Run away to the mountains. Stay.
Start a bike company.
That's roughly what happened anyway. Standing at the top of mountain it doesn't seem so high till you look down and see how far you've come. There's always another one to climb though. What we’re doing at this little company is inspired by our adventures in the landscape here in the Alps. It's where I finally took the big leap and started to do something about chasing my ultimate dream.
Nostalgia, technology, design and elbow grease.
We make proper bikes, not show ponies. We use the very latest steel technology and fit methods, combined with progressive geometry, to create beautiful performance machines, that work.
Always handmade, by the best craftsmen in Northern Italy. Tested in the Mountains, where we come up with the ideas. The result is a rad custom bike that makes the road a better place to be, for longer.
Our aesthetic is knowingly nostalgic, but we don't let that get in the way of performance or our ideas. There's definitely more than a bit of that good old stuff from our own childhood too - we're inspired by racing cars, custom motorcycle builders, bmx and skate heroes, so we go to great lengths to capture some of that radness.
A really good bike should give you a sense of speed, freedom and independence.
Just like your very first one did.
It’s always been two wheels.
The dream began in the early nineties, when I was spending every moment riding bikes, mostly with my best friend, Jack. We would ride and ride and obsess about the latest kit and ways of making our bikes go faster.
On board those bikes we were Steve McQueen, Ayrton Senna, Streethawk and Superman. The bikes represented freedom and dreams and carried us on our best adventures. They were more than just machines.
Our Team
Andy Carr
Founder
Andy runs Spoon Customs. He is responsible for the business and day to day running of the company. He ran away to the mountains after 16 years working a normal job. He lived in Montgenevre on the French Italian border where he developed our bikes and now splits his time between there and the new Spoon Customs workshop in The Surrey Hills near London.
Ben Sharp
Wheelman
Everyone knows you need a good wheelman. Ben is the best in the business. He works out of our workshop, where he runs Sharp Precision Wheels, but he advises and builds wheels for most of our custom bikes. After fit and fabrication, wheels are the most significant and often overlooked part of building better bikes. Ben makes sure they’re not an after thought.
Chris Houghton
Non-Executive Director
Chris put Spoon and WyndyMilla together, creating the opportunity to launch Gun Control and bring carbon to us. He was also CEO of OVO the sustainable energy company, and was at one point the youngest FD in the FTSE 100. His guidance and expertise means Spoon Customs is building bikes that will last a lifetime, in a business that will still be there when you need it.
Andy Bonsall
Chairman
Andy used to run his own agency. He built it from scratch, quickly becoming a global business with clients all over the world. He’s an expert on technology, digital and emerging technology and works with Andy on customer experience and production-related projects. He’s a very strong road cyclist.
When was the last time you really felt a sense of real speed, freedom and adventure?
Remember your first proper bicycle? Remember the sense of freedom and adventure that it gave you, like you could go anywhere and do anything?
Spoon Customs is built on that first bike feeling.
Our little company creates machines that work flawlessly, fit perfectly and make you want to ride endlessly, the way you felt the very first time you rode a bike.
We use the right materials, in context
We use the best materials available. Whether that’s HSS steel from Columbus Tubing or the hand selected Toray fibres we use in our lay-ups, we always use the right materials for the right context, to deliver the ride quality and characteristics that you need.
Love what you do and do it often.
Our process starts with exceptional fit. Delivered by one of our network of approved fit experts. Once we’ve got your position nailed, we get into the design process, selecting paint, and the best components. The best Italian craftsmen, then build your new frame.
Before the bike begins to take shape on the jig, our italian partners go to work, meticulously checking every part. Each tube is cleaned and preparing one by one, by hand, to guarantee a strong and straight frame that will last for many years.
All the people we work with - partners and component manufacturers, fabricators and finishers get what we're trying to do, and want to do their bit. None of us ever really did forget that first bike feeling, and we get a little bit of it out of making every new bike.
Team work makes the dream work.
Spoon Custom’s works with a number of amazing people who share our passion and get our ideas. They’re all local or professional friends we’ve worked with on great projects before. We trust them, they do incredible work and they love bikes and design nearly as much as we do.
Its not enough to just make a bike that works flawlessly and fits you perfectly.
