Chris Igleheart is known for his personable and down-to-earth attitude, and his willingness to collaborate with like-minded people, which has resulted in numerous personable and down-to-earth bikes — like this project with Belgium’s Noble Cycles.
Most of Chris’ previous partnerships have been located in his homeland of the USA, such as his early work with Fat City Cycles, and more recently with Joseph Ahearne on their Velo Cult Customs and Page Street Cycles.
This exercise, in which he built the fork in conjunction with the frame by Nicolas Noblet however, extends beyond borders, and the result is all the better for it. The story behind its inception makes it even more intercontinental.
The Noble x Igleheart was built for a mate of Nicolas, Gilles Labarbe, a wheelbuilder under his banner of Karma Wheels, working out of the Atelier vélo de la commune in Liège, Belgium. Nicolas and Gilles rode from Belgium to London for Bespoked 2014.
Gilles met Chris at the Show, and fell in love with his work. The two Belgians rode back home and discussed Gilles’ new bike, a do-it-all commuter with the capabilities of Sunday rides and also light touring and travelling.
They decided to combine Nicolas’ frame building skills with a segmented fork from Chris. Gilles asked them for “a comfy geometry with enough room for 33mm tires, mudguards, plus eyelets for front and rear Tubus racks”.
Columbus Cromor and Reynolds 631 tubes were selected for their sturdiness and, while Gilles is no weight weenie, the frame still comes in at a reasonable, fully-built 9.4kg. The ‘chameleon purple was applied by JMC Design, who paints most of Nicolas’ bikes.
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