So walking out of my local Aldi this evening, what should be propped up in the entrance lobby but a pretty fantastic looking bike.

Gates drive, pinion, lauf fork and slack enough to limbo under a hurdles bar.

No idea what the frame was as a) it was completely covered in mud and b) I didn’t want to stare too long or take a pic as IT WASNT LOCKED!!!!

So which one of you leaves several 000’s of premium lovelyness unlocked in the lobby of a town centre Aldi?

EDIT: oh yes and some pretty pricey carbon wheels as well…

Possibly not the person who bought it?

Could be me*
Where, exactly, was this?

*it wasnt me.

Lol

Somewhere in East Sussex.

I did think about hanging around to ‘check’ the owner in case of obvious thieving scrote syndrome but I needed to get home and tbh it was totally as nature intended i.e properly covered in mud with expensive lights etc and looked like it had just come off the south downs so I just put it down to a crazy belief in your fellow man.  Good luck with that.

Lauf fork you say………….No, safe as houses not locked up 🙂

South Downs… Gates/Pinion/Lauf… my guess is http://olsenbicycles.com/bikes

Yep thats the kiddy. Had Sixth Element wheels and beer caps on the grips. Stunning bike. I’m normally a bit meh when it comes to expensive kit – Santa Cruz, Yeti, mondraker etc all leave me cold – even boutique stuff on bikepacking.com with their poncey cranks and pauls components just make me think Emperor’s new clothes.

But this bike made me look twice and the more I thought about it the more I liked it.

Hope it was still there when he got back

It’s an interesting bike just on the spec/design, impressive that it’s been pulled together by a one-man brand.

BTW am I being stupid here….two bike designers (thanks for the Arkose X btw, love mine)……called Olsen? Related..same person?

Ha… he just got first dibbs on the brand name? Steve Olsen. He clearly has far better CAD skills than me. A southern-dwelling single-speeder who likes niche bikes, we have that in common. Lauf forks is pushing it a bit though..

Glad you like the Arkose!

Yikes – clicked on the link and now need to wash my eyes.

winston
…….two bike designers (thanks for the Arkose X btw, love mine)……called Olsen? Related..same person?

Don’t all Olsens come as twins? That would explain it.

Maybe jameso was separated at birth… 🙂

^ I think Steve wouldn’t be too happy about that idea 🙂

Those are some hideous looking bikes. Perhaps he was hoping it would get nicked.

Not keen on the colours but I actually really like them.

Plot twist…
It was already stolen and the scrote riding it knew they didn’t have to lock it up.

To me they are far less hideous than any bike with a dinnerplate cassette hanging off the rear wheel, not to mention those awful bulbous wireless mechs.

A gates drive/pinion gearbox might be initially expensive but if it gives thousands of miles of muddy use compared to comparable high end 12 speed drivetrains without damage or wear then perhaps its money well spent. If I don’t have to faff around with my front shock because its a carbon leaf spring then so much the better and who needs 140mm of travel for the south of England anyway.

If you want a thing of beauty buy a vintage Bianchi and hang it on the wall – I want my bikes to work, not break and not need continual fettling.

I hope it isn’t true that it was already pinched, noting would give me more joy than to steal a stolen bike from a thief and try to get it back to its owner 👍

To me they are far less hideous than any E-bike

🙂

after riding in todays slop I think they look like a great piece of kit.