Spoon Customs Izoard XCR Disc, now UCI approved for competitive use

The Spoon Customs Izoard XCR disc has been approved for competitive use by cycling’s governing body, the UCI (Union Cylist Internationale). The approval means that for the first time, our steel bikes can be used in racing events overseen by the UCI.

The approvals and system have drawn criticism over the years with many including us, believing the rules to be somewhat restrictive for bicycle designers.

At the same time whilst I admire designs such as the Cervelo PX and many other more ambitious bicycle designs, I love the double diamond and therefore have to come down in support of the spirit of the standard and we are stoked to have a bike approved in this way.

Izoard XCR disc, with Campagnolo Super Record EPS, and Bora Ultra wheelset

But it wasn’t the standard itself we were fussed about when we started the arduous process of getting approval for this design. It was a niggle that had been eating away at me since an almost out of body experience I had after an 18 hour drive to Italy to deliver a bicycle to my customer, Rob.

Rob had invited me to his house in Umbria where I’d drop off his bicycle, but thanks to a very unhelpful rear derailleur, I’d left the UK very late the day of the drop off. I’d called and explained I would be late. Rob was very understanding and he asked that I join him for lunch the next day with his friends, drop the bike, then leave them to their day. I agreed, but had to drive through the night to make the engagement.

Arriving somewhat exhausted and fifteen minutes late I was nervous as hell. I found myself at what I can only describe as the very most incredible house and setting I’d ever seen. I pulled into the double gates and down the drive, parked up and joined a group of fifteen or so of Rob’s friends on the terrace for lunch.

Rob asked me to sit at the opposite end of the table to him. I sat next to a very beautiful woman and opposite an important looking man. It wasn’t intimidating as such except for the circumstances and I remember noting I was wearing scruffy shorts and a Carhart t-shirt I’d had on for 24 hours and I felt a little out of place in such a glamorous setting. But, it was very convivial and I was made to feel immediately welcome. The champagne helped.

Gridskin tyres from Hutchinson, Columbus’s Futura Disc fork, and Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO

The chap sat opposite sparked up conversation straightaway and asked me about Rob’s bike. He’d obviously been telling his friends he was expecting it, so no surprise that was the line of conversation, but after enquiring as to who I was and how we made our bikes, the chap then asked me if I could supply 170 of them to him. Without parts, he’d be given those by Shimano.

My mind was doing donuts around this suggestion. Who on earth was I talking to? It turned out to be Jeremy Ord, who at the time owned and ran the Dimension Data race team. Mark Cavendish raced an HSS tubed Genesis Volare for Madison Genesis on occasions and I was buzzing at the outlandish thought of having him test our bike.

The UCI approval process. Image sourced from Road.cc

I’ll never know if he was serious or not, but I had to take it seriously at the time and I of course said I could find a way to deliver such an order.

If that order had ever come through (it didn’t of course but perhaps the story is actually better than the reality had the conversation been a serious one) I wouldn’t have been able to fulfil the order without UCI approval. And in that moment, I decided I wanted to be ready for the next time that conversation ever came up. As highly unlikely as that might be.

It kind of made sense too. As a brand, we hang our hat on pushing the limits of quality, performance and form, within the restrictive template that the UCI standards were designed to protect. And, it’s true to say everything we know about fitting bicycles centres on assumptions and conventions underscored by the standards.

Frankly, I wouldn’t know where to start if someone asked us to produce a recumbent. And we’ve long argued for aero-enough designs, as opposed to extreme designs that prioritise aero performance over sensible ergonomics and comfort. Double diamond bikes are firmly our thing, and in that respect, the UCI standard is our friend.

The bike shown here is built with Columbus XCR from Milan, which is expertly milled by Fabiola, then joined by Alberto and Mauritzio. The frame is then polished and brushed with grey scotch then locked under matte lacquer by Sam at Gun Control Custom Paint. The neon red is inspired by the Mclaren MP4-27, and the one off design here is a deliberate throwback to nineties Marin’s which had brightly coloured forks, and polished frames. It’s unusually simple for one of ours, but shows off the fabrication.

The Izoard XCR frame is available with your own choice of components and is designed around your fit and riding style. This UCI approved design has a low BB, short front and rear centre, for responsive handling. The bike is built up with Enve contact points and a Campagnolo Super Record EPS 12 Groupset paired with their awesome Bora Ultra WTO wheels, with ceramic bearings. The tyres are a limited edition from Hutchinson called Gridskin and were picked to match the bronze decals on the Bora Ultras.

The shape of the debadged Deda Super Zero stem whilst not matching the Enve bar (we couldn’t get a matching stem in the run up to the Bespoked show) does hold paint particularly well so we stuck with it - here it almost looks like it’s made of ceramic in a matte finish.

The UCI badges feature on the top tube, and inside the fork. They’re so commonplace on big brand bikes that whether or not they mean anything to riders is not clear, but we’re proud as heck to know you can now order an Izoard and go mix it up in the pro peloton.

If Mr Ord (or any Directeur Sportif’s or team owners) are reading this, we’ve got approval now and we’re ready for your order.

Thanks to Simon Eldon for the lovely pictures, and to Glen Whittington our mechanic who set this build up.