We setup a Surly Long Haul Trucker for Colin in preparation for a round-Australia bicycle tour late last year. This email just came through from Colin with an update about how it’s been going.

>Hi Bill & Lewis & Moz & Joel & Val & Teagan & whoever else I’ve forgotten
> who worked on my Surly Long Haul Trucker
>
> Just thought I’d drop you a line to say thanks for all your help in getting
> set up for my Round Australia trip.
>
> I’m writing this in Gladstone (about 100 …

We can sum it up simply: comfort and durability. The Brooks range includes sprung and unsprung saddles, women’s and men’s designs, a full range of spare parts and all the accessories you could imagine.
I’ve got to admit to a bad habit. I like doing tricks on my bike. Joel calls it ‘extreme riding’. I just call it fun. Except when I stack, which happens sometimes. Whether you saddle abrades from an unexpected fall or from leaning it against your garden fence, over time this can be the death of a …

So the time has finally come to unveil the bike I’ve been dreaming about for the last year or so. Taking LittlePixel’s idea, from bikeforums.net I’ve cooked up my own version of a fixed-wheel Brompton.
Starting with a 2009 S1E Brompton in clear laquer, I built a wheelset around Velocity Aerohead rims with a Phil Wood hub at the rear and a Pantour suspension hub at the front. I’m running on slick Schwalbe Stelvio tyres.
I’m running a cut-down Soma Noah’s Arc bar, clad in Velo Orange elkhide leather sleeves matched up …