2014 was a bumpy ride, and one person who will be looking forward to the start of the new year is Rob English of Eugene’s English Cycles.

In July last year, Rob was racing the Tour of Auferheide, a 100 mile Fondo event on an “out and back course” when he ran out of road and crashed into a tree at 40mph. His injury list would’ve floored most people mentally as well as physically, but Rob’s grit and focused determination has meant that 10 weeks after the accident, he’s back in the workshop. The latest is this dichromatic flat bar road bike.

We’ve come to love the prodigious engineering of Rob’s frames, which don’t seem to be constrained by any conventions, although from the sounds of his injuries it would be a long while before there would be any new work. So the sight of this creation was doubly astounding, especially when we get two paint schemes on the one bike.

One side of the frame is completely coloured with a glittering magenta coat, the other is equally painted with a baby blue. Even the logos and spokes on the ENVE wheel are matching. Rob reckons it’s his most extravagant paint job yet, perfectly executed by Colorworks.

The surprises don’t end there: not only is the paint double-toned, the frame features the twin-spar top tube design that Rob usually reserves for his mountain bike frames. It was incorporated as a special request by the customer into the road bike format. Have you spotted the rear brake yet?

The English Cycles V3 integrated carbon seat post and head tube design is borrowed from the road-faring models also. To match the curved top tubes, a custom one-piece stem-and-bar was fabricated and mounted with K-Edge flat bar Ui2 shifters.

What’s more, Rob basically built this frame with one hand — one of his arms is still without a functioning bicep. He’s been using an inner tube as a sling to provide the natural spring mechanism. Although knowing Rob’s will, it won’t be long before English Cycles will be back to regular frame building — and riding — output.

Big thanks to Tina Buescher for the fine photography. Head to the English Cycles website for more.