In an incident that will likely prove exciting for me alone, I dropped in on Richard at Oxford Bike Works last week to pick up my first new bike in about ten years. Everybody say ooooh!
Christened the Outlander, this new addition to Richard’s range of offerings is the typically principled Oxford Bike Works take on the rigid, steel-framed, off-road adventure bike – more burly than a gravel bike, more agile than the now-classic Expedition, and downright more fun than a traditional tourer, yet sitting somewhere at the intersection of all three.
Aimed squarely at those who want a simple, durable, well-fitting, superb-quality bike that just begs to be ridden, with each frame hand-built to order and the build spec as customisable as you like, it strikes me as a bit of a ninja among bikes you might choose to pilot far from the beaten path…
…which is exactly what I’m planning on doing over the coming months, culminating at the end of August when, all being well, I will participate in my first ever long-distance bikepacking race. Everybody say aaaah!
More on that, as well as details of the bike, in a future post. For now, enjoy the short video introduction to the bike I’ve embedded above – or if you can’t see the video, click here to watch it directly on YouTube.
Incidentally, I’m finally caving in to the many reader requests and rebooting my long-abandoned YouTube channel, so if you don’t find my self-deprecating Englishness too annoying and want to keep up with future videos, do consider subscribing (videos will also be posted here on the blog for YouTube haters).
Onwards!
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