Bike Porn: The Art of Specialized’s Lead Graphic Designer Garrett Chow – Part 1
At whatever level you partake in the sport you’ve spent some time briefly rooting for a Pro, reading about their setups, or ogling their beautiful toys. Even if you’re disenchanted with the current state of cycling, a beautiful bike will still put a grin across your face. So we jumped at the chance to stop by and gawk at the several road bikes designed for Pro’s or owned by Specialized’s lead graphic designer – Garrett Chow.
Full disclosure: Spandex ain’t really my thing. Love bikes, have a road bike (some might call ancient), but I prefer kids bikes and dirt. Since I’m no expert on the components/setups and I didn’t want to bother Garrett on his special night, I opted to take pictures. Lot’s of pretty pictures. Enjoy! If you have any questions just leave them in the comments.
You can check out Part Two here.
Specialized Zden?k Štybar Crux 2012
Nothing better than something that looks well loved amidst all the perfection.
Garrett Chow’s Personal Specialized Crux
Garrett took Stybar pink to a whole new level.
This is the kind of paint job that needs to be seen in real life to be properly drooled over. Actually, that was the theme of the whole night. Just check out the next bike.
Garrett Chow’s Specialized Tarmac SL3 Frameset, 2010
This frame hanging on the wall? Just his old old Tarmac from way back in the day… I mean 2010.
This is the only angle which came close to showing off some of the subtle graphics.
Garrett Chow’s Specialized Tarmac SL2, 2009
Even the computer and stem cap match perfectly!
And don’t worry, Garrett’s bikes aren’t just show pieces. He knows how to get them dirty too. Rad!
Image via Tumblr
Want more? Check out Part Two here.
Comments
The work done by Chow is incredible. My personal favorite is his Crux. The finishes on the bikes looks so clean. It must have been a whole other experience to see them in person.
That last picture is so intriguing. Specialized SSCX bike? It looks like is a FD clamp though…
@brennan thats because it is a FD tab. its a crux as SS, garrett rides a cinelli for SS cross now
Looks like there is also some flat art work on the wall behind the tarmac. Did you get any close up pics of the flat art too??? The bikes look awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I wasn’t in need of any more reasons for making Bike Rumor my sole source of all news bike-related. But you gave me one anyway! I’m nowhere near California and was SO wanting to see even just a little more than the FEA frame photo from last week. After I was only able to find a little bit of info on Garrett’s own Crux online, I was hoping against hope I might find some coverage of it somewhere down the line. I’ve been a big Robert Egger fan since ’92 (’93′?) and, having drifted away from bikes for awhile, last week’s article was the first I’d heard of Garrett. INCREDIBLE work…love the attention to detail (both Garrett AND Bike Rumor)!!! THANKS!!!!!
…few more pics of the Crux:
http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2012/09/guest-gallery-garrett-chows-custom-specialized-carbon-crux-cx-by-mike-martin/#1
Needed more pics of that. I would love to do something similar. Might need to get some rusty old frames in to practice on!
I like these alot. Specialized should do a lot more limited run designs by him in on there high end Pro and s-works frames!
What is the guy’s name in the last picture? (deleted)
@ Adrian – right on, do it. This is a great article and coverage. I want to keep my tarmac SL3 and paint it over the winter.
PART TWO ALREADY!
Please, and thank you.
Hey all, Part II is coming at you next week. Stay tuned for close ups of that beautiful FEA frame, some flat art, and more.
Glad you all loved Garrett’s work as much as I did.
- Saris
Right now there are about a 1000 custom car and motorcycle painters rolling their eyes thinking “all this for a couple of stripes on a bicycle”
Jeb +1
The actual paint techniques are pretty basic, but the design work is pretty cool.