Specialbike: In Name and Practice
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 08.16.07
14,000 posts and still there are gems out there we’re slow to unearth. Take Specialbike, for instance. This British company, based in occasionally sunny Brighton, take the daggy cast-offs of the bicycle world, and like a phoenix rising from the ashes, affect a reincarnation. Basically they find a frame with the right end-use function and geometry for each customer. From a woman’s step thru frame with groovy shopping basket, to a hill hooning MTB. They strip them down and send ‘em off for sand blasting and a powder coating - in your selection from a kaleidoscope of cheery colours. Next they’ll reassemble your custom steed with appropriate components. Voila! Where once was a rusty looking heap, with dirt grimed gears, now stands a fresh bike, ready for new adventures. Specialbike say that, with about two million bikes sold in the UK annually, there is no shortage of old frames to work their magic on. Not only do they recover the frames, but where the components are of sufficient calibre they’ll give those a second lease of life too, often pairing them with some new parts. As they say, ‘the result is not cheap, but nor is it expensive’ — for a custom bike, anyhow. Prices have ranged from £250 to £1,000. They also stock some one-off models, if dreaming up your own custom bike does your head in. We particularly liked the tone of writing on their site. A little like the casual, personal style we enjoyed from Swobo. Anyhow, if you are in Blighty do look them up. ::Specialbike, via David Report.
rebuilding bikes is awesome! here's an even awesomer approach:
http://www.bicyclekitchen.com/
The DIY approach to bike reclamation is cheaper, and does positive work in the community... there's also Bikes Not Bombs. same concept.
Yeah, here in Oxford, we have the Oxford Cycle Workshop which does this same thing ... but on a cheaper scale, with the average reclaimed and repaired bike costing about £80.
This is just the same as selling used bikes, with an extra coat of paint. Yes they look nice, and people may want to use them more if they like how their bike looks, and therefore may become less dependent on their cars... But really, this is exactly the same work as any shop that sells used bikes, albeit with an extra trip to the paint factory, and the pollution and chemicals that go along with that.
The first two bikes profiled on the site are not of any special quality, they are in fact pretty cheap, which leads to the idea of the purchaser using this bike for a year, and then abandoning it upon realising how many of the components need to be replaced (more waste!).
The brown bike is the only one profiled that is equipped with components that will last, and is therefore really the only sustainable one. If the three bikes profiled on the site are typical of the bikes Specialbike produces, two thirds of these bikes are not really doing much service to the planet.
Repainting bikes with cheap throw away parts on them isn't particularly green. I bought a cheap mt bike for winter commuting with the same components as they have put on many of these bikes. A year and a half later i have replaced almost all of the drive train. That component set is used for the disposables bike sold by the big box stores. I have given up on the mt bike and have gone back to my 1980s era fuji with original drivetrain that still is more mechanically sound than almsot anything on that site. (and yes I agree with sam that the brown bike is a good setup, if all their bikes were like this they would have something.)
Maybe I wasn't clear. But customers can speciify their own standard of componentry for custom bikes, just like any bike shop. The existing bikes on the site are merely those made up 'on speculation' that someone might like them as they are. It's all explained in the FAQ and elsewhere.
Warren,
it seems that most of their business is from the bikes they have built up, not specifically to anyone's recommendations, but just so they could sell them to whoever. The high cost of painting frames drives the price up, and so most of the bikes they have (check the bikes for sale section) are low-spec. The impression I got from their site is that custom specs are one option, but certainly not the norm.