Busyman for Speedvagen

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Busyman for Speedvagen

Mick Peel is Melbourne, Australia’s saddle leather magic-worker. His work never ceases to amaze me and his latest project for Speedvagen landed atop a bike just in time for the Speedvagen Australia Fit Tour. Which bike? A Black Holla Text painted road with bright pink to white to mid blue gradation text. This tape, when wrapped around the bars, starts with pink highlights and finishes with blue.

I’m trying to scrounge up photos of the complete bike, but this one on the Speedvagen Instagram might suffice for now.

Joah’s Hampsten Gran Paradiso Minimus Road with Busyman Leather

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Joah’s Hampsten Gran Paradiso Minimus Road with Busyman Leather

When NAHBS landed in Austin back in 2011, it opened the door for a lot of locals to the custom framebuilding world. Many of which had never heard of a majority of the builders, so it was easy to strip away all the hype or internet chatter and have them pick their favorites, based on construction, communication and overall aesthetics.

Joah went to NAHBS and meandered around the aisles looking for a builder who would make him a road bike to last a lifetime. After all was said and done, he felt the most connected to the Hampsten line, particularly the Gran Paradiso Minimus road frame. Made from Columbus Spirit tubing with an ENVE 1.0 fork, this is one lightweight frame. After some communication with Hampsten, his bike was on order.

Parts began to pile up and Joah reached out to Melbourne’s Mick Peel of Busyman Bicycles to make a matching saddle and bar wrap. At the time, this leatherwork was a deep, dark grey but after four years of constant riding – this is Joah’s only bike – the leather wore in nicely, offering a beautiful patina, which is the first thing that caught my eye.

Mick matched the orange Mango Chris King hubs with an inlay beneath the perforations and Justin at Luxe Wheelworks built up his wheels. Joah loves this bike and had nothing but positive things to say about working with Hampsten Cycles. Personally, I still can’t get over the bar tape’s unique texture and color.

Busyman Bicycles: Kurved

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Busyman Bicycles: Kurved

Busyman is so busy, man that he’s just now getting around to posting projects he finished months back. This Kurve saddle and matching bar tape is now in Seoul, Korea. See more at Busyman.