Get the bars in the right place first	Sterling silver head badge

Independent Fabrication Club Racer £1595 frame and fork

An Independent Fabrication Club Racer is one of the exciting recent arrivals at RCUK. It has been supplied as a frame and fork, custom built as are all IndyFab products, following a fitment at London cycle boutique Mosquito Bikes. The plan is to build it with Shimano Ultegra SL groupset except for the brake calipers, which will have to be long drop to accommodate the substantial tyre clearance on offer. Trouble is, neither of Shimano’s two 57mm drop caliper models comes in Ultegra SL grey; it may have to get 7700 Dura-Ace.

No matter which component group ends up on it, the Club Racer in an interesting prospect. It is, after all, designed as that fabled concept, the all-rounder. Featuring geometry suited to anything from commuting through to light touring and even sportive riding, the Club Racer should be versatility itself.

That, of course, is what we will be looking to find out. Meanwhile, a rundown of the frame and fork reveals TIG welding of the highest order used to join steel for both. There’s also a titanium Club Racer in the IndyFab range. The choice of steel for the unicrown fork might raise a few eyebrows, especially given the inch-and-an-eighth steerer, but it’s a handsome piece of work that matches the look of the frame and feels, well, acceptably light.

Neat decals	Mudguard and rack bosses

Numerous different tube options are available with options from Reynolds, True Temper, and Columbus. IndyFab’s tube specifications are chosen to provide optimal handling given the rider’s weight and overall riding style.

The Club Racer frameset incorporates all of the usual options for light touring, from long reach caliper brakes to accommodate mudguards and slightly fatter tyres to a full set of rack mounting bosses, front and rear.

There are plenty of pleasing detail touches, from sealed tubes (except the seat tube, of course) to prevent corrosion to longer chainstays designed to keep heels away from panniers. There’s a gusset under the down tube for additional stiffness when loaded, the bottom bracket shell is machined to save weight, while the rear dropouts are CNC-machined and heat treated.

Customers going for the stock frame get a choice of 24 colourways with 15 decal colour combinations; bespoke additions include a pump mount, choice of cable routing, custom paint and even S&S couplings.

Finally, our frame has a sterling silver head badge, which is a £90 option from Mosquito Bikes. If this isn’t the ultimate fast steel frameset, We’ll be somewhat surprised. Watch this space.