Custom Touring Bike- Temple Cycles Adventure Disc Review

Custom Touring Bike

My Temple Cycles Adventure Disc Review

For my big summer tour after uni I decided that my 1998 Marin Pinemountain simply wouldn’t cut it, mostly because it was about 2 sizes too small for me! This meant that I was left with the slightly daunting prospect of having to buy a bike I would be happy to live on for 4 months over the coming summer, it had to be fast enough on the tarmac, able to handle some off road, able to carry a lot of weight, reliable and most importantly it had to be comfy to ride. I looked at all the obvious choices from big companies like Surly, Salsa, Kona and Genesis however I couldn’t find any one bike that was perfect, they’d all need some modifications before I would be happy touring long distances on them. This led me to think about a custom bike however I couldn’t afford a custom frame and anyway didn’t need one as I’m a fairly average size. When looking at custom touring bikes I came across Temple Cycles in Bristol and from the first time I scrolled through their website I knew I’d found where I would be buying my bike from. 



Temple Cycles are a small bicycle company based in Bristol, however unlike a lot of bike shops they sell their own bikes with frames they have designed. The frames are shipped from the factory to the Bristol workshop where they are built up and shipped direct to the customer. This direct to customer approach means they can build you your frame with whatever spec you would like, which for a self-confessed bike nerd like me was a dream come true!



Throughout the whole design process, the guys at Temple were incredibly helpful, they listened to exactly what I wanted and guided me to what parts would best suit my needs and budget for the build, and when the finished bike arrived I was beyond pleased. The bike they built was the perfect touring bike for me for the trips I wanted to do, on my 4-month tour I replaced no parts, no innertubes, no brake pads nothing it’s all original! The bike cycles well even with a heavy load front and back, it handled everything from flat Dutch coastal cycle lanes to fast tarmac descents to tough rocky off road climbs and everything in between. It took everything in its stride and made the whole journey more enjoyable by remaining a joy to ride no matter the conditions or the weight we were carrying.  



For any bike nerds like me here is the full spec for the bike, the only thing I’d consider changing next time would be to go with 40mm Schwalbe marathon plus tour tyres if I was doing more off road miles.

Frame:

Temple Cycles Adventure Disc Frameset Size Large (Peat grey)

Wheels:

Rims: Ryde Sputnik 36h, silver
Front Hub: SP Dynamo PL-8, silver
Rear Hub: Shimano Deore M615 36h, silver
Spokes: DT Swiss Alpine III, silver
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour 35mm

Drivetrain:

Crankset: Stronglight Impact triple 48/36/26
Derailleurs: Shimano Deore M591
Shifters: Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifters
Cassette: Shimano 11-34
Chain: Shimano 9 speed
Brakes: TRP Spyre disc brakes
Brake Levers: Shimano R400 brake levers

Finishing Kit:

Saddle: Brooks B17
Seatpost: Temple Cycles Polished alloy
Headset: Sealed headset
Stem: Temple Cycles Polished silver 90mm
Handlebars: Temple Cycles Flared Drop handlebars
Grip Tape: Leather bar tape
Bottle Cages: 3x Lezyne Power Cage, black
Front Rack: Tubus Tara front rack, black
Rear Rack: Tubus Logo rear rack, black
Front Light: B&M Lumotec IQ-X 100 Lux
Rear Light: B&M Toplight Line Plus
USB Dynamo Charger: Cinq 5 The Plug charging system


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