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| The Honemann Flyer March 2026 |
Regular blog readers will know this bike well. I thought I would give my impressions of the bike again in view of my previous comments. If this bike is new to you, I have an AI overview of the bike, which is pretty spot-on, concise, and will serve as a way to bring you up to date:
"The Honeman Flyer is a custom, single-speed gravel bike built by King Fabrications for Guitar Ted Productions, designed based on the 1930s-era track bike geometry of national champion Willie Honeman. It is a unique, super-smooth riding, -framed bike featuring a slack seat tube and modern components, intended to test the relevance of classic geometry for modern gravel riding."
I'll only add that the geometry and the frame and fork Willie rode to three national championships on the track was built by John "Pop" Brennan.
My last look at this bike was last December in my "Bikes of 2025" post. You can check that one out if you'd like to.
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| Ben Petty (L) and Guitar Ted riding the Honeman Flyer last October |
I have written a ton about this bike so I won't try to rewrite again things I've covered before. I will say this bike seems to be tied to seat post changes. I went with a carbon Whisky Parts Co. post on this, switching out the old post in early March. About a week ago, to be exact. Early returns are good with the original look being present once again, which I happen to like better.
I re-wrapped the bars with Ergon AllRoad tape. I also installed the Ergon saddle I recently recieved in for review. Both parts were introduced HERE. The black handlebar tape really looks different. I'm so used to running pink hues for handlebar tape on this bicycle. With all the black additions I think it brings out the black crackle overcoat on the paint job.
It is not in the latest geometry trends or feature trends for a gravel bike. It won't take anything wider than a 44mm tire. It really should be a 40mm tire. It is steel. It doesn't have gears. No down tube storage box. And that radical rear end of this bike.
I mean, how does anyone ride a bike like this in 2026?
Easy - One pedal stroke at a time!
And what about this experiment's relevance to modern day gravel geometry? I'd say everything from the bottom bracket forward is spot on. The back end? Weird. Not relevant at all.
Anyway, the bike is surprisingly fun to ride, it handles very well for myself, and in the end, this is all that really matters. It suits me very well. I would not expect anyone else to like such a weird bike. To ride, at any rate. It does also look cool, which is good, but yeah - 1980's crackle finish paint is not everyone's cup of tea.
Weird bike, weird paint job, weirdo rider. Seems like a match made in heaven.
This is my favorite bike of yours. What I really like about the bike and you is unlike a number media folks, you continue to ride and retain possession of rigs. I shake my head everytime a custom built frame goes out to a media person. My bias is from seeing a number of products thrown to the wayside for sale or gifted from a recipient in short time. You drag the bikes thru time. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteSomething I have been meaning to ask. Opinion: When is the OE components not worth living with for you? You mention good frame and good components a value deal. In comparison to a better frame and best components. At some point, the starting price point is a ripoff. The question stems from the Cues, Microshift, and China clones equipped bikes listing these days.
@teamdarb - Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate them.
DeleteOE spec is a landscape of pitfalls and much of it is the devil's work. Penny-pinching and placing cheaply made bits where you are not really looking, (speaking from a typical cyclist's viewpoint) is not only cheesy, but criminal in worst case scenarios.
I see good to great frames with total garbage spec and vice-versa. It all depends upon how the company wants to market their product and at what price point they want to hit at.
For instance, Fuji was a brand which often gave you a good, maybe even a great frame, but they typically were littered with "house branded" (Oval, if I recall correctly) componentry. Those components were heavy, uninspiring, but durable and got you where you were wanting to go. What is more important than this?
Some folks buy based upon "bragging rights", so they may look for the derailleur/group first, need to have decent wheels next, and the frame? Maybe it is good, but no one really knows, so this customer doesn't give a rip about the frame.
Personally I am about the frame, and in particular, the geometry. If it won't handle correctly, comfortably, and if it has any weird quirks, who cares what it looks like or what parts are bolted to it? I don't.
If the handling is going places I like, and the frame geometry is interesting, good, or both, I will bolt things on it I find interesting and fun to use.
I do not have experience with CUES, MicroShift, or Chinese electronic shifting bits, so I cannot speak to those. I hope to get something to try with any of those components in the near future.