Available on: MOOTS ROAD AND CYCLOCROSS BIKES & FRAMES MOOTS 29ERS | MOOTS RIGOR MOOTIS & UNO SINGLESPEED LYNSKEY TI ~ LANDSHARK STEEL | DREAMRIDE TI HOW MUCH DID THIS BIKE COST AND WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS?
Not for everybody.
Bio in brief: I have three university degrees in fine art, one of them a BFA in oil painting from the University of North Carolina, along with the Masters from the San Francisco Art Institute. I have had one man shows on two continents, received many awards, sold work in several 2D media, worked as a art restorer, was a licensed street artist in San Francisco (watercolors), and have taught oil and watercolor painting at colleges and private art schools in California. I painted wild Victorian houses in San Francisco to put my way through grad school. I never considered painting a bicycle frame until a client talked me into it.
The process: First, the frame is fabricated to our specifications, based on careful measurements and an interview to determine your riding style. The frame is prepped (in this case, at Moots, the fabricator), then powdercoated at Spectrum Powderworks in Colorado. The powdercoat process insures a rugged base that can withstand any solvent I may use to get the effects I want. In this case I used prime red as the base color. I chose the palette from a latex-on-paper painting I did in 1985. I put it next to the workspace as a color map.
I mix most of the colors from prime red, blue and yellow, pure white, and black. In this case I had two specific colors mixed by the paint supplier. My strengths as an oil painter are based mainly in a hard-earned sense of color. My ability to mix and match colors got me jobs as a restorer right out of college and many offers to work with museums are restoration in Europe (floods in Italy feed quite a few colorists). I use old white ceramic plates from thrift stores as palettes--a good tip for anyone interested.
The first step after powdercoating is wet-sanding the surface of the basecoat. This gives the paint something to grip. I also use sanding effects for sub-surface texture, color and tone, so the emery paper was always on hand.
I use custom cut and shaped brushes, fabrics, sponges, shaped foam, leather and liquid pens to apply the paint. I pressurize a fountain pen for low-tech spray and splatter effects. I pray over each and every stroke of the brush as I abuse, sacrifice and destroy anything necessary to get the effect I want. Every application of the paint is like a musical theme, jazz performed in line and color. Be forewarned: I will only do this kind of work if I am allowed to be spontaneous in applying the paint. You can suggest a theme, but how I interpret is my personal responsibility.
ChromaBase reducers and lacquer thinner are extremely toxic, so liberal use of paint and solvent is very dangerous. I am constantly balancing artistic freedom with scientific discipline and health concerns. Every tool must be cleaned and spill mopped up with lacquer thinner. There is a reason you cannot buy the paint I use off-the-shelf. It is only available to pro paint shops because extreme care must be taken to insure safety. Professionals get cancer and degenerative diseases from this sort of work. Get it on your hands and it takes an act or congress to get it off your skin. You can blind yourself in a single session. Amateurs can do damage to themselves and those around them. DO NOT DO THIS AT HOME! I use a respirator, eye protection and latex gloves, run everyone out of the shop when I am painting, but I still worry, as I am constantly reminded of the extreme toxicity of these materials whenever I take the respirator off. I realize there are millions of gallons of this kind of crap evaporating into the atmosphere every day. Environmental concerns make me want to keep my contribution to this evil to an absolute minimum. Water-based paints are recommended! New legislation will make non-waterbased paints illegal.
No matter the paint medium, the layering process creates most of the color range, producing depth and effects through various ways of mixing pigments in the can and on the red powdercoat, built-up color base or whitewashed surface. After the colors are layered and paint is allowed to cure for a few hours, the frame is gently packaged and shipped back to the powdercoater for its clearcoat. This takes about a week, then the frame is back in my hands to cure and prep for the build. I set it aside for as much as three months to cure, but I can rush a build, if necessary. The client should know that the paint will have to be treated gently for the first three months. You can ride it, but falling on it could be a disaster. Prepping for the build also has its risks within the first month or so.
Ordering: A Lee Bridgers paint job can accompany purchase of a titanium or steel frame, or be part of a complete titanium or steel bike purchase. I will paint an aluminum frame in some situations (no warranty on paint on aluminum). If you have a classic titanium frame you want to turn into an art object, I am open to painting a used American-made frame. I work with several fabricators--Moots, Sherwood Gibson, Land Shark, Lynskey. You can order a stock frame from us to be painted or I will customize a complete bike for specific needs based on a custom fitted handpainted frame, if you want the full treatment. The frame pictured is a Moots Compact custom. I consider titanium to be the perfect "canvas" for a fine art paint job--it practically lasts forever. The pictured custom frame with custom paint cost the client $5095. The complete bike with Campy Super Record came in at $11K. The low range for a custom handpainted titanium or steel frame is $3000 (three color Lynskey, Sherwood Gibson or Land Shark). CONTACT DREAMRIDE for more info. Call 1-888-MOABUTAH to order. Bookmark this page for future updates. Copyright Dreamride LLC. No material, written, graphics, or photographs on this website, may be reproduced, broadcast, published, re-written, re-edited, or re-used in any way outside of this site without written consent of Dreamride LLC and Lee Bridgers. Use of this site signifies agreement to terms of use.
|
Custom Paint by Lee Bridgers
Dreamride bikes are labors of love that articulate the passion that goes into them. There is nothing like a bike that is actually alive, that speaks to you, that requires love in return. It might be strange to be speaking in these terms of a bicycle, but these paint jobs come as close as anything to convincing the rider that this thing is, "Alive!"
Frame--custom sized and painted Moots Compact titanium; Fork--AphaQ-10; Campagnolo Super Record 8 piece grouppo; Handbuilt wheelset--Campagnolo Record hubs, Mavic Open Pro rims, DT bladed spokes, alloy spoke nipples, FSA K-Force carbon quick releases, Hutchinson Fusion 2 tires, Michelin tubes; FSA carbon wrapped "99" stem and K-Force carbon seatpost; Fizik Arione CX saddle; Brontrager XXX handlebar. Fizik bar tape. Weight: 15.75 pounds. Paint cost alone: $2995 Total cost for bike pictured: $11,770. |