When Cyclist magazine tested the Spoon Customs Izoard RR from alpine brand Spoon Customs last year, they described it as ‘blisteringly fast’ with ‘substance behind the style’.
The newest version adds disc braking to an already awesome handmade steel race bike platform. The latest customer bike had to be the very highest spec available, but the paint brief on this one was nearly too straightforward.
The customer simply said, “Paint it Black”. However, anyone that knows Andy and the Spoon Custom approach will know that’s not what he’s known for.
“I wanted to create a bike company that was an antidote to mass produced high street bikes. I love hot rods, custom motorcycles and the colors and brands that I fell in love with from BMX, skate and mountain bike culture.
Normal bikes are so often just matte black, so this brief was a real head-scratcher. How was I going to make a black bike, in our style?
“I found some really nice Lotus JPS schemes, but they didn’t seem to hit the mark or had been done before. Then I remembered a really nice Belstaff-liveried motorcycle that had been done like the old black and gold Triumphs and Nortons, that just used metallic gold on a piano black tank.
It was simple but looked awesome. The customer agreed on the concept and we began visualizing it. We put the visual out on our Instagram and people seemed stoked, so we went for it.
This was to be a real rock star of a bike with no compromises, but with a brief like ‘Paint it black’, there was more to be done.
Andy took a trip WM Paintworks in Surrey to see Sam Weeks. Sam learned his craft working on Harley Davidsons and custom motorcycles, and knows about the traditional rod and custom finishing methods.
The project was on a tight deadline, but Andy convinced Sam to get some gold leaf in, and the gold elements in the final job are real 24 karat gold leaf, applied traditionally over linseed.
Ian at Cole Coatings Workshop (long-term pals and co-collaborators on Spoon Customs projects) suggested the McLaren SLR-developed black base coat. It contains three separate pearls and in itself is pretty special, more in keeping with Spoon’s approach than a standard piano black, and the natural gold pops against it.
Spoon Customs produce the Izoard RR Disc one at a time, custom fitted for each customer. Each frame is made from lightweight Columbus steel, fabricated by hand in the Veneto area of Northern Italy — down the road from their alpine base in Montgenevre. The Izoard RR bike concept takes its name from the famous Col D’Izoard near Montgenevre, where the company was founded.
“I’m always trying to push our aesthetic as hard as possible but the bikes are developed in the toughest conditions around and they have to work in the Alps. Discs are a natural evolution of an already-sorted race bike and will give the customers who need extra confidence the benefits of discs in tricky conditions.
The bike shown here has a Chris King headset as standard, paired with a Columbus Futura Disc Fork. The drivetrain is from Campagnolo in the Super Record EPS V3 spec with H11 Hydraulic discs, Bora 35 disc wheels, and a Deda Superzero finishing kit. Fizik provided the contact points.
Prices for the disc version of the Izoard RR are dependent on spec. Get in touch with Andy to find out more. Bikes ordered now will ship in time for Christmas.
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