I have been riding and racing bikes in one form or another for most of my life. From BMX to Mountain Bike, Road, Cross and now Gravel, I’ve had a life-long passion for two-wheeled machines. So, when I found out there was a custom titanium builder in my own backyard, I was very excited to check out Mannmade Cycles.
After a few back-and-forth introductory emails, I met Graham Mann for the first time at his shop just outside Sherwood Park, Alberta. After a firm handshake, Graham spent the next 10 minutes showing me around the shop and describing his process. His deep passion and knowledge for bikes combined with his skills as a machinist and welder were clear. I knew pretty quick that I wanted Graham to build my next bike.
Graham immediately put me at ease and took the time to listen to my ideas and thoughts. We chatted through my riding and racing history, we discussed what I like and dislike about the bikes I’ve owned. We talked about how I plan to use the bike, how they work well for me and the limitations I’d experienced with off-the-shelf brands. I asked Graham to build me a gravel bike that I could race but that I could also ride comfortably all day. Graham listened and I could tell he was already building me solutions in his head.
After a couple hours of hand waving, our first meeting ended with a bunch of notes and rough ideas and I left feeling excited about the possibilities.
Graham was also excited about the build and wasted no time getting me a basic design and specification workup. It was a great place to start and gave us a powerful tool to discuss all aspects of customization.
During my next visit to Graham’s shop, I brought a cyclocross bike I felt comfortable on, and we started to discuss geometry in more detail. I next got a professional bike fit and, combined with the measurements from my cross bike, we started to put together a frame design.
The next steps in the process are where Graham’s skills as a builder and his understanding of bike geometry really came through. We started adjusting the frame to fulfill my needs for a fast, light bike that would also ride all day. Graham and I adjusted form and function in several ways, including lengthening the seat stays to improve compliance, curving the top tube to give better handling and smoothed out the chain stay correction curve to create a stable wheelbase without compromising tire clearance or drivetrain choices. Graham fussed over headtube angle and seat tube curve to ensure the bike could go fast in a straight line as well as be agile enough for a cyclocross race.
When it came time to select components for the bike, Graham had lots of great ideas and knowledge on compatibility but was also open to my preferences and we ended up with a beautiful machine reasonably outfitted with every component purpose chosen.
During the build I asked Graham to extend himself outside his normal practices, including some innovative frame geometry, some new blasting media for a super dark matt finish and anodizing deep into the green spectrum to match the Chris King “Jade” coloured components. Graham was incredibly generous with his willingness to take chances and I never doubted his skills as a builder would keep us from going too far off script.
The result is nothing short of spectacular!!!! Mannmade Cycles built me a custom titanium bike that is light, fast, agile, and comfortable. We named the bike Grann Athas, translated from ancient Gaelic meaning “Gritty Joy”.
Grann Athas is not only the most beautiful bike I have ever seen, but she is an absolute rocket ship!!!!!
The first time I climbed aboard, I was struck by how familiar the bike felt and fit. My second impression was the speed. They say titanium is “alive” and I’m not sure I understood exactly what that meant until I turned the first few pedal strokes on Grann Athas. The bike accelerated like a cross bike and came up to speed like a road bike, smooth and powerful.
In the first month of owning this bike I have raced it twice and confirmed it’s very fast. I also took it on a 200km all-day adventure and tested its comfort. I plan to race the bike this coming cross season and have no doubt it will handle as well as it looks.
Thank you Graham, for building me an amazing bike, but also for making the experience so enjoyable. It has been an absolute pleasure and I can't wait to start our next project.
