XXV.TEN/AEIGHTRACERBLOG – HAVEYOURSAY
- eightbikeco5
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
I’ve already been lucky enough this year to have won a prize at Bespoked, and now I’m thrilled to say I’ve been nominated for the “BikeBiz” Mechanic of the Year - what does that mean and why should you vote? (P.S. Please Vote by clicking on this text)!...
At the start of the year my friends at Schwalbe asked if I’d like to put a bike on their stand at Bespoked, in Manchester. If you know anything about bespoke, handbuilt bikes, you’ll have heard of the Bespoked show, which has evolved over the years into one of the best showcases of everything that I think the industry should be about. It celebrates hi-tech innovation, alongside traditional techniques, and is open to just about anyone who makes bike related things by hand, anywhere in the world. Some of those things push the industry forward, some solve problems, some keep traditional techniques alive, but the one thing which they all share is the passionate people who are behind the brands.
I was absolutely thrilled just to be exhibiting at Bespoked - a show which I’ve walked around seven or eight times before, gazing at many wonderous things and being inspired by stuff which I’ve tried to replicate in my own way, and also by things which I knew I couldn’t! I brought a bike with me which I feel represents as many of the things that I do at AEIGHT as possible. It featured a bespoke frame made of Reynolds 853 tubing, fillet brazed, and painted with various techniques including carbonization, inking, freehand brushwork, and airbrushing to create a finish which was somewhere between marble and camouflage. The theme continued through the fork graphics, and into the custom built carbon wheels, which were coated with two different shades of Cerakote to create tiger stripes, and lazer etched AEIGHT/HOPE logos.
Here’s what John from The Radavist thought of it!
As the press day at Bespoke warmed up, a friend of mine asked if he could take some pictures of my bike, which I thought was pretty cool. Then one photographer after another asked to take photos and interview me, which was almost a little overwhelming. The day sped past and then culminated in the prize presentation which I almost missed - they only award a handful of prizes every year and they’re quite prestigious. I thought it might be nice to get a runners-up prize, but I realized it was unlikely. One of my favourite brands, Jaegher, got the runners-up prize for “Best Finish”. And then they read out the winner of Best Finish as AEIGHT! Wait, what!?
That obviously made my year. I still can’t quite believe it, but as it began to sink in I spent the following day, at the show, chatting to loads of nice people about what we do at AEIGHT. People seemed genuinely stoked to talk about all the cool stuff we get up to - everything from getting the juniors racing by loaning them bikes and frames, to the precision servicing we do back at the MANUFACTØRY, via the custom wheel-builds and bespoke framebuilds we offer, and all those little touches that we add to our customer bikes which we’ve learned from the racing world. We also run our own Shop Rides, help run a Summer XC Series, and sponsor a Winter CX Series!
I guess that leads us on to the BikeBiz Awards which I found out I’ve been nominated for (which was another pleasant surprise)! BikeBiz is an industry magazine which reports on everything in the bike trade and the annual awards are a highlight of the year for those in the know. I’m blown away to be nominated alongside so much strong competition, all of whom deserve their place on the shortlist. If you have a spare 5 minutes you can vote by clicking on this text!
Thanks to Schwalbe for having us on the stand at Bespoked. Thanks to John from The Radavist for featuring us on the website, and for just being a good guy to hang out with. Thanks to Petor for putting on the best show which really is a showcase for the best things in the industry. Thanks to the judges for the votes, and thanks to every single person who came up and chatted about my bike - stoked and humbled in equal measure!
Photos by Glen Whittington and John Watson
2025.RIDERS - GLENWHITTINGTON
#aeightracer – Bike Rider / Framebuilder / Mechanic - Glen started racing in 1998, initially specialising in XCO and Solo 24-Hour Mountain Bike. He became a mechanic in 2002, working in shops and also for professional race teams. During this time he spent more time racing ‘Cross and Road, and then also TT. In 2013 he built his first bespoke frame and then spent several years at Roberts learning the art. Since then he’s designed, tested and now sells his own frames/bikes to the public as part of his ÆIGHT brand - you can find his business Instagram account here.
GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO RACE WITH US?
We’re always looking for riders to be part of our ÆIGHT CØLLECTIVE. The #aeightbikeco is about doing things a little differently - Rather than a jersey being the common theme, we kit our riders out with bespoke steel bikes and handbuilt wheels made in our Sussex workshops, the ÆIGHT WHEELWØRKS and the ÆIGHT MANUFACTØRY. We then support each other at events and races regionally, nationally and internationally - whether that’s for mountain bike, ‘cross, gravel, crit, road or TT - it’s what we call, the #aeightbikeco
The best part is that we’re not asking you to leave your team or club - that includes racing in your club/team kit. We’ve got certain brands that we work with, mostly so we can standardise shared equipment, but your own sponsors and clubs are almost always welcome. We have some strict qualifying criteria but don’t be put off by this – if you’re interested in being part of the #aeightbikeco then please get in touch by emailing your racing CV to eightbikeco@gmail.com
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