Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Canine Cyclocross: The Mercredi Bikes Sausage Dog CX

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

Adeline O’Moreau has been sharing workshop space with Rowan Frameworks, in Woodchurch, Kent, and she managed to round up a pack of dachshunds for both inspiration and a photo shoot with her latest build, a race-ready CX bike.

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

To summarise this one-of-a-kind creation, Adeline had this to say: “Sausage dogs are pretty special. In their minds, I reckon, they are HUGE dogs. We’re just tricked by their innocent appearance but in reality, nothing will ever stop them, they are never intimidated, they live their lives however they please.

“That’s exactly like Robin’s cyclocross racing bike: long and low, fast and responsive, innocent looking but absolutely unstoppable.

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

“So when we started designing the paint, I asked Robin – “do you trust me? I’ve got an idea, but I don’t think I can explain it” And he did trust me. So I got in touch with friend and amazing illustrator Thomas Slater who was immediately seduced by the idea. I think he is, like Robin and I are, a little bit Sausage Dog in spirit.

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

“The last ingredient we needed was the paintwork. The guys at Cole Coatings came up with a clever twist on the usual candy and used a different amount of paint to bring depth to the #sausagedogcamo.

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

“The result: a great race bike capable of handling entire days off-road. Robin’s got mad plans for this bike: Dirty Reiver, 3Peaks and Grinduro, the local CX league as well as the grueling Echapée Escapades, presented by London’s nicest bunch: Sunday Echapée.

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

“It’s made of Columbus Zona tubes with Columbus MUD forks. In fact, it also features a super special Sausage Dove logo, a flying dog tribute to Columbus’ iconic Dove. I loved designing that one so much that I also turned it into a pin badge; I’ve got 100 of them up for grabs at Bespoked.

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

“It’s kitted out with Hope’s XC 29er hoops and headset, a SRAM Rival groupset and Fizik finishing kit. Same again: innocent looking but meanly determined.

“We took those photos with Giles Smith and the help of Phil from Sausage Dog Hotel and the bike will be on show with its brand new paint at Bespoked. I’m excited and I hope people have a good sense of humor!

Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle

If you didn’t get a kick out of this project, didn’t feel a glow inside at the sight of a kennel’s worth of dachshunds in one place at the one time, or weren’t fascinated by Adeline’s no-nonsense ethic, you need to get out more.

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Mercredi Bikes cyclocross bicycle