When our client, Ruben, reached out about making a SLACKR Titanium tribute bike for his late mother, Maria, with a Dia de Los Muertos theme, we knew we had an opportunity to make something special.
To do the concept justice, we knew we needed vibrant color and original artwork. Industry Nine reached out about collaborating on a mountain bike for the Philly Bike Expo to showcase their new Hydra2 Enduro Carbon wheelset and their incredible anodizing skills. Using the bike as a canvas we connected with local tattoo and pinstripe artist Xavier Robles III to bring the artwork to life
Xavier took the concept and developed a handful of amazing options for us, bringing his skills into play with curvaceous pinstripes, hand-drawn text and symbolic art. Once the design was done, Vince created a digital file for our vinyl cutter and masked it onto the bike and began anodizing.
Playing with the colors and having fun with this detailed art was an exhilarating experience, pushing the boundaries of what we have done with in-house anodizing previously. Industry Nine was kind enough to anodize a custom fade on the wheelset. Surrounding the blue Hydra2 hubs are Bronze or Gold faded spokes. We played off that and faded the bike’s graphics from vibrant blue to gold/bronze.
As for components, what a kit!!!
Industry Nine Hydra2 Enduro wheels/ I-9 stem and headset
Cane Creek Helm Mkii Air 150mm fork
Magura MT Trail SL brakes 4 piston F/R
5dev Titanium Trail crankset
Vittoria 29x2.4” tires
SRAM XX Transmission and power meter
The SLACKR is now also available in steel! Enjoy the gallery below.
Special thanks to Ruben for trusting us for this special project and allowing us to share it at the Philly Bike Expo!
Thanks to Xavier Robles III for bringing the design to life!
Thanks to Industry Nine for sharing our bike at the show and being a creative partner on the color concepts!
