01from £2,800
Road Frames
Reynolds 853 or Columbus Spirit tubing, fillet-brazed or lugged. Built for fast Sundays in the Mendips or a final ride out to the south of France.
S&S
SPOKE & STEEL
Framebuilders · Bristol
Est. 2004 · 20 Years On The Jig
Steel frames.
Built around you.
By hand.
A two-bench framebuilding workshop in Bedminster, Bristol. Brazed steel frames — road, gravel, touring, townie and the occasional vintage rescue. Reynolds and Columbus tubing, made-to-measure, hand-finished. Around forty frames a year, no two the same.
Spec No. 0417
Reynolds 853 · Fillet-brazed · 56.5cm c-t
HAND
BUILT
UK
BUILT
UK
◆ 20 yrs framebuilding
◆ Reynolds & Columbus tubing
◆ In-person fitting
◆ 5-year frame warranty
/ 01 — What we build
Five disciplines.
One workshop.
Every frame is drawn around the rider, not the other way round. You won't find off-the-peg sizing or a stock geometry chart — there isn't one.
02from £3,100
Gravel & Adventure
Long wheelbase, generous clearance, three bottle mounts and rack eyelets. The frame you'll take down a Welsh fire road and trust for a week of bikepacking.
03from £3,400
Touring Bikes
Heavy-load geometry, four-pannier mounts, S&S couplers if you want to fly with it. Built to carry you and forty kilos of kit across a continent.
04from £2,400
Townie Commuters
Upright, dependable, mudguards and dynamo lights as standard. The one you'll ride in a suit on a wet Tuesday and still feel proud of at the lights.
05POA
Vintage Restoration
Bringing a tired old Holdsworth, Mercian or Bob Jackson back to life. Dent repair, re-spray, head tube reaming, full re-build with the original parts where we can.
/ 02 — Sketch to saddle
Five steps.
Roughly six months.
From the first phone call to your first ride takes around six months — we won't rush it and we won't take on more than we can finish properly. Forty frames a year, that's it.
I
Fitting
You come down to the workshop for a proper in-person fit — three hours on the jig with measuring tape, plumb line and a kettle on. We log every dimension.
II
Drawing
Geometry sketched out by hand on a board, tube selection chosen with you. Reynolds 853, Columbus Spirit or Life — whatever suits your weight, terrain and miles.
III
Mitering
Tubes mitered on the lathe to the half-millimetre. Dry-fit on the jig, checked, re-checked. Nothing gets a torch on it until the joint is perfect.
IV
Brazing
Silver-brazed at the lugs, fillet-brazed at the joints. A clean fillet takes years to learn and ten minutes to ruin — we don't rush it.
V
Finishing
Frame aligned, threads chased, brake bridge faced. Powder-coated or wet-sprayed in your choice of colour. Built up here or shipped to your fitter.
/ 03 — The Fitting
Three hours
on the jig.
In person.
A made-to-measure frame starts with a proper fit. You come down to Bedminster for a morning — we put you on the adjustable jig, measure inseam, torso, arm span and reach, and watch you turn the pedals over for a quarter of an hour.
We look at how you actually ride, not how you think you should. Old injuries, intended use, mileage, kit you'll carry — all of it goes into the geometry. By the time you leave we've got fourteen numbers logged, and we know what we're drawing.
The fit is £180, refunded against any frame you commission with us within twelve months.
14
Measurements logged
3hr
On the jig
£180
Refunded on commission
/ 04 — Past commissions
Frames out
in the world.
A handful of recent builds. The full archive runs back to 2004 — drop us a note and we'll send the lot.
Road
Reynolds 853 audax frame
Bath · 2024
Gravel
Columbus Spirit adventure bike
Cardiff · 2024
Touring
S&S coupled world-tourer
Restoration
1978 Holdsworth Professional
Workshop note
“The badge brazed on the head tube has my initials under it. Every frame I've built since 2004 has them — and I stand behind every single one.”
— Dan Whitfield, framebuilder
——— From a recent commission
“I'd ridden carbon for fifteen years and didn't think a steel frame could feel this lively. Dan spent a full morning on the fit, called me twice during the build to talk colour, and delivered a frame that fits like a tailored suit. It'll see me out.”
Mark P. · Bath · Reynolds 853 audax · 2024
/ Workshop sheet
The numbers, in writing.
Spoke & Steel · Bedminster, Bristol
REV. 06/26
In-person fitting£180 (refunded)
Road framefrom £2,800
Gravel framefrom £3,100
Touring framefrom £3,400
Townie commuterfrom £2,400
Vintage restorationPOA
S&S couplers add-on+£420
Powder coat / wet sprayincl. (1 colour)
Frame warranty5 years
Build slot wait~6 months
/ 05 — Commission a frame
Got a frame
in mind?
Drop us a note with what you ride, what you want to ride next and a rough timescale. We'll come back within a few days to book you in for a fitting, and we'll be honest if the workshop's too full to take you on this year.
Workshop
0117 405 6644Address
Spoke & Steel Framebuilders
Unit 4, Whitehouse Lane Works
Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4BX
Unit 4, Whitehouse Lane Works
Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4BX
Workshop hours
Tue–Sat 9am–6pm · Closed Sun & Mon