Yes, that Currys. A coronation special brought back to life with added GLAM!
This one was all about the little details for me. Cork bar ends, and subtle gold flake in the black that you only see when it catches the sun.
Originally released by Currys before they started selling washing machines and walkmans in, I wanted to make sure this bike would see its 100th birthday still in use. It was a special edition to commemorate the coronation of Queenie, so needed some extra glam befitting of anything vaguely royal.
The graphics were recreated from photos using spray.bike Bronze Gold metal plating, while the paint was Coventry Red and Blackfriars with Tokyo Gold Flake, and lined by hand with gold.
The wheels have been swapped for modern aluminium versions. Beautiful as chrome steel rims are, they make for some truly terrifying braking experiences. It rides beautifully now, and with a lovely quiet singlespeed setup you can listen to the birds as you pedal through a meadow or other such bucolic activities.
As you can see, it was a bit worse for wear when I got my hands on it, but it was totally stripped back to bare metal to remove any rust damage. It was a shame to lose the big headlamps, but I want it to be used and modern bike lights are far better and safer.
At its heart it's classically English, but just a little bit more ostentatious than would have been acceptable if you were cycling to your job at the Bank of England.