Selwyn’s 140mm Trail Bike Pairs Alpine Access With Handbuilt Steel
Built and tested in the French Alps, Selwyn’s 29-inch steel trail bike has 140mm rear travel and is collected from the builder’s Samoëns workshop.
Selwyn Bicycles has opened orders for a full-suspension steel mountain bike shaped by three years of building, riding and testing in the French Alps. The Trail Bike pairs 140mm of rear travel with a 160mm fork, and its purchase comes with a distinctly hands-on first ride: buyers collect it from builder Alexander Plaisted’s workshop in Samoëns and head out on nearby trails with him.
The complete bike starts at €8,850. That price and pickup arrangement make the Trail Bike a considered purchase for riders drawn to a particular kind of alpine experience: long days climbing and carrying a bike to reach technical descents, multi-day point-to-point trips, summer lift laps and winter training rides.
John documented the Selwyn Bicycles Trail Bike (€8,850 complete) at this year’s Bespoked London event, and today, the French Alps-based builder has opened up orders…
Designed around alpine days
Plaisted has made custom steel frames since 2016 from his workshop in Samoëns, in Haute-Savoie. For this bike, he worked with Dan Roberts of Garage Bike Project. The result combines a frame made by hand in the Alps with modern manufacturing methods and a suspension layout the builders developed for a broad range of riding.
Selwyn’s description puts the emphasis on covering ground under your own power as well as handling technical trails. The intended rides include extended climbs, pushing or carrying the bike to reach high alpine terrain, and descents after a full day out. That mix helps explain the travel choice: the frame has 140mm at the rear, while a 160mm fork handles the front.
All builds use 29-inch wheels. Selwyn does not offer a mullet setup, a 160/160mm version or a 170mm fork option. The builder says those choices reflect the outcome of three years of development, with each design decision judged by whether it improves the bike’s ride. For prospective owners, the fixed configuration makes the intended character clear: this is one carefully specified platform, rather than a frame offered in several travel and wheel combinations.
Steel frame, custom hardware
The frame uses a combination of Reynolds 853, 631 and 931 tubing. Selwyn says it designed the pivot bolts, axle, spacers, dropouts and brake mounts for the bike instead of relying on off-the-shelf parts. The dropouts, chainstay yoke and seatstay pivots are 3D-printed in stainless steel. The rocker link and pivot hardware are machined from 7075 aluminum, then anodized and engraved with the Selwyn logo.
This detailed approach gives the bike a distinct build story, though the practical test for any rider will still be how the suspension and geometry suit their own terrain and riding style. Selwyn’s stated aim is a bike that stays efficient while pedalling and has enough rear travel for technical alpine ground. The article does not give geometry figures, frame weights or size options, so riders who need those details will have to discuss them directly with the builder.
A complete build and a workshop pickup
The house build includes a FAST Fenix 2 coil shock, tuned for each rider’s weight before the frame leaves the workshop. It is paired with a RockShox Lyrik Ultimate fork, Hope wheels, brakes and cockpit, and SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission. Buyers can choose colors for the Hope components. The reported full-build price starts at €8,850; frame-only pricing is available on request.
Wet paint comes in Metallic British Racing Green with yellow logos or Pearl Blue with silver logos. Custom paint can be requested. These are the reported finish choices; the source does not list an extra charge or lead time for custom paint.
There is no delivery option. Each buyer collects the bike in person at Plaisted’s workshop in the woods of the Giffre valley, between Morzine and Chamonix and near the start of the Col de Joux Plane road climb. Selwyn describes the workshop as sitting at the bottom of 1,000 vertical metres of singletrack and plans to take each customer riding on the trails the bike was designed for.
That arrangement makes the location part of the buying experience, but it also means collection needs to be planned as a trip to Samoëns. Riders should confirm collection details and discuss fit, setup and their intended use during the conversation that begins each order. The Trail Bike is available through selwynbicycles.co.uk. For anyone weighing the price against the build, the clearest case for this bike is its focused alpine brief, individually tuned shock and direct introduction to the terrain around its workshop.
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