Man, I still can’t believe David from Death Spray Custom painted bikes for each of the Cannondale team riders in this year’s Tour. What a huge undertaking that must have been, especially when you see the detail he put into just the fork (you). Keep an eye on the Death Spray Blog for more…
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Radar
Watch As a Colnago C60 Frame is Painted by Hand in Italy
… and here we are again, watching Italian men made beautiful Colnago C60 frames!
Radar
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!
Radar
Death Spray Custom for Cannondale: Tour de France Bikes
David at Death Spray Custom has been busy preparing for the 2014 Tour de France. Many moons again, Cannondale commissioned him to paint a bike for each rider, adorned with their spirit animals, inspired by native American Haida style.
The fleet looks amazing, so head over to Death Spray Custom to see each rider’s bike! Brakethrough did a great job documenting these bikes.
Radar
Speedvagen: 2014 Surprise Me Road
Just when I thought Speedvagen’s paint jobs couldn’t get any more elaborate, they post this beauty to the Speedbloggen. Head on over to see more photos, including the process Coat utilized on the finish.
Radar
Tomii Cycles: 2014 Cross Team Frame by JL Custom Paint
Nao at Tomii Cycles has been working on pulling together a cross team for this year’s season and we all know that paint can make, or brea… ok, nevermind. What I’m trying to say is that paint is very important to a team bike.
This year, Tomii reached out to JL Custom Paint to do his thing and the end result is insane. See more of the 2014 Team Stampede at the Tomii Cycles Flickr!
Reportage
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!
Radar
Death Spray Custom: Hell Moto III
Photography By Dan Wilton
Oh man, this… Death Spray is at it again!
Radar
Death Spray Custom x Saffron Frameworks Video
This was too good to just tack onto the previous entry!
Radar
Kinoko Cycles: Death Spray Custom Saffron Road
London-based frame builder Saffron Frameworks recently had this bike painted by none other than Death Spray Custom. Coincidentally, this stainless steel road bike won Best in Show at Bespoked last weekend.
Head over to Kinoko Cycle’s Blog for more!
Radar
Circle A: Purple Sportif Road
What can I say? I’m a sucker for purple bikes. Check out more of this classy sportif road at the Circle A Flickr.
Reportage
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…
Radar
Death Spray Custom Fork You Purple Rain
What on Earth is this? Looks like some kind of purple rain… I wonder whose fork that is? Death Spray, once again delivering the goods.
Radar
Death Spray Custom: Marco’s Fork You
Photo by Francesco Dolfo
David at Death Spray Custom does it again! This killer neon fork looks great on Marco’s Cinelli with ENVE and SRAM Red. Head over to the Death Spray Custom blog for more photos.

Radar
Death Spray Custom Has a New Site
What do I even say about the work of Death Spray Custom? Never heard of it? You should head over to David’s new site, where the pictures do plenty of talking. Wow dude… such a comprehensive catalog of work!

Radar
Death Spray Custom: Carbon Sex Leopard Fork Available
David at DSC just posted this bit of radness for sale on his new webshop. If you’re into it, you better act now, because there will only be one made.

Radar
From the Paint Booths of Death Spray Custom and Garrett Chow
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…

Reportage
Stanridge Speed x Death Spray Custom Highstreet Track
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!