In the
first two parts of this series, we discovered crazy bicycles made
from
cardboard
and also from Bamboo
and hemp.
I have found yet another bicycle maker now, who surprisingly uses
only normal materials used by all bicycle manufacturers; namely steel
tubes, to make his bicycles. Still, we can classify his bikes in the
crazy class, because of their price, which hover around 10K Dollars.
You
don't believe it? Well! I also did not believe it first, but after
reading about the bicycle, Mr. Po (Name changed) has purchased from
this bicycle assembler, I had to believe the story. Mr. Po, 47, is an
average Singaporean, works as a country manager for an electronics
company, is married with two children and cycles for leisure. He
belongs to a class or creed of people, whom, we can simply describe
as bicycle buffs. Every Sunday morning, he rides his bicycle for
about 42 km, along the East Coast Park.
About
2 years ago, Mr. Po decided to retire his trusty steed, a 26 year old
bicycle.
There
is nothing crazy about this. Almost all bike riders periodically
change their rides. It is pretty simple, just walk to a bicycle shop
and buy one off-the-shelf replacements and you are done. But our Mr.
Po, did not like the idea. He wanted his new bicycle to be a handmade
specimen, customised to his specifications. There are number of shops
in Singapore on Serangoon Road, who offer customised bicycles for
their clients. But they merely assemble the bicycle from standard
parts, fabricated abroad, like the frame for example that is
fabricated in the United States.
Mr. Po
went instead, to another bicycle manufacturer; Mr Suleiman, who owns
a bicycle factory in Gaylang East industrial estate in Singapore,
called as “Rebound center.” This place is one of the few local
companies, that will build a bicycle from scratch for the customers,
fabricating the steel frame right here in Singapore. Mr. Suleiman
agreed to fabricate a bicycle just the way Mr. Po wanted, but his
quotation was whooping SG$ 14000 and it would take him at least 18
months to make the bike. Mr. Po, after giving some thought to it,
decided to bite the bullet and ordered the bicycle.
Mr.
Suleiman, who owns this shop, is a frame builder who was trained for
about one and half months at the United bicycle Institute in Oregon
in the US in 1994. However, upon his return to Singapore, found that
there was little demand for custom-fabricated frames here. His shop,
which he opened in 1995, does mainly bicycle servicing and about two
custom-fabricated bicycle frames in a year. But this dropped to none,
in the late 1990s. Fortunately for him, demand for custom-fabricated
bicycles started to pick up again around six years ago. Mr Suleiman
now custom-makes about two bicycles every year, each costing between
SG Dollars 6000 and 20,000. The customers for his custom made
bicycles are usually male and female working professionals in their
30s and 40s.
Mr.Suleiman
fabricates his bicycles with great passion. His bicycle frames are
fabricated to a degree of accuracy that involves measurements of up
to one-tenth of a Millimeters and and degrees. It takes a minimum of
80 man-hours over at least six months, to build the frame and
assemble it with wheels, gears, breaks and other parts. It is obvious
that fabricating bicycle frames is not Mr Sulaiman's bread and
butter, it is a crazy job which he finds immensely enjoyable. While
explaining his passion for bicycle making, Mr Suleiman says: "It
is creative work. There is the satisfaction of making something that
can be used to ride out of nothing."
Mr. Po
got his new bicycle after waiting for almost one and half year, and
took a photograph of his own along with his new bike to remember the
occasion. He says: "when I collected it, I felt a sense of
accomplishment. For me it was realising a childhood dream that I am
able to afford at bicycle like this. This might be the last bicycle I
get, so I wanted to splurge on something that nobody has." He
adds further that the big ticket item was thoroughly worth it. He
adds: "it is unique to me. I am more comfortable riding it
because it is customised to my dimensional's."
Nothing
to beat these crazy bicycle manufacturers and riders, who will not
mind to fork out sums, in which one can buy a medium sized family
sedan in India.
(This
article is based on a write up in Straits Times)
18
July 2013
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