Autumn has descended upon the Northern Hemisphere, heralding the onslaught of cyclocross season. Component manufacturers must rub their hands with glee at the thought of all those mud-clogged derailleurs and drivetrains. So is Ricky Feather, who has somehow managed to find the time to build himself a bike to campaign the season on.

Ricky’s had a busy time of it over the last year, a highlight being a Best in Show ribbon at this year’s Bespoked Bristol Show—not to mention the Public Vote award as well. July saw him following this year’s Tour de France aboard his own Rapha Continental bike which, incidentally, won the award for Best Road Bike at last year’s Bespoked Show.

His personal ‘cross bike is a thing of highly-visible beauty: a mix of Columbus Life, Reynolds 853 and 853 ProTeam with a seat mast integrated with a Ritchey topper. The rear brake cable passes through a stainless tube inside the mast, upon which sits the battery for the Ultegra Di2 group. The aim of the frame was to show as little cabling as possible, mimicking the track bikes he started out fabricating.

Ricky has good reports: “The handling is just what I wanted. Good on the fast straights, great around tight bends and in technical areas too—really well balanced and doesn’t try to jackknife you on the tighter corners. I also went for a highish bottom bracket as a nod to my BMX days, but I also knew it would bunnyhop easier with a higher BB.”

It is a very clean machine. At least, it was. After a few test rides around Strensall Common in North Yorkshire, it’s muddy as hell, which is a nice contrast to the fluorescent yellow livery. Kudos to Ricky’s wife, Kayti Peschke, who successfully overcame the challenge of photographing that color.See more on the Feather Cycles website, along with a great video insight into his workshop—also shot by Kayti.

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Feathercycles.com