Articulating the Bike Beautiful

If you follow the general trend among London-based fixed gear riders, you'll not only be into the mechanical elegance of the bike you ride - and its effect on your performance - but have some personal ideas about an aesthetic approach to it too.

Hip Hop Slavedom has already been coined as the name for one identified approach to aesthetics.

We have the Stealth aesthetic.

I'm not sure if Lo-Pro frames dictate a subgenre or not....?

Then what about bikes like Tommasito's, with its lovely handlebars?

• each has its detractors, each has its fanatics - but I was wondering if anyone had thought about terms to encapsulate other approaches to Beautiful Street Bikes. Just look at the Bike Porn thread and there are many different looks posted, yet some you had never imagined and some you are in awe of regardless of your own personal taste.
  
  

It doesn't have to be about finery. Beaters fall into looks too, even if that look is "undesirable shitheap". I was working on the Clapham Slapper to this end and enjoyed it immensley and still loved it dearly.

My new build's nothing special compared to some of you guys' and gals' showboaters, but I'm kicking off with what I think it follows as a look. I'm calling the look "Neo-Classicist." It's basically a road frame conversion that's respectful, but of the moment. In its nod to current ideas (eg white tyres, chopped risers) it leans a little towards the hipster end of things perhaps, but I'm thinking of Bobob's Stan Butler (RIP?), Jacqui's Mercian (disagree if it's not correct), Snowy-again's Joe Waugh etc. in this category.

One more shot - there's a kind of bike which seems to advertise its big, brass, clanging, low-slung balls - I'm thinking of shootthebreeze's Fuji, snowyagain's and RJS's new Bob Jacksons and of course many more...... I'm thinking Bully Boy as a look for this one. While I would never go for this look (perhaps due to a distinct lack of clanging brass balls), I love it all the same.

That's it, you might be going WTF?? but i thought it'd be interesting to see how we classify bike aesthetics. Just thought the forum was a bit quiet tonight...

Wouldn't the "Undesireable Shitheap" fall in the Pub Bike catalogue?

i like all the different 'looks' in different ways, hence I will never build one bike that I'm completely satisfied with. Also it comes down a level of perfectionism, whether it be period-correct british refurb, 100% NJS, NOS italian or modern HHSB 'fixie freestyle'. most people don't start with that kind of objective and so the aesthetic morphs as the components are swapped out. my bike for instance looks coherent but is in fact a right mongrel in many ways. i dunno what my point is but yeah.

word, SP, I'm feelin you as Westwood might say..

A Pub Bike would implied you're building a bike for the sake of it to commute with, to go to the pub, to work with (messenger), you don't care much for it, as long it reliable and good enough for what you want it to.

"pub bike" doesn't have to implied a bike that you used to go to the pub.

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ha! ha! nice one..

something that i love about the categories we put bikes in is that it is subject to change with just a swop of colour, or bars or wheels or something ya know. out some colourful deep v's on and it swings one way, change the bar/stem form drops to risers and it goes toward something else. i love it that twnty peopple with the same frame could build twenty different bikes fitting into several categories. or howabout when a bike can be in more than one category either on purpose or by default of ownership, i.e. one bike becomes beater/pub bike posh bike etc because its the only bike someone owns.

my frame is bare metal, going rusty, with song lyrics over it and riser bars. i think its rough looking, but beautiful. i ride it in anger and love and peace and with the biggest internal smile. sometimes i want to paint it, put drops on it and ride it for miles and miles. the whole feeling changes cos of the look. its weird.

maybe not the reply you were looking for. interesting thread idea.

My bikes match the rationality with which I conduct my daily life. Both regular and orderly like a bourgeois. The Equpie (pre-accident), perfect orginal condition with no nonsense like drinks bottle holder, ped warning bell. Subtle colour schemes. Tyres that are the best for the road and weather not a colour matching the frames or contrasting to the decals. The greyisbuild follows a simple rationale. This allows me to be violent and original in my ideas / riding.

it's absolutely what I was looking for..great post whatfriends.

Yeah this idea of a bike's aesthetic drawing from several looks - that's absolutely right. But it's this fundamental palette of looks or genres that I thought it would be interesting to try and articulate as a forum. New ones are creeping in too..

I know you are working on something special MJC... and I know some of that was with tongue nicely in cheek too....

enough moderating, hopefully this'll grow..

Hmmm can feel a long list of sub catagories coming on. Perhaps you could post a pic of your bike and see what cat' everyone thinks it should slot into?

How about the courier 'aesthetic' which is based more on components what can be ridden hard all day every day. Where does that fit?

cheers boss.

sp said the word for my bike. mongrel thats a perfect word. a shabby loved looking bike thats not shit, but not real pretty either. just is what it is, for the way i feel to ride it. the best bit is that it reflects me and my moods perfectly. i suppose the categories are as different as your feelings and outlook on current life. bikes eh, who'd have thought they conjour up so much emotion in people. gotta love it.

I love my bike.

Hmmm can feel a long list of sub catagories coming on. Perhaps people could post a pic of their bike and see what cat' everyone thinks it should slot into?

yeah maybe that's a good idea. i'm happy with mine being "Neo-Classicist"......;)

i actually love the forms of the individual components too. for example, in my opinion the nitto pearl quill stem (or the cinelli 1A before it?) is very beautiful. inevitably, all but most disciplined (or anal) will have bikes that are conglomerate (pretentious? moi?) or elements from the different schools, but i get what you mean about the palette.

this threads confirms my suspicion that I am, despite my better judgement, a raving aesthete...

pajamas, neo-classicist is ringing uncomfortable bells for me... care to elaborate? i hope you don't have corinthian fluting on your headtube...?!

yeah maybe that's a good idea. i'm happy with mine being "Neo-Classicist"......;)

Sounds very 'Modern Tate' ;)

my bikes are certainly Structuralist

Sounds very 'Modern Tate' ;)

That would make a great head badge.

I think this bike requires a whole new subgenre:

The seat tube is so steep i think it's beyond vertical. (My photos aren't very good I admit).

Also WTF is going on with the stem, never seen that before in my life.

I'm making a collection of photos of bizarre lo-pro frames.

Also WTF is going on with the stem, never seen that before in my life.

if the forks where only straight, it could go either way.

Certainly bending Pajamas' genres.

Think i have seen this round Kings Cross,where did you take the photo ASM?