Custom: OPEN U.P. Sage

About the Build

This rider came to us wanting a quiver killer that does it all. Coming from race cars, bicycles are an outlet to get away from daily life. Our immediate thought was to do the OPEN U.P. as a ubiquitous Swiss-Army knife of bicycles – while also being from a small enough company to stand out above the rest. Lots of attention to details went into setting this up to be utterly unique in a sea of copy-cats. It is only fitting that the Sage colourway was taken from Aston Martin, making this a true race-ready machine.

Here we have the U.P. in it’s gravel crusher configuration. Unapologetically racey. Shimano Dura-Ace/GRX Di2 12 speed mix to get the best of both worlds without any compromises. Luckily, he’s pretty darn fit so 36×34 won’t bee too challenging, though, knowing him, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Very much a no-pain/no-gain mantra, reveling in the pain of overcoming difficult rides just for the fun of it.

Chris King ARD 44 with ceramic bearings were not up for discussion as they just work. Ride after ride the bearings continue to get faster, giving continual positive reinforcement for the hard work and earning the reward once you get to the descent.

We worked extensively over months, ensuring that the bike fit would be as dialed as possible. Various stems, handlebars, time out on the road, time in the Fit Studio. All to make sure that the first ride would be absolutely sublime with as minimal compromises as possible

To top it all off, some custom leather work was thrown in from Busyman Bicycles. From raw carbon, to high polish black aluminum, to a lustrous green, the warmth and richness of the premium leather fits right in. As the bike sees more use, it will just continue to age and patina giving a truly unique finish achieved through blood, sweat, and tears from countless miles.