Renovo Hardwood Bicycles – renovobikes.com – has collaborated with Glenmorangie, creators of Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, to provide the world with the first bicycle made from whisky casks, the Glenmorangie Original. This innovative collaboration creates a one-of-a-kind bicycle with a rich history that is as unique as Glenmorangie’s wood management policy.
Since 1843, Glenmorangie has been renowned for its innovative whisky creation and expertise in wood – and Renovo shares that same passion for using wood to create their unique handmade bicycles. Unlike most distilleries where casks are filled five or six times, Glenmorangie’s are only used twice, preserving the wonderful wood notes of vanilla, almond, coconut and honey concentrated in the spirit maturing in first-fill casks. The parcel matured in second-fill casks invites more of the citrus tones of Glenmorangie’s spirit to shine through. Together, they create The Original’s soft and smooth style.
When the American White Oak casks’ work at the Distillery is done, their staves are shipped from Scotland back to the USA to Renovo’s workshop in Oregon. Renovo, the originators of the wood bicycle frame, utilize about 15 staves to construct the hollow frame of each Glenmorangie Original bicycle. Every bike is individually designed to embrace the trapezoidal shape of each stave, as well as the curve of the cask in the frame’s down and top tubes. These shapes are integrated into a frame with the same smooth-riding hollow frame technology Renovo pioneered, as well as “longbow” seatstays engineered to further tame rough roads.
The Glenmorangie Original bicycles are a rolling testament to the versatility of wood, exceeding expectations on an array of surfaces. A fast and responsive road machine with the stock 700x28mm tires, the Glenmorangie Original transforms into an incredibly smooth and stable adventure machine with a simple swap of the tires – up to 40mm wide – to tame the roughest of unpaved roads. The Launch Edition is built with a Shimano Ultegra mechanical shifting and hydraulic braking systems, a full-carbon thru-axle fork, highly versatile Velocity wheels and a lightweight FSA cockpit.
Renovo Founder Ken Wheeler is excited to be working with Glenmorangie, and explains that Renovo “is dedicated to honouring wood in the creation of our bicycles, engineered to perfection for a smoother ride,” and that “these beautiful machines, uniquely fashioned from Glenmorangie’s staves, will inspire anyone with a taste for innovation.
