San Francisco bicycle collector Brett Horton commissioned this amazing bespoke town bike, with the frameset custom built by the folks at Bishop Bikes and nearly every other part fabricated as a one-offJames Huang/BikeRadar
The webbed bottom bracket shell houses a special Phil Wood eccentric bearing setup that was developed especially for this project but may be sent into productionJames Huang/BikeRadar
The chainguard that started it all. Brett Horton says these stand-in crankarms will ultimately be replaced with custom ones machined by Phil WoodJames Huang/BikeRadar
Subtle green accents decorate the inner edges of these dropoutsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Both bikes were immaculately painted by the renowned Joe BellJames Huang/BikeRadar
Housing stops on production bikes are typically function-over-form with little thought put into their shape or appearance. Not so with theseJames Huang/BikeRadar
The front hub features Schmidt dynamo internals housed in polished aluminum shells custom machined for the project by Phil WoodJames Huang/BikeRadar
Chris Bishop followed an ‘art nouveau’ theme when carving the lugs for Brett Horton’s bespoke town bikeJames Huang/BikeRadar
The pedals are based on new old stock Campagnolo Euclids but with custom cages made by Phil Wood and half-clips made by Ron Andrews of King CageJames Huang/BikeRadar
The custom beech and mahogany rims mark the first time Ghisallo have made wooden rims with an inlayJames Huang/BikeRadar
Brooks delivered a B33 leather saddle for Brett Horton’s ‘constructeur’ town bike with a few custom tweaksJames Huang/BikeRadar
Seatstay caps are finished in contrasting red while the seat lug boasts a subtle webbed pointJames Huang/BikeRadar
The stem on Brett Horton’s bike is a modern reproduction of an old Rene Herse model. The knob on top activates the generator-powered lightsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Shelly Horton asked her husband to get her a $500 town bike to ride with the couple’s four-year-old son. Months later, this is what she gotJames Huang/BikeRadar
Custom Laplander bags are fitted to the rear of Shelly Horton’s bespoke townie for now but they’ll ultimately be replaced with ones created by Mulholland Brothers of San FranciscoJames Huang/BikeRadar
You can just barely see the distinctive red ‘Phil’ logo carved into the brake caliperJames Huang/BikeRadar
These Mafac center-pulls have been polished and refurbished but they’ll ultimately be replaced with bespoke calipers made by Phil WoodJames Huang/BikeRadar
The chain guard firmly and securely affixes to the frame via these stout standoffsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Brett Horton says the inspiration for both bikes came from this vintage CLB chain guard, which was modified with The Horton Collection logo, deburred, and polishedJames Huang/BikeRadar
Phil Wood also machined the custom chainrings for both bikesJames Huang/BikeRadar
The fenders attach to the frame but also to the rear rack with hidden hardware and leather washersJames Huang/BikeRadar
Stock Honjo aluminum fenders were highly polished and accented with color-matched paintJames Huang/BikeRadar
The lighting wire is neatly fed into the down tubeJames Huang/BikeRadar
The standard Rohloff shifter has been modified with a full-length leather gripJames Huang/BikeRadar
Bilenky Cycle Works fabricated this stunning front brake cable hangerJames Huang/BikeRadar
Bilenky Cycle Works also crafted the custom bike with an art deco motifJames Huang/BikeRadar
Brett Horton is a long-time bicycle memorabilia collector located in San Francisco, California. Proper custom head tube badges will come later this yearJames Huang/BikeRadar
The custom front hub shell is made by Phil Wood and houses Schmidt dynamo gutsJames Huang/BikeRadar
The rear hub uses Rohloff internals housed in a highly polished custom Phil Wood aluminum hub shellJames Huang/BikeRadar
The seat lug is especially delicate on Shelly Horton’s mixte frameJames Huang/BikeRadar
“Horton” is even machined into the custom pedal cagesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Custom pedals, really? Well, close. New old stock Campagnolo Euclid bodies are augmented with custom machined cages and custom made half-clips from King CageJames Huang/BikeRadar
The custom rack features interchangeable bits to secure the rear bagsJames Huang/BikeRadar
Brake cables are fed through the handlebar on Shelly Horton’s bike. Fully custom Cinelli bars are slated to be included around MayJames Huang/BikeRadar
Brooks graciously provided leather saddles outfitted with a few custom changesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Columbus provided custom tubesets for the project, including bespoke labelsJames Huang/BikeRadar
The nutted stem bolt is more fitting of the aesthetic of the bike than one with an Allen headJames Huang/BikeRadar
The exquisite paint work is by Joe BellJames Huang/BikeRadar
Legendary frame painter Joe Bell spent over 100 hours painting both Horton bikesJames Huang/BikeRadar
Joe Bell applies one of 17 separate coats to Shelly Horton’s Bilenky Cycle Works frameJames Huang/BikeRadar
Brett Horton was asked by his wife, Shelly, to find a town bike “under $500” that she could use to ride with the couple’s four-year-old son, Trevor. Most people would have simply purchased something at a local bike shop, but not Horton, who along with Shelly co-owns and operates The Horton Collection in San Francisco, California – perhaps the world’s most comprehensive collection of bicycle racing memorabilia.
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Instead, what transpired was a months-long process that ultimately escalated into not one but two truly bespoke “constucteur” machines built in collaboration with some of the finest bicycle companies in the industry. Brett’s bike was built by Bishop Custom Handcrafted Bicycle Frames in Baltimore, Maryland with an “art nouveau” theme that included intricately carved new old stock Everest ‘batman’ aero lugs.
Shelly Horton’s mixte, meanwhile. was made by Bilenky Cycle Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with an “art deco” motif and lugs apparently inspired by a door in a train station. Legendary painter Joe Bell, who Horton says used more than 17 separate coats per frame, did the immaculate finish work on both bikes.
Shelly horton asked her husband to get her a $500 town bike to ride with the couple’s four-year-old son. months later, this is what she got: shelly horton asked her husband to get her a $500 town bike to ride with the couple’s four-year-old son. months later, this is what she gotJames Huang/BikeRadar
Shelly Horton asked her husband to get her a $500 town bike to ride with the couple’s four-year-old son. Months later, this is what she got
Unlike other bikes at NAHBS – even the most impressive ones – both of Horton’s machine are truly custom in nature from head to toe, comprising not only bespoke framesets but with nearly every component built as a true one-off specifically for this project. Much of the work was done by Phil Wood, including the custom aluminum hub shells housing Rohloff internals out back and Schmidt dynamo guts up front.
Wood was also responsible for the chainrings, cogs, rear dropouts, pedal cages, and even special eccentric bottom brackets that fit inside standard-diameter threaded shells. Additional pending items include center-pull brake calipers, crankarms, and headsets. Rims, meanwhile, were specially fabricated by Italy’s Ghisallo using mahogany inlays in the beech substrate.
The custom beech and mahogany rims mark the first time ghisallo have made wooden rims with an inlay: the custom beech and mahogany rims mark the first time ghisallo have made wooden rims with an inlayJames Huang/BikeRadar
The custom beech and mahogany rims mark the first time Ghisallo have made wooden rims with an inlay
Special stainless steel half-clips were made by Ron Andrews of King Cage, and Brooks provided subtly tweaked versions of their B-33 and B-57s leather saddles. Even Italian tubing powerhouse Columbus tossed their hat into the ring, digging out some new old stock but also cutting new tooling to draw the 14mm-diameter mixte tubes on Shelly’s bike – along with proper “Citta Donna” and “Urbano” labels to make it official.
Horton says the inspiration for both bikes comes from a pair of vintage CLB chain guards, crudely stamped from sheet metal and originally intended for value bikes. From there, he had the original logos replaced with his own Horton Collection icon, the windows were deburred, and both pieces were finally polished to a high-quality finish.
The chainguard that started it all. brett horton says these stand-in crankarms will ultimately be replaced with custom ones machined by phil wood: the chainguard that started it all. brett horton says these stand-in crankarms will ultimately be replaced with custom ones machined by phil woodJames Huang/BikeRadar
The chain guard that started it all. Brett Horton says these stand-in crankarms will ultimately be replaced with custom ones machined by Phil Wood
Horton estimates that over 2,000 man hours have been invested into the ‘his and hers’ town bikes. While it’s impossible to put a monetary value on the time and materials most of the companies contributed to the two bike builds, the cost of the project would likely extend into six digits.
Despite the fantastic appearance of the bikes, Horton says they’re not done yet, with additional items to come later in the season such as custom-bent bars made by Cinelli and proper head tube badges. As for that original simple request, several months have gone by and Trevor is now five but Horton says these bikes aren’t meant to be “wall queens”.
Bilenky cycle works fabricated this stunning front brake cable hanger: bilenky cycle works fabricated this stunning front brake cable hangerJames Huang/BikeRadar
Bilenky Cycle Works fabricated this stunning front brake cable hanger
He and Shelly took them for their inaugural ride on the Sunday after the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. “We intend to be reasonably nice to the bikes by sparing them the abuse of off-road riding through this year’s show season,” Horton told us.
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“To preserve the ‘show’ look, Phil Wood made extra pedal plates, chainrings and cogs which will be put on and removed as needed. After that, they become normal bikes that are used on pavement and dirt alike, lugged around on car racks, put on airplanes and ultimately ridden into the ground as they were designed to do.”
