Zoe's Custom Brother Cycle Big Bro

Zoe’s Big Bro started with a familiar feeling, the itch to go back out there.

Zoe and Richard came into the shop with sights set on a return to international bike touring after years focused on raising kids. They’re no strangers to long days and far horizons, having ridden through Cuba, Chile, Argentina and Central America at the turn of the millennia. The plan now is to ease back in gently, a month in France this July, before, one day, returning to Cuba. Still the best place they’ve ever ridden.

For Zoe, the Brother Big Bro made perfect sense. A steel platform built to go the distance again, stable under load and comfortable for back-to-back days in the saddle. The brief was clear: reliability, comfort, and gearing that would let her spin up whatever France, or Cuba, decides to throw at her.

We built it around Shimano XT 12-speed with a 38T crank and wide 11–51 cassette for serious climbing range. DT Swiss 350 hubs laced to G531 rims give the kind of dependable strength you want when the bags go on. Continental Dubnital 650b x 2.2 tyres strike that balance between fast rolling and confident grip. Up front, Soma Dream Lowdown bars paired with Ergon GP3 grips provide multiple hand positions for long days, while a full Thomson finishing kit keeps things solid, simple, and timeless. What rolled out of the workshop is a bike ready for France this July, and wherever the next chapter leads.

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