Today’s Readers’ Rides comes from Juan in Manila and his custom Belle Silk D gravel bike. Let’s check out this beauty in detail below!
Todo viene de los peros y gatos. Everything comes from dogs and cats. I’m Juan Carlo Peralta, a practicing veterinarian in Manila, Philippines. When I decided to build a bike that would be a tribute to the profession that I love, I knew that the custom route was the way to go.
I was first introduced to custom bikes by my friend JP Cariño of La Course Velo. It’s a bike shop in Metro Manila that specializes in custom bike builds. After ogling at bikes on instagram made by different framebuilders, we decided to go with Belle Cycles of Kico Belle based in Barcelona, Spain. I’m a fan of Belle’s interpretation of the modern steel bike.
Frederick Martin Ilagan of Forward Motion Performance helped with bikefitting and frame geometry design. The paint was done by Kilianboy, also from Spain. Kico suggested the blue fade paint scheme. La Course Velo helped out with picking the components and wheelset from ENVE.
I’ve ridden this bike to different islands in the Philippines and brought it back to Spain for a few days of riding in Girona. Each time it doesn’t disappoint. In the words of the framebuilder himself, it is aesthetically timeless. This one’s definitely for keeps.
Frame: Belle Silk D
Material: Steel
Headset and BB: Chris King
Groupset: Dura Ace 9100 mechanical disc brake
Cranks: Rotor Aldhu
Wheelset: Enve AR 3.4
Seatpost and Stem: Enve
Handlebar: Enve AR
We’d like to thank all of you who have submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared over here. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!
