Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

Lately, updates from Donhou Bicycles have been quiet because Tom has been busy with his Signature Steel series. In fact, this stainless steel townie is the last ‘official’ custom Donhou to leave the workshop while he focuses solely on the Signature range.

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

As with all of the beautiful Donhou Bicycles we’ve featured on The Spoken over the past few years, this one has an interesting background and raison d’être, involving an international traveler and an incidental in-flight magazine article…

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

Tom’s latest customer was on his way to South Africa via jetliner when, while thumbing through the pages of his complimentary magazine, he spotted an article about Donhou Bicycles and craft of the custom frame builder.

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

As soon as he landed and switched his phone off airplane mode, he called Tom to discuss a new bike for himself — one that would inspire him to ride more often. Well, it would work for me.

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

A slender, gloss black frame was built from Reynolds 953 stainless steel tubes, along with a custom pair of forks and an integrated stem and handlebar. A Velo Orange porteur rack was painted to match and modified to allow internal routing for the dynamo lights.

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

Stylish Gilles Berthoud fenders were fitted, and cabling for the rear lights and the incredibly engineered Pinion gearbox — driven by a Gates belt — were also routed through the frame.

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter

Surely this must not be the last ever custom Donhou we will see here, but at least it was as spectacular as we would expect from Tom’s skills. You can rest assured, however, that the same dedication he pays to creations like this is also evident in the Signature Series.

Donhou Bicycles Website | Facebook | Instagram

Last In Flight: Donhou Bicycles Stainless Pinion Commuter