the metal unpainted means any marks can simply be polished out.
Green machine
To meet Fearnley-Whittingstall’s green credentials, Coppin also custom-made full-length mudguards from flax (he usually makes these full guards from carbon fibre).
Even the beautiful golden yellow primrose-toned paint is water-based.
While these concessions to reducing the impact of the bike are admirable, Fearnley-Whittingstall says “the real kind of value from an environmental point of view is the longevity of [the bike]... you know Darron's bikes are just made to last and last and last”.
Luggage fit for foraging
The front rack is also custom-made and further storage comes from a set of traditional Carradice pannier bags made from traditional waxed duck canvas.
On top of the rack, Coppin fabricated a platform using Fidlock’s clever twist-lock fittings (these are more commonly found on water bottles and cages).
These are used to attach the custom-made wicker basket that Fearnley-Whittingstall uses for his frequent foraging rides or trips to the local shops.
The build
The remainder of the build uses a polished bar, stem, and post and a well-worn-in classic sprung Brooks B67 saddle. The tyres are Schwalbe’s tough puncture-resistant and hard-wearing Big Ben’s.
We’ll leave the last word to Fearnley-Whittingstall on the River Cottage Rambler:
“The bike is beautiful, but it's serviceable – It has to be maintainable, long-term.
“It's great to have a bike that you think is in the family for good... I have been riding it, and will for decades to come.
"I think it's rather like that sort of slightly pretentious [Patek Philippe] watch advert – you don't really own a whatever it is, you just look after it for the next generation.
“Well, this bike is a bit like that. I don't really own it, I'm just looking after it".
