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Rob English Glow Bike lights up the night in Seattle

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English-front-angle

We’ve seen some pretty sick custom builds from Rob English in the past, proving he’s one of the most creative frame builders around. He’s also pretty darn good at making steel both aero and lightweight.

But for this Seattle customer, English Cycles used paint to make a commuter bike really stand out, especially at night. Featuring a special “Glowbee” clearcoat that glows in the dark, it will definitely be seen on the roads after the sun goes down.

See what happens when the lights go out below…

English-Side English-Glowing-in-the-Dark

Click to enlarge images. Featuring disc brakes, 11-speed internal gear hub, Gates Carbon Drive system, tubeless tires, full fenders, an Ergon seat post and Niner eccentric bottom bracket, the total weight with pedals is just over 23 pounds.

English-Belt

The coupling for the frame to insert the belt is very well hidden, take a look at the bolt that goes into the chainstay from the inside of the dropout.

English-Monostay

Rob crashed pretty hard last year, messing up his arm so much that it is still in a sling. Thankfully, it has healed enough that he is back building his beautiful bikes (albeit using an inner tube as a sling, from what we hear), and we hope he gets to full recovery soon.

EnglishCycles.com

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15 Comments
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mateo
mateo
9 years ago

Love Rob’s bikes!

gatouille
gatouille
9 years ago

It’s one of my favorite framebuilder. Creative, single custom product, quality, very clean.
Belt coupling on this frame is a good idea. Maybe not “mechanical” but very esthetic.
Always pleased to see his new creation.

will
will
9 years ago

Absolutely gorgeous, as per usual.

Rich
Rich
9 years ago

That’s pretty beautiful work. Really love the hidden Gates coupling.

Greg
Greg
9 years ago

Very nice

King County
King County
9 years ago

I used Krylon Glo In The Dark paint, years ago, but my bike wasn’t as nice and tech as this ride. That hidden bolt at the coupling section looks excellent. That is a good weight, especially with the internal hub.

Colin
Colin
9 years ago

Rob, knock it off, this is TOO cool.

Gabs
Gabs
9 years ago

stunning frame-coupling! the best that i have ever seen…. by far!

love your work!

john
john
9 years ago

Man, Rob English builds some cool bikes, I’ve never lusted after a city/commuter bike before this. Think I might want a set of rack braze-ons added, though.

onion
onion
9 years ago

If you’re interested in a rack, Rob has one of the slickest ways to integrate it into the frame. Check them out (on many of his belt bikes) on his website.

GreasedUpDeafGuy
GreasedUpDeafGuy
9 years ago

oh man, that hidden frame break is awesome! super sweet rig.

BEERTECH
BEERTECH
9 years ago

This is why I was excited to be able to contribute to his “help” fund after his accident. I’m nowhere near able to afford his bikes but just seeing how innovative and clean his designs are makes my day. Rob – hope you’re healing up well and so glad to see you back in the saddle, so to speak.

Superb
Superb
9 years ago

I reckon this guy as to go down as one of the most innovative custom frame builders of all time.

Hey Bike Rumour why not run a poll? The:

‘TOP 10 MOST INNOVATIVE CUSTOM FRAME BUILDERS IN HISTORY’

Note: It’s custom frame builders, not PRODUCTION frame builders, or just designers.

In the list:
-Rob English
-Would Tom Ritchey or Keith Bontrager be in there? (Okay maybe an exception as strictly speaking these guys were more production builders)
-Rene Herse?

Ace
Ace
9 years ago

WOW!!This ones a stunner—beautiful!

satisFACTORYrider
satisFACTORYrider
9 years ago

That’s flawless

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