Cannondale decided that it was time to cash in on the whole fixie movement (in appearance only) with it’s OnBike. The frame welds are typically clean, as one would expect from the company but the upcharge is in the details–some impressive hardware upgrades. Most prominent is the “System Integrated Chain Case Technology”, a single-sided, fully enclosed chain case that is a structural part of the bike frame. Designed to be a maintenance free, clean and efficient drive system it has 9 internal gears. It also rolls around with disc brakes and internal cable routing. Love the way the sidearm is cantilevered, enabling this to leapfrog the Bowery ‘84. Via UnCrate.
Who knew that you could find some progressive motorcycle overhauling in a 100 year old dairy barn in Idaho? As a small five man team, one of which is the owner of Glass From The Past which manufacture vintage replacement components, Union Motorcycle Classics strip bikes down to the frame and rebuilds with a focus on minimalism. They have some nice bikes on their gallery but my faves are the 50cc Yamaha (orange/red powder coated frame) and the stripped down Ducati (one subtle touch of shop-signature color). Via Pipeburn, which was once again spot-on in their review.
Love these photos of Japanese bikes, showing that if you don’t have a car you still have the basic need to express individuality via transportation. Think cars without the obnoxious after-market kits with their over-sized spoilers. Except in this case I would think that ‘modding’ is more ubiquitous given the lower cost required to create something unique vs. the social cost of riding something stock. Via FixedGearGallery.
Spanish artist Gianmarco Magnani recently cut a series of prints featuring vintage motorcycles, half of which are profile line art (not sure if vector-based) but it’s the other half that are worth note. The hand drawn illustrations are clean and have a refined style that keeps the color minimal. My only issue is that they tend to wash out given the outlines aren’t pronounced enough to make the shapes ‘pop.’ Other than that these are perfect. Get them for about $400 a pop for an uber-limited edition of 10 here. Via BikeExf.
Leave it to a small dutch studio to take a bicycle and reduce it even further. Eindhoven designers VanBerlo have been awarded an iF gold award for their ‘Batavus Utility Bike,’ which has a frame based on the shape of a paperclip that leads to production efficiencies such as the down tube and top tube made from a single bent pipe.
It’s a fixie, but a fixie done just right. The component balance is interesting since the storage basket is affixed to the front fork as opposed to the rear fender, making the fender more prominent. I heart how the white-on-beige interplay with orange/black detailing and how it results in a warmer feel for the bike, as opposed to how sterile powder coated white can tend to appear. Via dezeen.
When I think about carbon fiber my mind conjures up abominations of automotive aftermarket components. It’s awesome to see those that started there are beginning to branch out as the technology matures and allows for different (yet adjacent) applications. Underground Bobbers is a California-based shop with these roots that is now customizing old British iron, but not with patchwork fixes.
Case in point is this overhauled Bonneville which was transformed over three months. The battery box is crafted from aircraft-quality mono-directional carbon fiber; the gas tank is made of a single sheet, hand laid and vacuum formed. Other carbon fiber parts include the headlight, fender and fin, seat unit, shock covers and even the sleeving on the exhaust pipes. Via Pipeburn.
Icarus frames is little more than one lone builder (and probably also painter) working out of Somerville, MA. It goes to show just what an individual can accomplish in a relatively crowded yet stale market. His uber-custom bikes and attention to detail is nicely touched off by nice throwback color selections and some gorgeous seamless welding.
Nothing quite like some alternative design when it comes to a staple; the bicycle. Whereas internal cable routing isn’t anything to get out of your seat and jump around to, a missing (magically cantilevered) seat tube and split aero head tube joint with custom bar/stem combo is pretty sweet. A sick collection of other rides built by Ian can be found here.
It’s pretty much a $100 frame that you can consider a blank canvas to build from with your own components. Not the cleanest of welding, not even painted, just the basics put together to make riding a bike reachable for pretty much anyone. Nothing more–nothing less. Check it out here.
I think I now know who Daft Punk goes to for new helmets. I heart the retro-futuristic styling of the Belvedere helmet, from luxe accessory maker, Les Ateliers Ruby. Via Ianclairidge.
Every once in a while I see something homegrown like this and think about how a lone individual can be so far ahead of industry that they set trends without knowing it. A white powder coated frame, gold components that balance themselves with chrome front suspension and exhaust? Almost as progressive as the significant shortening of the frame and the aggressive repositioning of the rider as result. Are white rims too much? Sure, but those are easily swapped out for something gold or chrome (as long as they aren’t stock).
The bike is called DUster and it’s from YSC, based in Belarus. That’s right, the tiny European country on the western border of Russia that you have heard mentioned maybe twice in your life won ‘Best Streetfighter’ at the last Custombike show in Germany and took the Best International Builder award at the Verona expo in Italy. With no real supply chain for parts or much local talent this comes out of nowhere; until the studio moves. Owner Yuri Shif has created this using a Ducati Monster engine and transmission but the frame, bodywork, and swingarm suspension are Shif’s own. Via BikeExif.