Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

detail Porteur

detail Porteur
Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. But a porteur bicycle works to a certain formula, so if the underlying theme is chrome, then the view from the top of the mountain will be the same, regardless of the route taken.

Matthew Conway and the fellows at Yorkshire design agency, detail, were inspired by Alex Hatfield’s chrome Lee Cooper frame that won the award for Best Porteur at the recent Bespoked Bristol Handmade Bicycle Show. After chancing upon a chrome Carlton frame, circa-1970s, for a pittance, the long journey began to source appropriate components. eBay provided most of them, and Matt demonstrated his eye for detail through the spec sheet: Campagnolo headset and crank set, Nitto Technomic stem, a copper-rivetted Brooks Swift, salmon Koolstop brake pads et al. The polished aluminum fenders, porteur bars and rack were catered by Velo Orange. detail applied a few custom touches of their own, like leather cable straps, fender washers and p-clip, and oak slats on the rack. My favorite items are the lights: there’s a Miller dynamo on the front and a 1960s Delite on the rear, which have both been retro-fitted with LEDs.

Special thanks to Matt Conway for the tip-off. The full spec sheet is on detail‘s website.

detail Porteur
detail Porteur
detail Porteur
detail Porteur
detail Porteur
detail Porteur