“New York, New York it’s a helluva town. You know the Bronx is up and I’m Brooklyn down” — rhymed the Beastie Boys on Paul’s Boutique. Thomas Callahan of Horse Cycles is Brooklyn down too, and he built this tourer for another local, Steven Bukowski.
It’s been inspiring to watch the evolution of the Horse Cycles workshop over the years. Thomas Callahan’s ‘Priest Sport‘ track bike was one of the first bikes we featured on The Spoken — nearly six years to the day, in fact, on September 26th, 2010.
Since then, we’ve enjoyed seeing numerous mounts emerge from the stables, ranging from townies to tarmac mashers and traditionally-styled tourers. The offerings then diversified as Thomas expanded the brand to collaborations with local craftspeople.
One of the collaborators Thomas has worked with is Steven Bukowski, who is a designer and fabricator of stylish and refined wooden furniture. Steven turns the exquisite handles for the Horse Brand Co. knives, to which Thomas adds the steel blades.
Steven was after a bike that he could take adventuring through the Catskill Mountains, about a hundred miles north-northwest of New York City. The Catskill Scenic Trail will be part of the route, which follows the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad.
This is an updated interpretation of the Horse Cycles Urban Tour. The original catered only for caliper brakes, but this version incorporates Paragon Machine Works Low Mount dropouts and the now legendary Paul Components Klamper disc brakes.
The frame itself consists of TIG-welded True Temper OX Platinum tubes, with a fork constructed with the elaborate and strong Pacenti crown. That glossy teal was expertly applied by Ben Falcon, the in-house painter at Horse Cycles. A noble steed indeed.
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