Put your prejudices aside, not everything hipster inspired is bad...
Hands up - the new wave 'customisation' scene doesn't really float my boat. Or bike. It's not that I have anything against customised bikes, it's the 'too cool for school' atmosphere that surrounds the whole scene that leaves me more than a little irritated. I ride bikes because I love two wheels and always have done, not because I want to follow a new trend; the very sight of a waxed moustache or - even worse - a man bun makes me very annoyed. It is because of this reason that I have tended to avoid events such as the upcoming Wheels and Waves or the various Bike Shed shows that revel in this culture.
However, in the interests of education, last weekend I put my prejudices on hold and made my way to Tobacco Dock in London to see what all the fuss was about.
Organised by the Bike Shed Motorcycle Club, which is now a cool cafe in Shoreditch (where else?), the Show is in its third year. As well as London, it is held in Paris and one is scheduled for Milan at the end of 2016. This isn't a bike show like the NEC show; instead the organisers hand pick around 140 bikes to be displayed and then surround the bikes with attractions like tattooists (seriously, people were getting inked on the day), barbers, pinstripe artists, cool riding kit suppliers, a band and fast food that is about as far removed from the NEC's slop as you can get. Have you ever seen quinoa or kale on sale in Birmingham? Thought not...
In fairness to the show, I was left more than impressed from the moment I walked into Bike Shed. Yes, there were a fair old number of old air-cooled boxer BMW cafe racers (which I'm getting a little bored of), but there was a greater number of simply beautiful creations based around Guzzis, in-line four Japanese machines, Harleys, Yamahas, Triumphs and even a Honda C90 with a KTM 450 in it! I really liked the way the bikes were displayed more as objects of interest with a simple information plaque saying who had built it, leaving the audience to work the rest out. If you want to spend a day appreciating the engineering skills of some very talented individuals, then Bike Shed will certainly appeal. And that was another surprise for me.
I was kind of expecting the show to be full of trendy types, but aside from the odd individual wearing braces or sporting a man bun, the vast majority of the visitors I saw were your average Joe. While a fair few rode bikes to the event, Bike Shed was also doing what manufacturers are crying out for and attracted a large number of people who probably didn't have a bike licence, but simply wanted a day out looking at cool vehicles. And what's wrong with that? Especially if they bring their kids. For the bike industry that can only be good news. But is the bike industry taking note?
Bike Shed saw Harley-Davidson, Yamaha and Triumph all attend in an official, but quite subtle, capacity. Triumph was officially supporting the event, but its stand wasn't an NEC range display; instead it had a few specials such as Foggy's custom Bonnie (he has swapped allegiances from Ducati to Triumph this year) and both Yamaha and Harley brought cool customs created by dealers or custom houses. It wasn't in your face and I liked that.
On Triumph's stand was a customised new Thruxton R with a set of ludicrous tyres that, speaking as a biker, I know will simply destroy its wonderful handling. To me that's idiotic, but I was speaking to someone at the show and they loved its new look. Bike Shed isn't a show about the practicalities of riding a bike, instead it's a celebration of taking a bike as a base and making it unique. The actual riding is a bit of an afterthought, but is that really such a bad thing?
While I still hate man buns, I left Bike Shed really appreciating not only what the guys have achieved in setting up the show, but also the skill of some of the fabricators creating these bikes. My pictures don't do the show justice and if you go to the Bike Shed website you can see a far better selection of what was on display. And having also visited the cafe in Shoreditch, I can thoroughly recommend it as a great location to pop into for a bite to eat. It even has a barbers, but sadly not a tattooist...
Jon
