We’ve only been live for 4 months, but while Top 10 retrospectives are the flavour of the month, here’s a rundown of our most popular bikes over that period.
1. Rob’s Woodwork Alien (above). Our most popular bike turned out to be a stock standard Alien frame, but with an incredible paint scheme. Rob Pollack’s graining technique piqued the interest of our readers and continues to be our daily highest hitter. A true commendation to Rob’s artistic skill.
2. Spyker Aeroblade (above). Bespoke Dutch super car builder Spyker teamed up with Koga-Miyata to create this two-wheeled homage to their Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R and you’d be hard pressed to find the same amount of technical detail on a World Cup downhill bike.
3. Townsend Grass Track (above). Even Gregory Townsend is amazed how his Grass Track seems to have a life of its own, and the number of bike pron forum threads it features on will ensure it is remembered for quite some time. Fair enough, it seems to summarize everything we love about bikes. Classicism, simplicity and style.
4. Montante Maserati 8CTF (above). Another collaboration between a coach-builder and a bicycle marque which has been executed with integrity and aplomb. Everyone loved this bike, even the Cool Hunter, and straight forks with a disc brake provided plenty of opportunity for discussion.
5. Trek Broadsider (above). Built as a special project by Trek’s in house design team, Broadsider was featured in our first week and the number of times it was reblogged helped to boost the initial awareness of The Spoken. An amazing crossover between motorcycle and bicycle speedway.
6. Cannondale Track (above). This ‘Dale is quite a superstar. Each time NY based photographer Angelo Calilap posts a new photo of it on his Flickr, it whirls around the world causing all sorts of excitement. Some adore it; others loathe the use of risers on such a classic track frame. The photography makes it look spectacular either way.
7. Sizemore NY Commuter (above). Sizemore put the cat amongst the pigeons with this commuter, destined for the streets of New York. Created for the editor of a high-profile fashion blog, it combines the tight track geometry of a Samson with the rugged functionality required for its new locale.
8. Ateliers d’Embellie Porteur (above). Designer, artisan and craftsman Nico excited aficionados of fine leather work and raised the ire of vegetarians worldwide with his porteur. Whatever your inclination, it’s a work of art, and continues to attract plenty of attention wherever it goes.
9. Vengeance Is Coming (above). Artist Stevie Gee, paint maestro Death Spray Custom and London bike shop Tour de Ville joined forces as a contribution to Stevie’s exhibition. Viewed in context of the rest of the show, the bikes take on a whole ‘nother dimension; a real testament to everyone involved.
10. Krutor Hrotor (above). And now for something completely different, the discontinued behemoth of the Czech Republic’s Krutor’s range blew everyone away with its own extremity. Completely custom from the cranks up, it keeps the dirt fans coming back and asking for more downhill demons.
Since The Spoken went live on the 25th of August 2010, we’ve had over 355,000 unique hits. Not bad for our first 4 months. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved with The Spoken over its first year: our advertisers, the builders, riders, designers, photographers and especially our readers and subscribers. I’m really excited about next year and can’t wait to see where we’ll be in December 2011. See you then, enjoy the ride!
