Folksy Tape

Inspired by my Master Sports/Motor Spares bike, I recently completed this fancy stitched and perforated tape. The leather is quite soft and fairly thin so no need to skive the edges on this one, they will just mould and blen with use. The underside has an added layer through the centre for extra cusion, so at any point there will be three layers of leather once wound onto the bar.

First Bike

I remodelled the former Shibori Animal bike for my father inlaw. At 60+ it's his first bike and he couldn't be happier. Complete with monogram saddle and thumb shifter for rear derailleur. I hope you like it Baba.

Honey Doubles

These hand stitched double toe straps were custom made for a De Rosa fixed conversion coming out of Saint Cloud later this week. Copper rivets to match the rails and rivets on the Brooks B17 Special. Hand stitching - sometimes I think I might be a little crazy. It's a little more distinct than machine stitching though.

Customised SMP 209s

I recently recovered this pair of SMP 209s for Peter at The Cycling Edge. Both were recovered because the customers wanted a sleek saddle without embroidered graphic embellishments.

The 209 has more padding and therefore more dimension which made it quite a challenge to recover. It took a couple of iterations to get the pattern right, to achieve a smooth finish over the saddle shape I added an arched dart hand stitched across the back section. Another pattern for my library.

A Friend Pays a Visit

Nice sleek basket

New natural kangaroo Rolls

Aged patina on the natural leather grips

Alison dropped by this afternoon to take a few photos for the blog. I finished this bike for her a year ago, originally it was powder coated 'Onga' green. Since then it's been recoloured this subtle misty mint, had a back rack and chrome basket attached and just last week we replaced the old mattress saddle with this kangaroo covered Rolls. She's looking great, aging beautifully and looking more and more refined each time I see her.

Today Alison came with a basket full of offerings: Fresh eggs from her hens and blackberries from the garden.

Kangaroo, Concor, Casino, Banana

For Stephen in LA, inspired by the recent yellow Regal in kangaroo and and the Casino Concor Crossstitch.

Saint Cloud

Recently completed this San Marco recover for Nick at Saint Cloud. Complete with corporate Id.

SMP Vegan Leather

A first for Busyman: This special edition 60th anniversary Selle SMP has a basic recover in 'Lorica', aka Vegan Leather. It handles in a similar way to some leathers but is slightly less supple than I would prefer. Nonetheless I managed to recover this SMP which is the most complex form of saddle I've tackled. So, very happy with the outcome. Any vegan folks out there who might like their saddle recovered just email me.

E for Engin

White on white perforations

Custom recover for Steve in Connecticut, USA, to sit atop his currently being built custom Engin. The base saddle is a Bassano made in Italy, stamped "Orbea", presumably from his previous bike. A really neat shape and nice to work with.

Emma's Purple 20's

The Saddle

The artwork - by Emma and me

The fancy stitched and perforated bar tape

Purple powder coat, swapmeet wheels, new long reach brake callipers and a range of other bits. Singles speed.