In which our cyclist is inspired to order 3 tonnes of pig
iron and a spot-welder off t’internet, and our heroine gives the man behind her
evils when she hears him say, “There she is.
That’s the one with the really large flanged hubs…”. Leave my flanged hubs out of it.
Virtually the second the cyclist and I walked into the
Bespoked Bristol Hall it became embarrassingly obvious I’d missed the ‘beard
and camera’ memo. I might as well have
been naked. A bit of a wander around (slightly difficult, as the event was packed and could easily have filled a space twice the size), a coffee (don't ask. Just don't ask.) and a cyclist disappearing into the throng to attend a talk on tube and lug prep, and I began to consider my own take on the event.
Look, you should know by now that I can't do this sort of thing straight faced. And if you're interested in hand built frames and wanted a proper discussion about the event, there are hundreds of blogs and articles covering Bespoked Bristol - hells even the BBC ran a piece (check it
here). But before I get silly, please let me recommend to you Made in England (
www.pushprojects.net or available at Amazon), a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to the art of the hand-built frame and those profiled within.
And so, without further delay, a rundown of the judge's scores for the best beards* at Bespoked Bristol 2013.
*Judges note: Many, many impressive beards could be found wandering the event. Judges felt is was only right to judge solely those attending the event as exhibitor, rather than risk the inevitable arrest that would have arisen from following members of the public around and making notes about their facial hair.
Ted James Designs – 5/5
Quite possibly the greatest beard in cycling, and the runaway
winner of Best Beard in Show, Ted James' beard makes him stand out like a framebuilding JESUS. As if the
beard itself were not wonder enough (it is), The bikes are beset with badass
detailing (skull motif, crossed cutlasses etc); and to underline his
position as rockstar frame builder extraordinaire who's been up all night partying and filing lugs, dude’s hands look like they
need a sheep-dip and swarfega manicure and he has a bucket of actual metal shavings on his stand. This shit got real, and the judges salute you, sir.
Gaze on ye wonder of Ted James' beard, there could only be one winner. Yes, I snuck a photo like a weirdo stalker, I'm not proud of myself.
Badass bucket of metal.
Nice detailing on the Ted James Designs frames. Arrrrrrrrr.
Winter Bicycles – 4/5
Honourable runner-up in the beard event, and winners of best track frame.
A thoroughly impressive effort with excellent 'bush', enhanced by closely cropped hair and ably accessorised with multiple tattoos,
piercings and an American accent.
Condor Cycles 4/5
A third place beard, solid coverage, good length,
insouciantly cool, and propelled into a podium place with the judge’s
discretionary style points awarded for the rakish addition of a hipster
man-bun. Yes, hipster man-bun. What of it?
Colourbolt 4/5
A solid 4 out of 5 facial hair combination, with excellent
handlebar detailing to the moustache, and teamed with another man-bun. Just misses out on the third place spot to
Condor, as although similar in type, Mr Condor just had the edge in the 'cool motherlover' stakes.
Fresh Tripe Bikes 4/5
Judges comment: ‘Luxuriant’.
As far as coverage goes, pretty much outstanding - however those placed higher scored better on
artistic interpretation.
Boneshaker Mag 3.5/5
Although not framebuilders themselves, they have solidly
embraced the beardy ethos of the framebuilders with which they mix. Particularly excellent moustache quality, and full kudos
for the gingerness.
Royce 3/5
A nice collective effort of synchronised bearding, with a
full showing from all present – although nothing outstanding from any one
participant. Judges note the enormous
bucket of beer at the side of the stand, and nod approvingly.
Excellent beer showing from the boys at Royce. Well played.
Tokyo Fixed 3.5/5
Judges on the day award Tokyo Fixed best strawberry blonde
beardage, and best rainbow glitter frame paint job. RAINBOW GLITTER, PEOPLE. That’s probably worth another half point in
all honesty.
Rainbow glitter. Bitching.
Faggin Bikes 3/5
Two representatives of Faggin Bikes here, one offering a
solid 3/5 on the beard front, and the judges note a 3/5 rated ‘services to
moustache’ from representative 2, sporting a daring ‘moustache only, no beard’ effort,
unusual in one so young (could have been a stick-on).
Brick Lane Bikes 3/5
A solid commitment to the art of the beard from Brick Lane Bikes, possibly
inspired by the beard master himself, and alumnus Ted James.
Field 2.5/5
Not an overly impressive stand-alone beard, but teamed with
a shaved head to good ‘inverted head’ effect.
Excellent work on the paint jobs, Field – Guy Collier (check out his Bespoked
Bristol Gallery
here) and I met taking a picture of the same frame. His pic of this frame has
me in it, and is officially the third worst photo of me in existence (really. Any others that have come out like that have been BURNED) after the
one on my passport (Good Lord have mercy) and the one on my driving licence where I look
like a seriously surprised mid-meltdown Britney Spears , but don’t let that put you off.
Donhou Bicycles 2/5
Facial hair judged ‘shabby’ rather than ‘beardy’, but
additional style points have to be awarded as the attendee has attracted
himself a very pretty bobble-hatted beard groupie.
Purdy paintwork. Judges expect a better beard showing next year.
Downland Cycles 2/5
A fair coverage, which is, however, regrettably lacking in ‘bush’.
Rourke Cycles 2/5
Good potential here, coverage was strong and colour was even, but length was lacking. Consider upping your protein intake, or possibly some sort of herbal 'Hair, Skin and Nails' supplement to support and promote growth, and we will see you next year, Rourke.
Swrve 2/5
Disappointingly average given the hipster potential afforded by the dropping of the first vowel. While the judges cannot condone 'over grooming' of the beard region, Swrve were judged to be on the wrong side of 'unkempt', and in danger of skirting 'tramp'.
Swallow 1.5/5
Bespoked’s winner’s of ‘Best Road Bike’, judges liked the brand detailing on the bikes. Not enough, however to be able to award more than 1.5 points for the beard effort. You can do better.
Mosquito 1/5
Judges note: The score reflects full beard coverage and
‘bush’ - categories regrettably lacking amongst the friendly and knowledgable Mosquito attendees, who are however rocking the art of facial topiary in some style and
artistic interpretation and flamboyant individuality abound.
Flat Frame Systems 1/5
Apologies Mr Flat Frame, but your neatly clipped
moustache/goatee combo has been judged as befitting a financial advisor, not a
cool-ass purveyor of custom bikes.
Enigma Titanium 1/5
One of the attendees on this stand was actually completely
beardless. Unless he was drafted in at
the last minute, we reckon this is worthy of a verbal warning.
Feather Bikes 1/5
Were truly a beard an indication of frame-building prowess,
Ricky Feather would have strode* into Bespoked Bristol sporting a white flowing
beard to his knees like a steel-working Santa Claus / Gandalf hybrid, and onlookers would have genuflected where they stood. Winner of Best Bike in the show and the public vote, the Feather
Bikes stand was permanently 5-deep on all sides with appreciative folk taking
in exquisite detail after exquisite detail.
After all, what’s the point in a bespoke frame if it doesn’t scream ‘YAY!
LOOK AT MY AWESOME PAINT JOB AND MOTHERFUCKING FLAME SHAPED LUGS!
WHEEEEEEEEE!’?
*Listen, I know it doesn't look right, and dabbled with 'stridden' but strode is the past tense of to stride - I checked.
Superb detailing from Feather Bikes, including the frankly incredible flame lugs (centre). Flame Lugs. I want Flame Lugs.
Merenyi Bicycles 1/5
‘Beard’ as advanced 5pm shadow. Like a slightly patchy Fred Flintstone.
Demon Frameworks 1/5
Tsk. Did you not get the memo, Mr Demon? There was some beardage, but given the solid nature of many of the competitors the effort here only merited a single point from the possible 5. Shame, cos the bikes is nice.
Racer Rosa 1/5
Another lacklustre effort hugely overshadowed by the bearded behemoths judged before. Be bold! Embrace and nurture your beard! And don't be afraid to dabble in some Mane 'n Tail for body and shine.
Bristol Bike Project 0.75/5
Poor, poor effort on the beard front. However, had we been rating the contestants
on ‘Hair Like A Pokémon’, dude would’ve romped
it. Judges suspect heat styling, mousse and spray were all in effect, rendering him extremely flammable in the event of a stray spark. It's Health and Safety gone mad.
Cota Engineering 0.5/5
There is a big difference between ‘unshaven’ and ‘bearded’. Cota Engineering were fully embracing the former, and the judges were not fooled for a second.
Slate 0.5/5
By the judge’s expert reckoning, the dude shaved the day before
yesterday. Offering was less 'beard' and more 'velcro'.
Hobo Cycles 0/5
Hobo actually have a frame on display called the ‘Weirdy
Beardy’, and yet no beard AT ALL is in evidence. Judges are puzzled, and so disappointed
they’ve wandered off to gaze upon the wonder of Ted James’ beard some more.
