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The way I ride road bikes has evolved with the way the bikes are being built. As I have moved away from pack racing over the past 10 years, I have desired more variety in my daily rides. Most of my rides involve sections of steep LA county fire roads or linking hilly neighborhood climbs together by zigging and zagging through hidden dirt paths.
This has been an option for a while now, but Ritchey finally made it official at NAHBS this year. Their Heritage Paint deal is simple: for any of their steel framesets, Rick Stefani of D&D cycles will paint it one of four classic paint schemes. This includes the Team RWB, Sunset Fade, Urban and Commando Camo. See all the details at Ritchey!
Taking on the #FlowShiv
Photos and words by Chris Riekert
Here in the hallowed halls of the big red ‘S’; you know, the Death Star of the cycling world… you might be surprised to see there are some real people roaming around. Real people that are, first and foremost, big fans of bikes.
People like my buddy John Friedrich, the only man I know who would happily talk about the different weights of DOT brake fluid and what they offer to the rider, literally, until you’d choose water boarding over continuing the conversation… Or like our mechanic Patrick “Tree” Miller who seems like someone delivered to earth in one of those rescue pods shot through space as the planet Krypton went through nuclear collapse. Patrick is the NICEST most willing to help person I’ve ever met… and yes, he is a bicycle mechanic! How about that?
Pass the Torch with Vanilla Bicycles and Coat Paint Shop
Photos by Jeff Curtes words by Sacha White
I’d be willing to bet that if you surveyed a handful of frame builders, asking them what one of the bigger challenges they face would be, their answer would be paint. At least with the builders I converse with frequently, paint seems to be their biggest inconsistent component in the equation. From late jobs, to increase in rates, for someone who is trying to deliver a product on time, paint can be the literal last straw.
Perhaps this is why so many builders are moving towards in-house paint. Or, I should say, smaller framebuilders are moving to in-house paint. A move that Vanilla Bicycles decided would be a key development in their operations early on. The world looks to Speedvagen and Vanilla for inspiration, that’s no secret, but in an attempt to delve a little deeper, I asked Vanilla’s Sacha White to share Coat Paint Shop’s history and future in a Pass the Torch feature here on the Radavist…
Japanese painter Swamp did some incredible work on a Surly Pugsley for Above Bike Store. I love all these custom fatbikes in Japan!
Ucon and 8Bar Bikes got together recently to take the concept of creating a ‘featherlight’ track bike to the next level. Personally, I think this came out great! I really love the paint and the details down to the collaboration caps and straps. The video is a little long, but you get the idea.
Check out more photos of the bike and the process below!
From Beautiful Bicycle: Stanridge Speed x Death Spray Custom Highstreet Track
From Recent Roll: Garrett Chow and His FEA Specialized Venge
Social media has done a great deal for the cycling industry. One of which being a platform for people who are movers and shakers, who might have not had a readily-accessible forum before. The two parties involved with this post in particular have created some stellar work in their day and if anyone has the right to have their opinions heard, it’s them. I saw this on Garrett Chow’s Instagram and had to post it up:
“From the paint-booths of @deathspray and @garrett_chow:
Hey Cycling-Industry! With the trade-show season upon us, it’s our guess that a great many in your employ are feeling the annual, dread pall of humiliation and embarrassment with your ‘little problem’: Shit Colors and Graphics, and weak product-offering. That twinge of, “oh fuck, I donno know — just make everything black, red, or white”. And, the tiresome, nagging itch of, “put three stripes on it, and call it a day”, needn’t be suffered nor endured any longer. These ‘strategies’ never hide the fact that your bikes are inane, open-tooling, off-the-shelf death-traps, anyway. And, no amount of voice-conferences, consultants, or Power-Point presentations will ever change this, either.
Adding insult to injury, the small company two booths over, who invested 1/23rd the cost of your ‘clever’ marketing-budget on their talented, appreciated and fairly-compensated designer (and not a color-blind engineer moon-lighting as your ‘de-facto design team’–the one with an iMac and a dog-eared back-issue of IdN Magazine on his desk), is literally KILLING your 2014 line-plan with one hand tied behind its back. Your self-congratulatory back-slapping echoing throughout the exhibit-hall–like so many floundering, dying fish gasping their last breaths–belies the fact that the death of our beautiful industry is precisely where your pedestrian products are taking us.
So, here’s your escape plan for model year 2015: Please, put down the golf magazine just long enough to write an email to: info@deathspraycustom.com and, garrettchow@yahoo.com IT’S REALLY, /REALLY/ THAT EASY! We are here for you –and with love, D & GC”
As someone who also works freelance and constantly finds himself frustrated with the lack of creativity in cycling, I can commend these two…
Like a true artist, each and every piece that leaves Death Spray Custom has a concept, or a story behind it. When you first see this Stanridge Speed Highstreet, however, you might just end up scratching your head. Even though the concept is crystal clear. Let me elaborate.
A few years ago, when Dan Chabanov first received his Highstreet to race at the Red Hook Crit, the initial reaction someone had to the frame was “that’s not steel”. All it took was a magnet to prove it was, in fact, steel. When I walked in the doors at King Kog hours later, the magnet was still on the seat tube. Adam from Stanridge told David at DSC and he went wild with it.
Simple enough right? That’s the beauty of true art. It’s simple. The execution though, must be flawless and this bike is just that. Flawless. Well, that was until it flew over the barricade at the Red Hook Crit Navy Yard!
This machine has seen its share of races, spills and thrills. It’s not a wall-hanger, it comes alive at the Red Hook Crit. If you’re going to be at the Red Hook Crit Milan or Barcelona, you’ll be able to catch this bike in person. If not, see more in the Gallery!
I feel like today’s Beautiful Bicycles are sporting some of the most outrageous finishing jobs. First that Death Spray track bike and now this Firefly light-touring bike. Keep in mind, this is only one angle and you can’t even see all the insane detailing (masking hell!). In order to do that, you’ll have to go to the Firefly Flickr!
Speedvagen has a great piece up on their Speedbloggen showcasing the design process and procedures that produced the 2013 Surprise Me road paint scheme. Once you’re done reading, head over to the Speedvagen Flickr for more photos!
Death Spray Custom is no stranger to camouflage. Not in the least. His latest camo-creation is this ENVE cross fork for Kyle at GSC. It came out amazing. See more at the DSC Blog.
I don’t usually double dip on a post’s subject, but these two dudes are legit. Devon Tsuno and Ace for CBNC and the Unknown raffle that’s going down tonight in LA.
The final chapter in the Death Spray Custom Formula is not at all what I expected. I’ve been enjoying these shorts, see the rest of them here.
Photos by Simon Nieborak
File this one under complete radness. Tim from the North Race got David at Death Spray Custom to dress up his Low track bike with one of those bitchin’ forks. Check out more photos here.
Photo by Angus Sung
Man. This is so, so sick. Rudy from the 5th Floor has a custom Death Spray Custom fork on his track bike and I’m digging it a lot. See more at the Death Spray Custom blog.
Mike Martin is a very busy guy. When he’s not at the Mash SF storefront, he’s planning an event, working on his clothing line Martin or out shooting video. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for his other passion: photography. It’s not everyday that you see photos from Mike, so when he showcases inspirational photos like these, I had to reach out to him.
Garrett Chow’s work that comes out of his studio in the Specialized facilities is always far from ordinary and his new Custom Specialized Carbon Crux CX is a perfect example of his craftsmanship. Many thanks to Mike for the high res photos. Check them out below!
Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.
I’ve been posting about Death Spray Custom for as long as David’s been putting his work online. He’s one of the most famous bicycle painters and it’s not because of his lug or box lining. David’s work is heavily inspired by automotive, motorbike, Razzle Dazzle and anything else that can be applied to a complex curvature. There’s a great interview up on CycleEXIF, so head over and check it out.
It’s hard not to get all warm inside when this head tube stares you down. Keith Anderson is selling this immaculate DeRosa through his paint shop. $1,200 gets you a bike as Italian as a cannoli stain on an Armani suit.