10,000km on a Home Build Kit: One Cyclist's Journey Across Britain

10,000km on a Home Build Kit: One Cyclist's Journey Across Britain

She had never built a bike. She wasn't a framebuilder or an engineer. She was a cyclist who volunteered at a bike project, had some mechanical confidence, and wanted a gravel-touring frame she had made herself. She ordered a BBC home build kit.

The Build: Everything That Could Go Wrong

She split the seat tube on the first attempt and had to start again. She mixed the epoxy resin too fast — it kicked off an exothermic reaction, the cup melted. She misaligned the rear axle and had to sand back all the flax on one side and redo it. Her first spray lacquer finish cracked after six months; she stripped it, filled with epoxy, and re-coated with boat varnish.

"It took about two weeks to build the frame and then another couple of days to get all the components on." Then she rode it.

10,000km and Counting

Since spring 2022, the bike has covered approximately 10,000 kilometres. She cycled from Edinburgh to the Isle of Mull. She completed the King Alfred's Way, the Cantii Way, and crossed Ireland. She entered the Norfolk 360 and the Pennine Rally — twice. At each event, the bamboo frame started conversations that no aluminium frame ever would. At the Norfolk 360, she met another BBC builder riding the same event on their own handbuilt frame.

What She Found

"It's pretty comfortable — bamboo absorbs a lot of shock. You can feel the bike really flexing under you, especially when it's fully loaded for bikepacking."
— BBC Maker, 10,000km home build

Outcomes

  • ~10,000km completed since spring 2022
  • Routes completed: Edinburgh to Mull, King Alfred's Way, Cantii Way, Ireland crossing
  • Events: Norfolk 360 and Pennine Rally (completed twice each)
  • Home build kit — no workshop visit, no specialist training required
  • Documented in BBC blog, November 2025

Her build document is a frank, funny, honest account of everything that went wrong — and a testament to the fact that everything could be fixed. BBC's team answered her questions throughout. The frame is still rolling.

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