Handsling Bikes TR1 track frame painted by top Rickshaw artist from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Not satisfied with any of the standard Handsling colourways, Chris Cole chose to have his new TR1 track frame custom painted... and we don't mean a custom purple. No, Chris took it all the way to Dhaka, Bangladesh to have his new frame done up in 'Rickshaw livery' by one of that city's top Rickshaw artists, Mr. S.A. Malek.

 

 

For those that don't know it, Rickshaws are ubiquitous in Bangladesh and a mainstay of the public transport system, used from everything from getting office workers to their offices to delivering bathtubs to their buyers.

 

A distinctive folk-art in the art-naif style drawing on film, current affairs, advertising, technology and nature, rickshaw art typically displays a wild mish-mash of images: film stars, aeroplanes, birds, flowers, guns and massacres. Not wanting to go over the top, Chris stuck to the flowers and the birds, but nevertheless we think the results are quite striking.

 

 

Mr. S.A. Malek in action

 

A Bengal tiger replaces the Handsling logo for the headtube badge

 

A swan adorns the seat tube

 

Fighting snakes dominate the top tube

 

Butterfly and flowers around the bottom bracket

 

The truly awesome finished item

 

If you want to see this frame in action, keep an eye out for Chris at both Herne Hill and the London Velodrome, where he is a regular competitor.