A brief history of Cleland Cycles

The Chiltern Hills cover an area of natural beauty less than forty miles north-west of London, England. Geoff spent his teenage years growing up there and developed a love for being at one with nature whilst cycling in the woods. Here people come to relax, walk, ride horses amongst the peaceful hills, woods and valleys.

Geoff also became a skilled motorcycle ‘observed trials’ rider but, on his non-competitive forays around the area, was always unhappy with the noise and disturbance his motorbike caused. What he wanted was a silent and capable off-road machine.

Combining the two disciplines, by 1968 he had modified his Raleigh Explorer road-bicycle, (designed for 24" wheels) fitting 26" wheels (650A or 37-590), longer front forks, high and wide handlebars and a 36 tooth chainwheel from a moped. This machine was but a single step on a journey of experimentation where any vaguely suitable form of bicycle was evaluated and modified in order to improve its off-road performance.

1977 saw Geoff concentrating his efforts on his bicycle designs, and by 1978 he had sourced a cocktail of suitable motorbike, BMX, and bicycle components, including 2" 650B snow tyres from Finland, and wear-compensating (floating cam) moped hub brakes from France. In order to fulfill his ‘short-high’ riding concept, it was time to have a custom-built frame made.

Finding a frame-builder who was prepared to turn Geoff’s heretical design into steel was not as straightforward as one would think nowadays. Finally, in 1979, the first custom-made Cleland was completed. Its other features include:

• alpine gearing ~ laughable in those days though useful when it was tested in the mountains of Iceland.
• trials-style bashplate under the bottom bracket ~ designed principally to fill the gap between the chainwheel and rear wheel where a log can become lodged
• a guard between the rear tyre and chain to prevent a build-up of mud being conducted into the derailleur mechanism
• full-length mudguards with substantial tyre clearances designed to prevent the inevitable clogging in the muddiest English conditions.

Geoff was frequently to be seen riding the muddy, winding forest trails on his tall Cleland ‘Range Rider’ off-road bicycles. His riding style exuded grace and refinement; his expert riding skills and highly evolved bikes gave an onlooker little indication of how difficult the terrain really was. People would offer friendly advice, “You won’t be able to ride along there.” They were invariably mistaken.

In 1980, another cooperative frame builder was found nearly 200 miles away in Liverpool. He was more capable of accurately reproducing Geoff’s improved designs. From now on, a Cleland would have a cross-brace to strengthen its frame, a tight rear triangle to improve weight bias and an extra-wide bottom bracket shell to increase wheel/frame clearances. Most were designed around the 650B wheel format, but a 700C (29er) version was produced.

Geoff read about the Ritchey mountain bike in the February 1980 issue of BMX Plus magazine and immediately made contact with those at the MountainBike Company in Fairfax, California. Knowledge and ideas were exchanged and Geoff became more convinced that his design was valid, logical and efficient.

The UK Mountain Bike Phenomenon

1984 saw the arrival of American style mountain bikes on the British market and Geoff became one of the most energetic promoters of this fledgling sport.

The Californian-inspired bikes may have found it difficult to cope with the slippery conditions, and all too easily clogged-up with mud, but they did promote the activity that Geoff was now devoting his life to; seeing his own design as a part of the movement as a whole. He led numerous rides in various parts of England, launched the Wendover Bash series, pioneering observed-trials competitive events, organised a number of mountain bike holidays with the Youth Hostels Association, established the Kielder Classic national level enduro event and worked with the UK national Sports Council to set-up the sport officially. He was also one of the founders of Making Tracks, a mountain biking fanzine. After Making Tracks was absorbed into New Cyclist magazine, Geoff joined its editorial team and moved to the Scottish Borders, where he lives to this day, enjoying the quiet roads and extensive hill tracks that are a feature of this area.

The Demise of Cleland Cycles Limited

Ironically, the success of the new arrivals from California ensured that Geoff’s designs were never mass-produced. In late 1984, Cleland Cycles ceased Aventura production due to terminal cash flow issues. However, he and others have continued to develop his ideas. For example, a 24" X 63mm rear- 44mm front-wheeled full-trials specific machine, dubbed Dingbat, appeared first, in 1985. The Clelandale, an attempt to create a Cleland from stock parts, followed this in 1986; Cannondale Beast of the East frame, high-rise-short-reach handlebar, Sturmey Archer drum brakes and, harking back to 1968, 26" X 1?" or 37-590 wheels and tyres.

A small, but dedicated, circle of Cleland admirers developed, including other companies who were inspired to produce their own versions of his designs, notably: English Cycles and Highpath Engineering.

Cleland into the 21st Century

Although the steep and short frame geometry, and several other features of a typical 1980 Cleland, have long since been adopted into mainstream mountain bikes, (look at your average Jump Bike) no single modern bike design brings all the design and component elements of the Cleland concept together in one a single, unified machine.

Geoff and other enthusiasts have continued to develop their own Cleland-style bikes. In 2006, Geoff designed and made a new 29er Cleland, given the logical name Aventura II. This follows his original design more faithfully than was possible back in 1980; components now available have made this possible. Geoff has never regarded the Cleland as exotica; it is a down-to-earth practical machine. The Aventura II features a simple and relatively cheap off-the-shelf frameset, Shimano Nexus Inter 8 hub gearing, roller brakes, and hub dynamo, QR carrier, stayless QR full-length mudguards, 47-622 wheels, alloy chainguard and bashplate, 13" bottom bracket and, of course, the high-short riding position. This has proved itself to be a very able machine, at a relatively low cost.

Geoff remains as enthusiastic as he ever was; never one to blindly follow trends, he continues to innovate, quietly ploughing his own furrow.

An article base upon this history of Cleland Cycles appeared on 63xc.com. A site devoted to fixed gear off-roading. Check it out.