Meet the Makers: Ricky Feather (Bicycle maker)
Nova Studios
Nova Studios
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00:00I grew up on a council estate in Rotherham. There weren't really a lot to do. I started
00:14riding bikes when I was three years old. I think by the time I was five, my granddad
00:17had taught me how to fix a puncture, so it's kind of like something that I've just loved
00:20doing all my life really. I guess Feather Cycles is a unique experience.
00:29It's got a lot more to offer than just going to a bike shop and buying a bike. Not just
00:34the way that you buy the bike, but also the way that the bike will end up performing and
00:39feeling like it's a part of you when you're out on it.
00:47It matters a lot to me keeping things local, to be honest, you know, before mass production
00:51became a thing. If you were someone who was serious about cycling, you went to your local
00:55frame builder and got a bike made. I like things that last, and I like things that,
01:04you know, in ten years, they're not going to be sort of yesterday's news. Normally things
01:09that are well made, they have this longevity to them as well, in terms of style or looks
01:15or whatever it is. A lot of my customers, they want something unique, they want something
01:24a bit different to what their mates have got. I was probably the first frame builder
01:28in the UK to really kind of step it up a notch when it came to paint. Jack Johnson is my
01:36painter, he's based in Hull. I can kind of like give him a bit of a guideline of what
01:40I want from him. And because Jack's very creative as well, I can kind of leave him to it.
01:46I'd rather listen to a record than an mp3. Coming out of like proper speakers from an
01:55amp, that feeling of that sound, it's totally different. So being able to sort of provide
02:03people with something that's kind of like almost analogue feeling like that, that in
02:08ten years' time won't be out of style. With the bike that I build, it's built to last
02:13a lifetime. We're spoilt for choice, you know, I can go into the Dales, I can go into
02:27the Wolves, I can go into the North York Moors, I can ride on the flat going south. You know,
02:31Yorkshire provides all of that. I always feel lucky, I never like sort of take it for granted.
02:41Just bike riding is what I love doing myself. Being able to give that to other people, that's
02:48pretty special.