Casino Concor Cross Stitch

From the back - fully molded

Red & White cross stitch

Casino Concor dot pattern

The bar tape - double stitch / single perforation

James' 2nd Busyman saddle. This time a variation on the "Casino Royale" perforation pattern on an old Concor Super Corsa. The saddle also came to the Craft Hatch Market today and seemed to inspire a few imaginations. Tomorrow it goes in a bag and off to Gloucester, NSW, with custom leather bar tape to match.

Motor Spares

The Motor Spares / Master Sports bike is finally finished. Latest finishing touches are the Busyman bar tape and saddle. I took it to the Craft Hatch Market today at Bikefest for its initial unveiling. It was liked by many. After the market I took it for a spin around the Yarra Boulevard under the first clear skys we've seen for days, the the 28mm tyres handle the rough surface beautifully.

Farme, fork, bars and stem original from the Kensington gutter

Custom Busyman bar tape - stitched and perforated

Ghisallo wooden rims - hand made in Italy hand laced by
 Shifter Bikes distributed by Cycling Edge

That's Mum on the wall keeping an eye on things in the bike room

Bumble bee saddle motif - an excerpt from the Peel coat of arms

Ride: Lynskey

The Lynskey Helix with Busyman saddle

Busyman bartape

The bar tape was actually $130

Featured in the Ride Magazine issue #50 is a Lynskey Helix Ti bike complete with Busyman Bicycles custom leather bar tape and recovered Arione saddle. The review is a gret plug for me and my work and gives a very positive review of the bar tape in particular. There is unfortunately a bit of an inaccuracy in the 'fine print' where the price of the bar tape is quoted at $250. The actual price was $130 for two pieces of tape that each exceeded 2m in length and were fully mannually perforated using a single hole punch.

So if youy're considering some custom leather bar tape don't let the $250 price tag scare you off, it's not true.

Bleached White

Skulls, bones, skeletons, ghosts.

A nice new mixte ride for Garth's wife.

Bone Head

The defined cheek bones are kind of creepy, suggesting a smile.

The skull and cross bones motif seems to be regaining popularity. This time all in white for a ladies bike on a fairly plush Viscount. The saddle's for Megan from Garth.

Peel Coat of Arms

Line Art Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

Finally the Master Sports Motor Spares is going to get a saddle. Deep purple embossed with some gold details. The design will be a variation on the Peel family coat of arms. The first image is taken from a statue of Sir Robert Peel in London. It's a little bit fiddly for me to achieve this kind of detail in the leather whilst still maintaining an acceptable level of durability in the saddle. So I've adapted the design a little to reduce the detail and fit nicely with the shape of the saddle, which incidentally is a Selle San Marco Concor Light. I will most likely go for version 2, it doesn't include all three 'quivers' of arrows but I like the fact that it includes the hand symbol. The whole thing kind of suits Busyman too in that there's a bumble bee (busy), a hand (hand crafted) and the word 'industria' which I thnk translates as 'industry' but I like to think of it as 'industrious'.

Finished saddle soon I hope, then I'll be taking those wodden rims for their first spin.