5 day paint job

MONDAY After being stripped and sandblasted by Bikeworks, Chris and I collected the frame and parts of the Raleigh Caprice Jim from Bikeworks had found for my Dream Bike design and we cycled them back to Cyclodelic HQ. After fully restoring any imperfections in the frame Chris gave the frame, forks, chain guard and mudguard stays two base coats before spraying everything gold. Unfortunately the first gold we’d chosen just wasn’t quite gold enough in my mind and so a trip back to Halfords was in order to rectify the situation before I had a golden tantrum. Fortunately (for Chris) he chose well this time and after two more cans the bike gleamed a beautiful pale gold.

TUESDAY After a couple of nights deliberation over the best way to achieve the design whilst also making sure it was finished in time for this years Bike Week rather than Bike Week 2011 we decided to hand paint the Harlequin pattern rather than spray it. Next began the painstaking process of masking off the diamonds. This took Chris 3 hours.

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY Once the frame, fork and chain guard were masked off Chris began the laborious task of painting each individual diamond one of 4 colours, magenta, azure, lime and orange making sure that no two ever touched. This took Chris 2.5 days.

FRIDAY After 2-3 coats of each colour the paint was left to dry overnight and in the morning it was time to peel off the pinstriping tape. Although there were a few bleeds and imperfections (such as are to be had on a hand painted object) we all agreed that it looked bloody marvelous!! After the lacquer was applied we left it to dry in the sunshine, which had, through some divine act remained throughout the entire process. Well done to Chris for his fantastic effort with the paint next back to Bikeworks to piece it all together…

Hiro’s Bicycle

‘Project Cargo Bike’ After weeks of scouring e bay Chris finally made the trip to Sussex to collect the Cargo Bike we won. Neither of us ever being satisfied with leaving things as they are over the next few weeks I will be documenting the bikes transformation from rusty Butchers Bicycle to a shiny new ride complete with front doggy basket for our prized pooch and whatever other oddities we decide to throw in it.

Chris takes the bike apart in our back yard

Christopher Delia in MBUK

Check out our fave product designer and trials rider Christopher Delia in this months MBUK! The Message – wear tight and bright on your bike and get noticed.

London Cycling in the Snow

Getting off the plane from a weeks snowboarding to a white London today was rather bizarre and wonderful at the same time! As London practically shuts down there seems to be only one good way of getting around… Fixed gear bicycles are especially good on frosty roads and are traditionally favored by competitive cyclists as training bicycles in the winter (although we love ours all year round).

Back hops in the snow not recommended as performed by Christopher Delia!

Amelia’s Magazine – You Spin Me Right Round!

 

Amelia's Magazine, Issue 10 A/W 2008, 'You Spin Me Right Round'

 

Our men’s Kaleidoscope t-shirt printed by Sarah Buck for Cyclodelic was featured in the very last issue of Amelia’s Magazine worn by trials rider Christopher Delia as he plays in Victoria Park, London.

Credits Read: Chris wears t-shirt by Cyclodelic, jacket by Baracuda, jeans by McQ Alexander McQueen, trainers by Alexander McQueen for Puma Black Label, cap by KTZ

The Flyguard

Photograph by Kasper Daems

At Cyclodelic we hate ugly mudguards, but also like to ride in the rain and that’s why we love the new ‘Flyguard’ by Christopher Delia. The design, made from skillfully cut recycled bottles, comes with a mount to attach it to your bicycle and is on sale now at Velorution.

The Thames Festival

Last night we found ourselves cycling through the streets of London on float-like bicycles covered with flowers and lights as part of the Thames Festival procession. The organisers wanted a rainbow of twinkling bicycles and our good friend Philip Oakley (Interiors guru and formerly of the Blackpool Illuminations) asked us to design the red and the blue. With the help of Philip and our own lighting expert Christopher Delia we transformed the cycles and even had Boris mesmerised (kind of!).