Tom and His Dead Forest Bicycles Cicada Prototype: Sled of Shred (original) (raw)
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Tom and His Dead Forest Bicycles Cicada Prototype: Sled of Shred
John Watson
June 2, 2026
Yesterday we took a deep dive into The Woods Cyclery, a bike shop on the edge of the New Forest in Southern England. Today, we’ve got a shreddy look at Tom, the owner of Woods’s new in-house brand, Dead Forest Bicycles, and the first prototype Cicada frame…
Dead Forest
No, this isn’t a reference to a Norwegian second-wave black metal band; it’s a reference to natural, healthy forests. A dead forest is where dead trees represent a life-sustaining component of healthy forest ecosystems. Trees that burn from fire, or beetle kill, old age, or wind, fall to the ground and act as a giant compost pile. This ground layer represents a crucial ecosystem, sometimes supporting up to 40% of a forest’s biomass. Dead forests regulate soil moisture, sequester carbon, and drive nutrient cycling as they decompose.
Humans often meddle with this system, reclaiming deadfall for firewood, kicking the balance off kilter.
Big Tires, Skinny Tubes
I reported on The Woods Cyclery yesterday, showcasing how Tom’s vision for the shop was inspired by the Singular Peregrine, The Radavist, and Ronnie Romance’s early, formidable years of riding drop-bar 29ers when he was simply known on the ‘net and the ‘gram as “Ultra Romance.” These three things, combined with Tom’s background of BMX, fixed gear riding, and mountain biking, transferred over to his preferred phenotype of a drop bar bike.
The rear end is tucked, the front end is slacked, and the stack is stacked.
What’s in a Name: Dead Forest Cicada
Cicadas have long been extinct from the New Forest, but there have been several recent attempts at repopulating the Southern England woodlands. On every summertime ride, Tom has half an ear open for their trilling, wondering if this is the summer they’ll return. The head badge is an homage to these wonderful insects who call woodlands home and is a ray of hope for their return.
The decals on the Dead Forest prototype are water slip, applied by hand, and designed by Jack, one of the mechanics at The Woods.
Dead Forest Bicycles Cicada Prototype
Sketching out ideas, Tom hit up Stayer Cycles to make this Cicada prototype. Using fillet-brazed construction and accommodating a 2.6″ 29er tire, the Dead Forest Cicada is a modern interpretation of bikes like the Singular Peregrine, drawing on references from Stooge, Crust, and others who’ve ventured down the same path.
Tom added some of his own design elements to the mix. The standout feature by far is the fork, which is a mash-up of a Fat City segmented fork with Type II-inspired sleeves for increased stiffness, allowing those Paul v-brakes to squeeze rims enough for sick skids while keeping the fork ends flexy to smooth out the ride feel. As you can see in the right photo, the studs were placed higher on the fork than normal, maximizing the tire clearance and taking advantage of the Paul Motolite pad location adjustment.
Tom’s build is singlespeed, geared at 36:20 – perfect for the idyllic trails surrounding his home in the New Forest. To achieve chain tension, the Dead Forest uses an eccentric bottom bracket, making it easy to use the cranks of their choice while keeping a classic, minimal look at the dropouts. To allow people to use older rim-brake hubs, Tom specced the rear end at 135 mm with a 73 mm bottom bracket shell. You can use a classic hub or a modern one (this is kind of in line with Rivendell’s spec).
Production and Ride Feel
Tom’s intention is for Dead Forest Bicycles to be an endemic, in-house brand to The Woods Cyclery. Tom’s still deciding if he’ll offer a Taiwan-made version to bring the price down alongside a UK-made frameset most likely brazed by Stayer Cycles in London. Balancing economic concerns, Tom thinks these frames will be a hit with his customer base and wants people to have options. I’ll admit, my interest is piqued!
By using tubing that is just light enough to feel secure underfoot, the Cicada maintains a spring-like step, and, most importantly, it can still take a load for touring and camping. The Dead Forest Cicada is the perfect bike for the Rat Run, The Woods’s mixed-terrain route that spans from the New Forest to the Isle of Purbeck.
It’s springy but not a noodle when it’s loaded down. Tom emphasized this balance during our conversations: “I want it not to beat you up when it’s unloaded but still feel solid when loaded up.”
The Woods Cyclery Build Kit
The team at The Woods Cyclery does such a great job on their builds. They have an uncanny ability to mix modern components from the US and UK into a jaw-dropping neo-classical silhouette. Tom’s build is emblematic of those talents with Crust Towel Rack bars, Paul brakes, Dia Compe levers, Hope rear hub, SON front, big, meaty tires, a Ritchey post, Brooks saddle, Oury grips over Newbaum’s tape, and yeah, Middleburn cranks with a Stridsland ring.
That beautiful Wizard Works frame bag eats up all the plentiful real estate offered by the roomy front triangle. To achieve the “French fit,” with a grip of saddle, Tom recommends sizing up. In doing so, you gain so much room for a frame bag. This is another nod of inspiration from Tom to his potential customers: don’t baby this bike! Load it up, get out, and sleep under the stars.
Follow along with the development process at the Dead Forest Bicycles Instagram page and keep your eyes peeled for updates on the brand as events warrant; once the pre-order opens, we’ll share it.
What do you think of Tom’s idea for the Dead Forest Cicada? Would you ride one?