#painters

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Walton Brush’s California State Champion Cinelli Cross

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Walton Brush’s California State Champion Cinelli Cross


Photos by Mike Martin

It helps a lot when your teammate just so happens to be a expert at frame design and painting, especially when you win the 2013 California State ‘Cross Championships. Garrett Chow recently completed and photographed this bike for Mash-teammate, Walton Brush. Even if it did come at the end of the season, it’s still an incredible machine!

Check out some words by Garrett and more photos below!

Jordan Low Custom Paint

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Jordan Low Custom Paint

As a frame builder or a potential customer of one, finding a good, reliable painter is one of the most difficult components in the custom bike equation. Not only do they have to be talented, they’ve got to be creative and be able to execute designs in a timely manner. Some clients have no idea what they want, but can give a few graphic precedents to a builder or painter and say “run with it.”

It takes a talented painter to make that a reality. In some cases, all it takes is a photo of a sports car, or a graphic designer like Adria Klora to hand over style sheets, yet either route you, the customer, or your builder takes, it all comes down to the capabilities of the painter.

One such painter that I’ve been really admiring over the past year is Jordan Low. A full-time painter at Seven in Watertown, Massachusetts, Jordan spends his free time painting for various frame builders like Stinnner, Geekhouse, Avery County, and Tomii.

Follow Jordan’s work at the Jordan Low Custom Paint Flickr!

#MadeRADbyTony: The Starmac

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#MadeRADbyTony: The Starmac

#MadeRADbyTony: The Starmac
Photos by Carson Blume Photography, words by Chris Riekert

“How about a little comet?” Tony says while deep in his element. “Yea… right there. Perfect.” Watching Tony paint, I realize he isn’t talking to me, but rather coaxing the paint out of his airbrush. In a dimly lit pop-up tent pitched in his backyard, Tony’s workspace smells like a lack of ventilation in a chemical plant.

Garrett Chow on the Argonaut Mavic 125ans Road Bike

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Garrett Chow on the Argonaut Mavic 125ans Road Bike

Garrett Chow is an exceptional designer and I’m very fond of his work. In today’s industry, so many cycling-related projects rely on paint design, meaning it’s the ultimate crux in a project’s success.

It’s easy to draw some chevrons, or paint a logo a pantone and call it a day, but to really dive into data, something that’s typically not visually stimulating and pull a compelling paint job from a series of numbers and historical markers takes talent.

With the recent Mavic 125ans project bikes, I took a liking to Argonaut‘s design. There was information there and it required you to stop and really examine every aspect of the bike. There were a lot of immaculate paint jobs in the 125ans bikes, but this one was more than that…

See more below!

Custom Painted Scott Road with SRAM Red

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Custom Painted Scott Road with SRAM Red

This was just one of the many cool bikes I saw today. I met Youenn Colin today very briefly. He’s a designer at Ideo and painted this bike himself. Truth told I forgot which Scott road bike model he chose to respray.

Design, paint, assemble… amazing. I love the halftone detail!

My Death Spray Custom Purple Rain Camo Geekhouse Cross

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My Death Spray Custom Purple Rain Camo Geekhouse Cross

David at Death Spray Custom has been painting forks for people all over the world, for what is quickly becoming the “Fork You” series. He always gives me shit about having purple bikes, and in one email he asked if I “thought I was Prince” – which quickly became the theme for this German rain camo inspired design. Before I could even argue, he told me I was getting “Purple Rain”.

David’s process on something like this must be maddening. Especially masking off every little marking over his Dark Sky Horizon fade and with the Death Spray on the inside of the fork legs…

Originally, I was going to save this fork for an upcoming project, but I thought it would look sinister on my Geekhouse Mudville instead. I do travel with, ride and shred this bike more than anything else in my stable. Personally, I think the worn and tattered powdercoat of my Mudville contrasts the funky DSC design, especially with the Chris King purple headset and bottom bracket.

Last Friday, I rode with some friends out to some trails here in Austin, jammed around a few hot laps, with my camera in a hip bag and took a few minutes to shoot this bike in the late afternoon sun…