Celebrated UK framebuilder Ricky Feather has helped set up an exclusive six-man racing team, and he is currently building the squad’s fleet of custom steel bikes.
Feather Cycles Racing is far from a standard trade squad however – it’s an invite-only team whose members include Rapha marketing manager James Fairbank and photographer Kendal Noctor. So no prizes for guessing which company is supplying the kit.
Feather said inspiration for the team came from a desire to resurrect the dead tradition of framebuilders supplying bikes to local riders or teams – and also to compete in local races with his mates.
“Riding with the York Cycleworks lads gave me the itch to race, but I've always been one to do my own thing," Feather said. "So rather than join a club, James and I started to throw around the idea of starting our own racing team, a very tight-knit, DIY effort. This is the next step for Feather Cycles and my personal favourite part of running it – hand-crafting bikes for your mates and riding them together.”
The frames are still to be completed but if they are anything like Feather’s award winning bikes from years past, they are likely to be extremely pretty.
The team will race at events in Yorkshire and London.
The team and race kit will be unveiled at the UK Handbuilt Bike Show, Bespoked, between 11-13 April at the Lee Valley Velodrome in London.