A Singular Duo - Joe Fenwicks Kite/Gryphon.

So why Singular?

Well to put it simply, they are some of the most beautiful, precisely engineered, versatile bike frames that I have ever ridden. The ethos of Singular Cycles is all about creating Bicycles that deliver exceptional ride feel and performance, but with practicality still at the forefront of the product. For a great short watch, have a look at this
video from Sam Alison of Singular Cycles.

My current bike arsenal consists of two bikes. A Singular Gryphon Ti and a Singular Kite Ti.

So why Titanium?

If you have never ridden a titanium Bike, the only way I can describe it is as, phenomenal!
titanium has incredibly smooth and composed ride quality. Not only that, but of course it is visually stunning and will last you a lifetime with care!

Gryphon

I first started with the Gryphon Ti. The Gryphon is designed to be a drop bar mountain bike, with insane tyre clearance of up to 29”x3.0”. The reason I chose the Gryphon Ti was
because I wanted a bike that could do everything and last a lifetime. Something that could shred on Singletrack, cruise on open stretches of road, but most importantly, could be loaded up and handle smoothly whilst in control even on the gnarliest Purbeck or Brecon chunk. Not only does it indeed do all of these things, it does them unbelievably well!

The Gryphon is an extremely versatile bike, with its 70-degree head angle, fairly short
rear end, and comfy geometry, it lends itself to being able to shred and cruise for days! 

Its most recent set of tyres were another set of Teravails - 2.8” Oxbow Front (light and
supple), and 2.5” Ehline rear (durable). And oh my, does it turn that bike into a shredding machine!

The fork alone is a masterpiece. The flex you get when descending at high speed on gnarly terrain is unbelievable. The fork flexes a good inch laterally on the roughest of tracks.
However, it never feels bouncy or out of control. The flex is so smooth, controlled and
composed that you have to remind yourself that it is a rigid fork! Insanely comfortable!

Build & components

The Gryphon has had a few renditions over the past few years, finding itself most recently set up Single speed. 

I originally set my Gryphon up with 2.5” Teravail Ehlines – Light and Supple, mounted onto Hope Fortus 35 rims and Pro 5 hubs, 42cm Ritchey Venturemax Classics, Hope Evo Cranks, Hope E4 Callipers, GRX 810 Rear Derailleur, GRX 600 levers, 70mm Ritchey classic stem and a 15mm Ritchey Classic Seat post, of course, with a Brooks Saddle – Carved Cambium C15.

The most recent build consists of the following: Hope Fortus 35 rims, Teravail Oxbow 2.8” Light and Supple Front tyre, Teravail Ehline 2.5” Durable Rear tyre, 50cm Ritchey Corralitos, 70mm Ritchey classic stem and a 15mm Ritchey Classic Seat post, Brooks C15 Carved, GRX 600 Levers, Shimano SLX 2-pot callipers, 203mm XTR front rotor, 180mm XTR rear rotor, 36t Hope front chainring, 21t Surly rear Cog, Gusset Chain tensioner. This gives me a gear inch ratio of 50.6, which feels great for The New Forest. A little stiff however for my recent trip to the Brecon Beacons!

Kite

My first experience on the Kite was when Sam gave the shop a complete as a demo bike for customers to try. Naturally, it felt rude not to at least take it for a quick spin! When I first hopped on, it was instant love. It was exactly the kind of bike I wanted to partner my Gryphon with, to create a perfect Singular Duo. The speed that can be generated on the Kite with a decent set of tyres is shocking. The speed, but stability in that new fork design, is just bombproof. Once you get the bike up to speed, the geometry of the Kite means that the front wheel just wants to stay bolt straight and fast. The Kite is the true definition of beauty and speed.

The fork is the main centre stage piece of the new MK2 version of the Kite, along with the
new 3D printed rear dropouts on the frame. Previously, the MK1 Kite used a segmented
fork, just like that on the Gryphon. The MK2 fork is comprised of three main sections. A 3D printed crown, 3D printed dropouts and customisable tubing for the main legs of the fork.
My fork has two bosses on each side to allow you to fit bottle cages, racks, cages. ETC. The fork also has dynamo routing if you decide to run a dynamo hub and light/USB charging system on your bike.

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One-word springs to mind when thinking about how the fork feels when descending
offroad. That word is, composed. It certainly doesn’t flex as much as the Gryphons
segmented fork, however for this type of bike, with its steeper head angle, this is to be
expected. However, when descending off road, the fork seems to cope very well with bigger bumps. It seems to just flex the perfect amount to get over the obstacle, but still maintain its speed and direction of travel perfectly. It’s hard to describe, but it just works without fault.

Build & components

The Kite was configured to be fast, efficient, long distance all terrain bike. The current build is as follows: MK1 frameset, MK2 Fork, Hope RX40 Carbon Wheelset, Smoke Pro 5 hubs, Hope headset, Hope RX Carbon 165mm Crank set, Hope RX 44T front chainring, Shimano 12 speed 10-51t XT Cassette, Shimano GRX 827 DI2, Shimano XT Flat mount Callipers, 160mm front and rear Dura Ace rotors, Rene Herse Poteau Endurance 48mm tyres, Ritchey Venturemax WCS 40cm Bars, Cane Creek EE-Silk 80mm Suspension Stem, Ergon Road Bar tape, FSA 35mm Layback seat post and a Brooks C13 Carved Saddle.

The bike flies! The Tyres in particular are just insane. The 48mm Rene Herse Poteau’s roll so so fast, but still have such a nice amount of grip and bite on the shoulders for cornering.
Considering that I went for the Endurance, which is their second toughest casing, they are still so compliant and comfortable when riding off-road. They honestly feel like you’re riding a 32mm road tyre on the road, and then riding a 55mm tyre off road at lower pressures. As any Rene Herse rider will understand, they are exceptional tyres.

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I hope you have found these insights interesting or helpful, particularly if you’re in the
market for one of these bikes. If you are ever in the area and want to pop into the shop to
talk about either bike, please do! I am, as with all staff, very happy to talk about bikes and what things would be suitable on your own bike build!

Kites are listed on our webshop here

If you're interested in a build, just shout!

Happy riding all!

Joe @ TWC

@jj_fenwick