Sam Alison of Singular Cycles walks Cyclist through his one-of-a-kind Kite Ti
Words: Paddy Maddison
Photos: Andrew Grant
Somewhere along the way, the bicycle lost its identity. The wireless-geared, internally routed, carbon fibre creations of today are barely recognisable next to their simple
metal predecessors. It’s like looking at a cockapoo next to a wolf – how did this come from that?
At least, that’s the view of Sam Alison of Singular Cycles. He has nothing against electronic shifting or disc brakes – he has both on a number of his own bikes – but he can’t help feeling that the old ways are often the best.
‘I see things like fully internal cable routing as being detrimental to people’s ability to fix their own bikes,’ he says. ‘And to me that is one of the beautiful things about bicycles. You have this incredible machine that can take you anywhere, but if something goes wrong you can sort it yourself.’
To Alison, the utility of being able to easily repair and maintain a bike is key. ‘This fashion of bikes that basically need a full rebuild to change a headset bearing is insane,’ he adds. ‘There’s a lot to be said for a simple mechanical setup.’ Take a look at Singular’s bikes and you’ll see this philosophy at work.
Pure utilitarian simplicity; beautifully made machines that do what they’re supposed to do and, in the best possible way, nothing more.
Originally hailing from Australia and attending high school in Bowral, NSW, Alison moved to the UK for a corporate job in 2005. It was shortly after this that he decided to build his own bike.
‘It was a steel, drop bar single-speed mountain bike with the biggest 29-inch tyres I could find,’ he recalls. ‘It certainly turned heads. It was pretty wild at the time: the metal, the massive wheels and, to top it off, flared handlebars. You certainly didn’t see much like it in those days. Now you see a similar silhouette on many gravel or adventure bikes.’
Eventually it became clear there was a market for Alison’s creations. Singular was born, and the mission statement was simple: to produce ‘beautiful, functional and practical metal bikes made for a lifetime’.
Blazing the trails
Despite their simplicity, Singular’s bikes are anything but old fashioned. Alison says he was making ‘gravel bikes’ long before the current boom began.
Clearance for high-volume tyres was a feature from day one, and he claims the Gryphon, launched in 2009, was one of the very first drop bar, fat tyre, disc brake framesets on the market.
‘The Kite was always the lighter, faster brother to the Gryphon,’ says Alison. ‘It’s been through a few iterations now, but in designing the new Kite I wanted to really max out the possible tyre clearance while maintaining compatibility with modern gravel drivetrains.’
This particular Kite Ti was put together for the Brooks England stand at Bespoked 2025, but Alison says it’s essentially his dream gravel build.
‘The goal at the outset was for a bike that was fast, comfortable, able to run fat tyres and practical in respect of cable routing and additional mounts for racks and mudguards,’ he says. ‘It’s fast,
light and beautiful, but tough, durable and user-serviceable.’
The bike’s frame and fork are both fully constructed from titanium with a few 3D printed elements. The fork in particular is unique, with a 3D printed titanium crown, which Alison claims makes it both stiffer and lighter than other titanium forks, and also gives it the lovely sleek appearance.
‘I also used 3D printing for the brake mounts, front and rear, which means they’re perfectly flush, as well as being strong where they need to be and light.’
This being a show bike, Alison wanted to use parts that would catch the eye while also reflecting his core philosophy of simplicity and serviceability. All parts with bearings are Chris King – a brand whose HQ also acts as a US base for Singular.
‘It’s great when your landlord also produces some of the finest hubs, headsets and bottom brackets available,’ Alison says. ‘The drivetrain components are all from Ingrid,’ he adds. ‘They exemplify
an approach of striving for the highest performance but in a way that is practical, serviceable and built to last. The Ingrid derailleur in particular is very cool. It has a modular design that can be adapted to work with any cable gear shifter. It can also be completely rebuilt as needed over time.’
The build is rounded out with Singular’s in-house titanium stem and seatpost and topped off with a rare titanium-railed Brooks Swallow saddle in grey leather. Finishing the build is a pair of grey Ultradynamico Rosé tyres.
