Sam Alison
Interview

－ First and foremost, could you give us a brief self introduction?

I'm a life-long bike nut and lover of design. I'm an Australian born and bred - but have lived the past 20+ years in Europe, firstly in the Czech Republic though mostly in the UK.

－ Who's behind Singular Cycles? Do you do everything by yourself, or do you have any crew members operating the brand?

It's just me, though I have some great and talented friends who help out from time to time with photography, web stuff etc. and someone who helps on the bookkeeping and accounts side of things.

－ Watching your interview with Path Less Pedaled, I was caught by surprise that you are Australian who moved to England. Why England? and even more than that, why Luton?

I first moved to the Czech Republic on a graduate exchange programme which was for 6 months. That ended up being 4 years as I met the woman who is now my wife. We then moved to London(ish) in 2005 once she graduated and I had a good job opportunity come up in London. My father was born in England so I have a UK passport and it made sense to settle here for the meantime. We're in a little village at the end of the Chiltern Hills north of London which is still in commuting distance from London (where my wife works). It's a beautiful spot which really feels quite rural considering how close it is to London, and we have some great riding both on and off road.

－ What kind of paths can you find around your studio? We looked your studio location on google maps, and looks like there’s might be some sick adventurous trails...

I don't know that I'd describe them as especially sick or adventurous, but there is definitely some really great riding on and off-road right from the door of where I live and from our new workshop space - The Nest. Most of the good mountain-bikey stuff is in the Ashridge Forest and Wendover Woods, but there's also lots of more mellow trails and bridleways, as well as country lanes for days.

－ How would you describe Singular Cycles as a company?

I like to think Singular is a company which produces beautiful, practical bicycles that people enjoy riding. Across a whole range of style of bikes, from track bikes to fat bikes - but off-road drop bar bikes have always been the heart of what I do.

－ Who are the ideal riders for your bikes?

Ideal is a strong word - but most of my customers tend to be enthusiasts who've been around bikes a long time. People with a taste for something a little different from the mainstream but which delivers an amazing ride.

－ When making design decisions for paints and logos, what kind of ambiance do you sought for?

Very much a 'classic' aesthetic. For colours I like a lot of old classic car and bike colours from the 60s and 70s. My logo is one I drew by hand when I first started the company and I've stuck with it, though I've had some people say it's not particularly legible. Too bad, I drew it, I like it, and it's staying.

－ We noticed most of your bikes are named after birds, are there any reasons behind that?

Yes, all the models are named after flying things of one form or another. It started with the Swift as it just felt like a great name for that bike - fast and nimble but can keep going for a long time - swifts in nature never actually land! It also made a great headbadge and I liked the idea of all of the models having their own unique headbadge which would serve as the model name of the frame. I don't like loads of logos and writing on frames, I wanted to keep it clean and simple so it grew from there. Mostly actual birds but also some mythical flying creatures like the Pegasus and Gryphon.

－ Any other interests apart from bicycles?

I like a lot of different outdoor pursuits, hiking, camping, skiing, a little climbing. But mostly I have recently rekindled the passion I had as a child for golf and now play quite regularly. Most cyclists are very negative about golf and see it almost as the antithesis of cycling - I get that in some respects. However as an activity I find it very complementary - at its best it's almost like a moving meditation - much like cycling. I prefer very natural and wild golf courses which feel part of the landscape and not imposed on it, I like playing with old persimmon clubs, and definitely don't go in for the stuffy country club vibe. But it's a perpetually challenging and intriguing game, both mentally and physically, that I think will be with me for life.

I also love good food and am an enthusiastic cook. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen at home, cooking for family and friends. We had a great event for the opening of my new workspace where we put on a great barbeque - I love that sort of thing. I do a fair bit of home improvement - I recently completely re-built our bathroom and I built a new shed in the garden this summer. I look forward to doing more at the workshop as well, it's a barn with loads of potential.

－ What kind of bikes or frame builders/designers from the past do you get inspired? Learnt from your website that one of your inspiration has been Charlie Cunningham.

Charlie is definitely right up there. I had the good fortune of meeting him at his home with his wife Jacquie Phelan who I'd met at SSWC in Aviemore in '07. He was a true visionary and took mountain bikes from being the 're-pack klunkers' to being much more agile and capable machines. Many trends we still see now in cross-country mtb (and indeed all bikes) were started by Charlie - dropped top tubes, agile handling mountain bikes, that started with him. Then Grant Petersen of Rivendell and formerly Bridgestone was also a great influence. I also love all of the old classic French constructeurs - Alex Singer, Rene Herse et.al. - their approach to designing bikes that handle well over mixed surfaces and terrain are still relevant.

－ You were one of the pioneers who came up with bikes that are made to have 29” tires with drop bars from ages ago, how do you feel now that those types of bikes have become the "mainstream" of the cycling industry today?

It's very strange to have seen the transition and how these bikes have evolved, become accepted, and are now a very large segment of the bike industry. I don't particularly like the term 'gravel' bike as a catch-all for anything with drop handlebars and fatter than 32mm tyres, it's just too broad and not very helpful. However I love that more and more people are coming to appreciate the virtues of this type of bike. It always just made sense to me that once we had disc brakes, we no longer had the restriction of canti brakes being a limiter of tyre capacity, that tyre widths could grow and frames could be made to accommodate larger tyres. I'm a fairly tall guy (190cm) so when I first rode a 29er in about '03 it just felt natural and comfortable. I'd actually experimented with running 700c rims with CX tyres in an old Cannondale 26" MTB with discs in around '98/'99 and loved how they rode, I just needed bigger tyres. I also rode road and CX bikes so marrying up the 29" wheels when they came out with a drop bar seemed like fun. It was also the On One Midge bar that was a big inspiration - the handling with those wide, flared drop bars, fat 29" tyres and a nice supple steel frame was just sublime.

－ Eccentric BB, to whom that is new to this feature, could you explain what it is, and how it came about to become one of the highlights in Singular’s frame design?

An eccentric bottom bracket is simply an insert in an oversized bottom bracket shell with the BB threads drilled off centre. When the insert is rotated it changes the position of the bottom bracket spindle. This has two main benefits - 1. it provides a means for tensioning a single cog/chainring drive - whether singlespeed, fixed gear or an internally geared hub. 2. It allows adjustment of bottom bracket height to dial in ride feel, especially helpful when swapping between different wheel sizes.

Ultimate question: What drives you to design bikes??

Seeing people ride a bike I've produced and loving it is fantastic. That's the reward for me, the feedback I get from people who enjoy my bikes is what makes it all worthwhile.