I have seen some really cool looking custom paint jobs in my day but this one is unique for sure…and I dig it.
From Niner Bikes:
Everyone at Niner is a bike nerd first and foremost. We call ourselves “Ninerds,” naturally. Between our mountain bikes and gravel bikes, we ride local dirt almost daily. But we all have passions and pursuits beyond bicycles. Our building includes trail runners, kayakers, car campers, fly fisherman, hockey players, and rock climbers. In general, we’re committed to living and playing outdoors under the sun and with as many different toys as often as possible.
So when our most recent custom bike opportunity came along, senior graphic designer Nate Adams looked away from two wheels and out the window to the nearby Poudre River for ideas.
“Here in Fort Collins, a lot of our trailheads are also great fisheries,” says Nate. “So it’s only natural when you share a passion for riding and fishing, that you throw a few flies in the river after a ride and try to trick some trout into biting. When an extra ready-to-paint frame showed up at the office, I thought, why not take it a step further and paint my favorite Niner bike, the RIP 9 RDO 29er, like my favorite finned friend?”
In a fast-growing state full of transplanted residents and recent arrivals, Nate is a rare native Coloradan. He easily found inspiration in the Colorado state fish, the native Greenback Cutthroat Trout, to mimic for this one-off paint project. “I envisioned it sharing the same colors and some traits as a greenback cutthroat while not being 100% literal,” said Nate. “Making the design a bit abstract with silver inside masking really made my eyeballs happy.”
Nate continues, “I follow a lot of custom painters, which I have a ton of respect for. There’s Fat Creations in the UK, Black Magic Paint, Spectrum Paint Works, KC Badger and of course Made Rad By Tony When I saw the snake-themed bike that Tony painted for Bryn Atkinson, I knew he was the guy for the job. His attention to meticulous detail is unmatched. After a few emails back and forth and a phone call, I now have an amazing work of art that I will treasure forever.”
Tony Baumann of Made Rad Custom Paintworks had this to say: “The greenback is a beautiful fish and the RIP 9 RDO was perfect for this one. The frame had really nice organic shapes and curves to work with that just seemed to get fishier as the project progressed. Between the fade, highlighted spots, and metallic silver shadow graphic, this one really came together and proved to be one helluva catch.”
Nate concludes, “Huge thanks to Tony Baumann, Deity Components, ENVE, SDG, SRAM, and of course Niner for making this happen.”