Our Brand Ambassador Kelly-Jayne Emmerson is pregnant, but she's been determined to keep riding. For the first half of her pregnancy she has been getting out, and sticking to more tame terrain aboard her Shimano Gravel Union Cotic Escapade.

Now well into her third trimester, Kelly was getting too uncomfortable grabbing for the drops, and needed a much more upright position to keep her comfy and rolling on the trails. So, the idea was hatched to do a flat bar conversion on her Escapade. This isn't something we usually recommend as for most riders it would result in a position far too short and upright, but short and upright is exactly what is needed in later pregnancy when a rider needs to make space for bump. Kell says....

“Do you know what, I’m so happy that I’m still riding, so many women that I’ve spoken to told me that they had to stop at around 25 weeks, just ‘cos it was so uncomfortable, so I feel really lucky that the guys have hooked me up. It would be so boring if I couldn’t go out riding. Just getting out there.”

It wasn't the work of a minute to do the change, as these days drop bar and MTB drivetrains are almost entirely lacking in cross-compatibility. In the end, after much discussion between Cotic and Gravel Union sponsors Shimano, we went for an XT 8100 1x12 drivetrain, SLX brakes with flat mount to post mount caliper adapters, Cotic Calver MTB riser bars cut down to 720mm and a diddy PRO Tharsis 35mm stem.

“It’s awesome, so upright. I don’t have to lean forwards at all which makes it so comfortable, ‘cos it’s got such a short stem and the flat bars just makes such a difference. My thighs were hitting my bump when I had drop bars which really wasn’t ideal, so I’d have my legs spread open wide way too much and be really uncomfortable cycling, so yeah, I’m really happy now.”

We're wishing Kelly-Jayne all the very best for the rest of her pregnancy and beyond. If you're pregnant, then we hope this has inspired you to keep getting out on your bike if you can. What an exciting time!