Dawley Bikes

Dawley Bikes Rider owned, operated, designed and made
Mountain bike frames from Kimberley, UK

There’s nothing like riding a bike you built yourself. Making a race bike and watching somebody really fast ride it migh...
26/05/2026

There’s nothing like riding a bike you built yourself.

Making a race bike and watching somebody really fast ride it might be even better.

The moment you get to stand back and look at the mad s**t you made 👌 It never gets old.
20/05/2026

The moment you get to stand back and look at the mad s**t you made 👌

It never gets old.

A few pics of the latest T16 just about ready for paint.
30/04/2026

A few pics of the latest T16 just about ready for paint.

4X race rig!!If you didn’t know already, Jake is an absolute ripper on the bike and a genuinely first class lad. A lege...
22/04/2026

4X race rig!!

If you didn’t know already, Jake is an absolute ripper on the bike and a genuinely first class lad. A legend that belies his age.

His race bike for the 2026 is a scaled down T16!

I *just* managed to get the frame together in time for the first rounds which were his first in Elite. Needles to say he smashed it 👏 sitting pretty in 4th overall! An incredible weekend in the big leagues!

He’s running 26” wheels at the mo but there’s space to squeeze in 27.5” if he wants to give em a go.
The chainstays are as short as I dared make em at 430mm coupled to the standard R4 rocker link but I reduced the travel and leverage ratio a tad.

Otherwise it’s just a small T16 but I knew it’d work because the standard T16 is just a big 4X bike!

I grew up ogling bikes like this in back in the 90s…it’s insane to have the opportunity to make one of my own and watch Jake race it!

Cheers to Jake, his fam and friends who’ve made my dream reality 😄🍻

mountainbiking
📸

Same but different
22/04/2026

Same but different

Eee thas a bigun!The latest Eponym frames are underway and I’m really pleased with them. The original ones were the culm...
17/04/2026

Eee thas a bigun!

The latest Eponym frames are underway and I’m really pleased with them.

The original ones were the culmination of a life misspent riding bikes and the realisation of a dream to make them myself.

The latest ones just turn it all up a notch and include everything I’ve learnt in the years since.

The coolest thing about hardtails from my pov is that with no linkages or kinematic to worry about you can get really nuanced with the geo and the spec/ features of the frame.

What I’m calling Balance Point Geometry lowers the BB as you go up the sizing chart, delivering a more consistent centre of gravity for riders of all sizes.

And there’s plenty more nerdery hidden in there.

Just a hardtail, right? No sir. Not for me.

I can’t wait to see what can do with this thing!
03/04/2026

I can’t wait to see what can do with this thing!

In search of purity?Whenever I approach endgame nerddom in any endeavor I find myself questioning what on earth I’m actu...
13/03/2026

In search of purity?

Whenever I approach endgame nerddom in any endeavor I find myself questioning what on earth I’m actually doing. I like to feel that there’s some merit to my hobbies beyond the obvious, more hedonistic side. Some link to what makes us human and a relevance to our world.

It sometimes comes easy and other times not.

I love the concept of sports and hobbies that place the emphasis on the doer rather than their gear. Skateboarders throwing beautifully technical tricks on a plank with wheels, surfers using a larger plank to harness the motion of the sea.

In mtb it often feels the opposite and the bike overshadows what we do with them. It’s all driven by marketing of course and it’s just a really fun recreational hobby, is there any need to get so deep? Probably not.

But when you reach Nerd Level 5000 these are things you may start to consider.

Im not averse to tech if it improves my experience on the bike but I try to make bikes that connect rider to trail and that become an extension of ourselves. If I get that just right it can be more powerful than any new advancement.

That’s the goal anyway.

A few build shotsThere’s still a lot to do when they come back from paint. Reaming, chasing and facing surfaces. Drillin...
23/02/2026

A few build shots

There’s still a lot to do when they come back from paint.

Reaming, chasing and facing surfaces. Drilling and tapping. Assembling hardware. Greasing every single bolt. Fitting frame protection. Etc, etc.

The time all these little processes take adds up and all must be done with care and attention so as not to spoil the beautiful paintwork. Nothing can be rushed, nothing overlooked. So I try to get into a groove and enjoy the process, just the same as the fabrication. Even though I’m dying to see the finished product.

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Kimberley

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