New and older women’s cruisers at the Bean on closing weekend
While the Thanksgiving Weekend is nearly all about positive things, there is one downside to the holiday in Peterbrough: it is the last weekend that the Silver Bean Café is open.
While grabbing a couple of coffees before heading up to Stoney Lake for a few days, we came across this pair of interesting bikes out in front of the Bean. Two contrasting styles but both no-nonsense bikes.
Elegant Brawn—Mongoose Crossway at the Silver Bean Café
The first was a striking Mongoose Crossway. Possibly custom painted as it did not appear to be a stock colour and the bike had no manufacturer decals, the Mongoose shouted solidness. The light greenish-blue colour on the whole frame and wide fenders suggested this was a no-nonsense bike. The heft was further emphasized by extra frame bracing between the down tube and the seat tube. While it had near straight bars, this thing had the feel of a cruiser. It looked like a good ride.
Mongoose Headbadge
Quite possibly the most laid back and unpretentious bike we have seen in a while was this older green Murray. The super wide cruiser handlebars had been given a hot water pipe insulation treatment. Rust poked into view here and there and it had no fenders. While the chain was in serious need of tightening, the chain’s slouch only underscored the whole feel of louchey insouciance. The bare-bones look was countered by a nice wicker basket strapped to the handlebars.
No-nonsense Murray
Handlebar treatment by Ace Plumbing
The differences in the two centrally similar bikes highlighted how bikes are highly variable and are very much a personal statement of who we are, and not just in the way bikes look. Function says as much as appearance, if not more. In a world of increasing globalization and manufactured style, we can only think “vive la différence”!
More photographs at Flickr.
Bike Spotting is a series of photographs of interesting everyday bicycles in and around Peterborough. Do you have such a bike or images of it? Send us the links or the images and, better yet, the story behind the bike. We’d love to share them.