Owen Byrne explains to us last week when I went to visit him in his workshop just outside Newtownards near the Strangford Lough “All Donard bikes are handmade and bespoke. My stainless frames are made using tubing from the Reynolds 953 and Columbus XCR ranges of stainless steel. The frames are hand mitred and filed, silver brazed, and handmade braze-ons can be added as an option. We start with a design meeting or discussion where we check your bike fit and position on a dedicated fit cycle. Then we select your tubing. We use Reynolds 631/983 or Columbus Spirit/Zona/Life for steel bikes and Reynolds 953 or Columbus XCR for stainless steel bikes, and in many cases, we’ll use a blend of tubing for optimal performance.
All materials go through quality control checks when they arrive in the workshop“

“Frame construction to your exact size and design follows traditional fabrication methods with all tubes being hand mitred to fit and then joined using fillet brazing or lugged construction using bronze/brass or silver solder techniques depending on whether we are building in steel Carbon frames follow well established “tube to tube” construction allowing for ultimate flexibility in custom carbon frame sizing for the lightest and highest performance.
The final frames are carefully mechanically and chemically cleaned prepared for painting using waterborne paints and finished to the highest standard“

“Every frame is completed with a polished head badge, numberplate and optional shamrock emblem in stainless steel. Every Frame is accompanied by a photo journal of the build – I take photographs of key moments of your bike being built, from the arrival of the tubeset, right through the frame building and painting process to final assembly and completion“

To start your own journey to a unique custom bike email donardcc@gmail.com

Owen told me also, ” I do bike fitting in house and your personalised bike fit is included in the overall price of your bike.  Once you are in the build queue, we will arrange an appointment for your fitting. My approach is to take your body measurements, then calculate your “predicted” position based on calculations used in many of the popular bike fit systems like Retul and Guru, and then get you riding on our bike fit machine, to adjust and refine. Once we’ve done that, I’ll take the measurements off the machine and design your bike around that.
If you wish to submit your own bike fit data or you can’t visit the Donard workshop then you can submit using this page, or we also have a network of bike fitters in worldwide locations – just ask for more information. We’ll then follow up with discussions to go into your bike fit and requirements in more detail to design the best bike for you.

Donard Bikes is also a multiple award winner in Ireland and further afield such as Best Irish Bike: Old Velos 2019, Road.cc choice award, Bespoked 2017 and Best new frame builder: Bespoked 2017

To arrange a visit to the Donard Bikes workshop on Strangford Lough and see what’s going on in the workshop, send an email and we’ll arrange an appointment. If you are coming for a bike fit or to pick up your bike, I’ll help you find the most convenient travel arrangements and can recommend many great activities and cycling routes for your stay in Northern Ireland. The Donard Bikes workshop is a short distance from Belfast City. The city is served by the Belfast International Airport, George Best City Airport. There are also great ferry links to Dublin and Belfast harbours. 

“To order or discuss the options in more detail, email me at donardcc@gmail.com, all Donard frames are handmade and painted in my workshop on Strangford lough in Northern Ireland.  Each frame is individually designed and built as a “one-off” completely bespoke and exquisitely finished I normally supply complete bikes, though I can provide frame and fork packages Please ask for complete bike prices using Campagnolo, Shimano or SRAM groupsets” You can place your order here https://www.donard.cc/purchase

For all other info go to https://www.donard.cc/bikes