A few years ago, messenger/artist/entrepreneur Eric Bones collaborated with fellow Bostonians Firefly Bicycles on The Bones Project: an exhibition of custom-painted stainless steel bikes. More recently, Eric has been back at the Firefly workshop; this time to pick up his own custom Firefly.
Eric has been moving ahead with his Ocean operation, which is a ‘team’ of sorts. A skilled designer, he’s conceived a range of jerseys, bib shorts, and accessories that will be used to dress some riders in the Red Hook and the Wolfpack Crit series. Remember his Circle A-painted Cervélo S2? Well, this is the new company vehicle.
With the unlimited potential a custom frame offers, crystallising exactly what role it will fulfil can take some time. Working out the technical details can take even longer. The conceptualisation process took Eric about two years before he was ready to talk to Kevin Wolfson, one of the original founders of Firefly Bicycles.
There was already a specific road and track bike in Eric’s stable, so his Firefly would fill the gap between his dirt and gravel road excursions, and his cyclocross racing. The result was a personalized interpretation of Firefly’s All-Road offering: a predominantly titanium frame — Firefly’s speciality — with a carbon seat tube.
The construction is impeccable, as you’d expect. The ‘stacks of dimes’ around each join result in a frame that looks as though it’s going to withstand a lifetime’s worth of abuse and, even though this is Eric’s first titanium frame, he will already testify to its light, strong and responsive attributes.
The Parlee disc ‘cross fork is an option available with the Firefly All-Road, as is the Integrated Seat Post, which also happens to be Eric’s favorite feature: “Nothing says custom”, he says, “like a bike that’s really hard to sell! But don’t worry, this thing isn’t going anywhere, ever.”
The top tube and stem are covered with the katakana elements of the Ocean label, while the ISP and down tube are decorated with the other motifs that appear on both the brand’s outfits and the Cervélo. Eric states that it’s the most dialled bike in his stable, and I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be his favourite.
Ocean Website | Instagram
Firefly Bicycles Website | Facebook | Instagram
Big thanks to Jeremy Nathan of Life Is A Beautiful Detail for the photos.
