bespoke– the handbuilt bicycle

bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
On display at MAD May 13, 2010–Aug 15, 2010
Available for travel Sep 2010–TBD
Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle, presented by the
Museum of Arts and Design, will display the designs of
six internationally renowned bicycle builders whose work
in metal, as well as graphics and artifacts, elucidate this
refined, intricate and deeply individual craft. Organized
by Michael Maharam, owner of the eponymous textile
company and an avid bicycle collector, along with master
builder Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles in Portland, Oregon, this survey is presented as part of the MADProjects
exhibition series, which explores emerging trends and
innovations in the design world.
Please Contact
Nurit Einik
[email protected]
212–299–7739
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
212–299–7700
www.madmuseum.org
7'-0"
video
7'-0"
"
eq.
text wall
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
7'-0"
"
display vitrine for parts
centered on wall
"
eq.
3'-0"
drawings + illustrations
4'-0
6"
3'-0
"
UP
DN
elevator
(20) bikes
elevator
photo image wall
tricycle
3'-4
"
stair
down
1'-0"
2'-0"
6'-6"
6'-6"
19'-6"
6'-6"
6'-6"
6'-6"
6'-6"
plinths
date 01 31 10
rev. 02 22 10
a1
fernlund + logan architects
414 broadway new york ny 10013
tel 212 925 9628
bespoke the hand built bicycle
museum of arts and design
2 columbus circle new york
plan + elevation, (2) bikes
6'-6"
13'-0"
plan + elevation, (3) bikes
6'-6"
plan + elevation, (4) bikes
6'-6"
26'-0"
plinths built in individual segments
see dwg. a2 for details
1'-6"
1'-4 1/2"
MAD set up
DN
2'-0
2'-0
UP
"
1'-0"
"
2'-0"
5'-8
1'-3"
5'-8
6"
Exhibition Tour Information
Exhibition Design
Solveig Fernlund,
Fernlund + Logan Architects
Exhibition Graphics
2x4
Video Production
The Digital Project
Participation Fee
TBD
Shipping Fee
TBD
Insurance
TBD
Courier
1
Security
Medium
Education
Catalogue
Requirement
2500 sq. ft.
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
Exhibition Tour Schedule
Museum of
Arts and Design
May 13, 2010–Aug 15, 2010
Available
Sep 2010–TBD
Curatorial Statement
Showcasing 21 hand-built bicycles that sit squarely at
the intersection of design, craft, and art, Bespoke will
introduce viewers to a range of contemporary designs,
including fixed-gear, road racing, cyclocross, mountain,
and commuter bicycles, as well as the stripped-down
radonneur, designed exclusively for long-distance racing,
and even a child’s tricycle. The exhibition will feature
bicycles by:
• Mike Flanigan, Alternative Needs Transportation
(A.N.T.), Holliston, MA.
• Jeff Jones, Jeff Jones Custom Bicycles, Medford, OR
• Dario Pegoretti, Pegoretti Cicli, Calonazzo, Italy
• Richard Sachs, Richard Sachs Cycles, Warwick, MA
• J. Peter Weigle, J. Peter Weigle Cycles, Lyme, CT
• Sacha White, Vanilla Bicycles, Portland, OR
“Bicycles like these are at once superb examples of
contemporary design, masterpieces of time-honored
artisanship, and works of art,” states Holly Hotchner,
the Nanette L. Laitman Director of the Museum of Arts
and Design. “In presenting Bespoke in our MADProjects
Gallery, we hope to provide our visitors an opportunity to
appreciate bicycles on all of these levels, from the overall
design to the exquisite details of each object.”
The craft of custom bicycle building involves master
metalwork: bending, welding, carving and wrapping
steel, titanium, aluminum and carbon. A graphic artist’s
eye is required in the application of paint and decorative
flourishes. Whereas several varieties of artisan may be
involved in manufacturing a factory-made bicycle, the
custom models exhibited in Bespoke are the virtuosic
productions of individuals.
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
Despite the seeming simplicity of their forms and mechanics, bicycles offer a unique challenge to their makers.
Rider and machine meet at three contact points—saddle,
handlebar, and pedal. This extraordinary degree of
integration, compared with that involved in almost any
other type of sporting equipment, from soccer balls to
sailboats, leaves greater risk of poor performance and
discomfort if the connection between body and bicycle
isn’t seamless. The custom builder’s chief preoccupation
is therefore with fit; simply taking a rider’s measurements
may require more than two hours for a single commission. Every bicycle is a highly refined piece of engineering.
The attention lavished on detail, which reflects the
builder’s sensibility paired with the rider’s unique needs,
turns custom bicycles into indisputable works of art.
This is no less true of bicycles intended for such rugged
applications as scaling mountains or crossing off-road
terrain as it is of the streamlined models designed for
road racing.
Catalogue
Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle will be accompanied by a fully illustrated color catalogue published by Lars Muller Publishers
that includes a foreword by the Museum of
Arts and Design’s director Holly Hotchner;
an introduction by the design writer and
critic Julie Lasky; a dialogue between the
exhibition’s curators Michael Maharam and
Sacha White; multiple images of work by the
builders in the exhibition; images of related
artifacts; and biographies.
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
Sacha White
In 1998, Sacha White (b. 1976) was a bicycle messenger in
Portland, Oregon, riding 60 miles a day, when his frame
snapped. A visit to a repair shop awakened his interest in
bicycle fabrication, and he enrolled in a frame-building
course taught by Tim Paterek, a local artisan. Today,
White’s Vanilla Bicycles is known for impeccably constructed and fitted steel bikes for touring, commuting,
and racing. The joints of a Vanilla are lugged or fillet
brazed with brass or silver for a smooth connection, the
lugs painstakingly filed to a consistent thinness, and the
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
fenders painted to match the frame, thereby visually extending the line beyond the wheels.
A former competitive cyclist and current cyclocross team
sponsor, White recently launched Speedvagen, a company
that designs small-batch production racing frames in a wider
range of materials, including carbon fiber. “I am still scratching the surface of what it is to make bikes,” White says.
“There is a lifetime of learning in this.”
Dario Pegoretti
Dario Pegoretti (b. 1957) has produced an estimated
30,000 bicycles in his 35-year career, a substantial
number of which have been ridden by international
cycling stars. He apprenticed in the Veronese factory of
his father-in-law, the legendary Italian frame-builder
Luigino Milani, and today works in Caldonazzo, a small
mountain town in northern Italy. Pegoretti’s quaint,
disheveled workshop belies his rigorously refined designs
and technical innovations. He was a European pioneer in
the production of TIG-welded, or lugless, bicycle frames.
His eccentric personality is reflected in the hand-painted
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
graphic patterns that ornament many of his bikes, and
in the model names often inspired by jazz compositions.
In March 2007, Pegoretti was diagnosed with lymphoma.
His many supporters were moved to find him posting a
website apology for the slowdown in production while
he received treatment. He is now back to hand-building
300 frames each year, including a recent collaboration
on a cyclocross design with Sacha White’s racing bicycle
company, Speedvagen.
Richard Sachs
Throughout more than three decades as a builder,
Richard Sachs (b. 1953) has primarily made one kind of
bicycle (for racing) in one kind of material (steel) painted
in only one color (red). And yet he sees nothing repetitive
in this approach. An idealist, he sets out to create the
perfect bicycle with every attempt and estimates that he
has come close fewer than ten times out of thousands
of efforts. He insists that the tasks of designing, cutting,
brazing, and coaxing the material are so organic, and
often so confounding, that he is unable to make the
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
same bicycle frame twice. In reaching for impossible
standards, however, he continuously refines his tools and
processes. The results are machines of uniform excellence prized throughout the world. Sachs apprenticed
at Witcomb Lightweight Cycles in England and opened
his own frame-building business in the U.S. in 1975. A
competitive cyclist since his teens, he continues to race
and has sponsored one of this country’s best cyclocross
teams since 1992.
Mike Flanigan
Some bicycles are like thoroughbred racehorses: sensitive, high-performance machines straining for speed.
Others are workhorses: solid, upright conveyances for
people and cargo. Mike Flanigan (b. 1966), a frame builder since 1983, founded Alternative Needs Transportation
(A.N.T.) in 2001 to fill a perceived void in America’s utility
bicycle stable. A.N.T. bikes are equipped with baskets,
racks, bells, lights, kickstands, fenders, chain guards, and
easy-to-maintain internal gear and braking systems—
practical features for the urban cyclist. While these handmade creations may lack obvious dazzle, they are highly
refined machines, with inspirations from vintage mod-
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
els and a number of subtle flourishes. More than mere
artifacts, A.N.T. bikes support a culture of cycling that
Flanigan considers vital for physical, environmental, and
societal health. “I am part of the locavore movement,” he
declares. “My business is part of the community, and my
bikes are part of the community.”
Jeff Jones
A pioneering designer of mountain bikes, Jeff Jones (b.
1970) rejects the use of suspension to cushion a ride over
rough terrain. His frames have unique titanium or steel
geometries, along with oversize wheels, which absorb
much of the shock, allowing cyclists to feel connected
but not jolted by the earth. Jones allows the look of a
bike to unfold naturally from his demands for comfort
and control. The result is designs both championed for
their beauty and decried for their oddity. Jones only cares
about appearance from the rider’s point of view, when the
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
bicycle disappears and all that remains visible is the road
or trail.
Jones perfected his craft at Santa Ana, California–based
GT Bicycles, which specialized in early BMX models. In
2002, Jones with his wife Sheila began his frame-building
business in Medford, Oregon. He turns out roughly 10
custom bicycles each year in addition to an evolving line
of production framesets.
Peter Weigle
Originally produced in France, randonneur and sportif
bicycles are lightweight models outfitted for longdistance rides. They attracted little interest in the U.S.
until Lyme, Connecticut–based Peter Weigle (b. 1950),
drawn to their elegance and practicality, began creating
his own interpretations. Now he and other builders who
have followed his lead serve a growing number of
enthusiasts. A bicycle maker since 1973, and an avid racer
with many wins, including a national championship,
Weigle worked at Witcomb Lightweight Cycles in Lon-
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
don, then at Witcomb USA until it closed. He opened his
own shop in 1977 and attended to the market’s fluctuating enthusiasms for racing and mountain bikes before
venturing into randonneur bikes in 2000. Weigle’s detail
work is legendary: he hand-cuts many of his own lugs,
whose curves evoke the florid lines of French examples
from the 1950s and 1960s. “I try to honor the emotional
and visual spirit of those bikes and add my own design
elements and style,” he says. “My hope is to allow the
original inspiration to live again.”
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Nurit Einik
[email protected]
212–299–7739
bespoke–
the handbuilt bicycle
dead or alive
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
212–299–7700
www.madmuseum.org
performing wood:
art, craft, and design
traveling exhibitions program 2010–2013
Please Contact