G-Star Raw Cannondale

You have probably already seen pictures of this bike. I saw it first at the Tusindsmil blog a few weeks ago and I meant to post about it, but I couldn’t read any of the text. Since then, I have seen it here, here, and here to name a few places.

I was curious about this limited edition G-Star Raw bike, so I asked Torgny Fjeldskaar, Cannondale’s global design director, to let me know a little more about this collaborative project with the clothing brand. Here is a little bit of what he had to say:

The whole thing came about because their owner is a big fan of Cannondale, so he wanted to do a project with us. The bike is based around a standard ’08 Bad Boy Ultra frame, but as you can see it’s really tricked out with a lot of color-matched parts and special finishes. The fenders and the chain-guard are both especially designed for this bike. My involvement was not much more than giving shape to the chain-fender (G-Star had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted, a raw, industrial look with big round holes) and of course the frame. Colors and graphics were decided by G-Star, and the biggest part of the job was actually to get custom parts. Our product managers deserve a lot of credit for making this happen, after all, it is not every day a huge company like Shimano makes 500 units of anything, let alone in a finish they’ve never used themselves…

So it sounds like G-Star knew exactly what they wanted this bike to look like and Cannondale was able to make it happen. Regardless of who did what with the design, I think the bike turned out very nice. Too bad they are only making 500 of them.


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19 responses to “G-Star Raw Cannondale”

  1. Fritz Avatar
    Fritz

    Wow, that looks really good. I like it.

  2. erik k Avatar
    erik k

    While the bike itself may be good looking, I was turned off by the marketing hype, overpricing, and gimmicky jacket. I have also posted about this bike on my blog I wonder if Michael Ball is jealous

  3. bikesgonewild Avatar
    bikesgonewild

    …i agree w/ mr k on this one except the reference to ball being jealous…

    …micheal ball is too self-absorbed to be jealous…

    …just sayin’…

  4. Fritz Avatar
    Fritz

    You crack me up, Wild.

    Don’t forget, though, that your buddy Gary F kind of cultivates the “Rock Star” image too! 🙂

  5. bikesgonewild Avatar
    bikesgonewild

    …fritz, i’ll grant you g-fish fits the ‘rock star’ image in a self-promoted way, but he’s also a down to earth, accessible guy most of the time…

    …gary lives modestly (considering) & while, yes, he can afford the time better than most, gary is a serious ass rider (i believe it’s called bike development, for tax purposes, hah !)…

    …nonetheless, the man regularly takes the time to sit down & talk w/ anybody in the sport, which for the average bike joe who might like to do that, is a real bike bonding experience…a lotta folks get the opportunity to see the sport & one of their heroes for what it’s really all about & they cherish that…

    …joe breeze is the same way, w/ out the rock image…totally down to earth…

    …so, flashy clothes, nonetheless, ol’ g-fish is a far cry from micheal ball…even frankie andreau couldn’t get time w/ ball & the guy was his boss…

  6. James Avatar
    James

    Erik K, I see your point. Yeah the bike is trendy and I don’t care too much about the jacket, but I still think it is a very nice looking bike. Granted this bike is limited edition and really expensive so it may not be the best example to make my point, but I am happy to see fashion/design oriented bikes that have potential to expand the market. Bikes like this may or may not appeal to true bike geeks (like most of us) but I think these are exactly the kinds of designs that have the potential to get more people riding. I see nothing wrong with a little more focus on fashion in the bike industry; automotive designers have been successfully doing that for quite some time.

    bikesgonewild, good comments about Mr. Fisher. I would love to meet him. By the way, these two comments from you may be a first. I just read 25+ lines and I didn’t even need a dictionary. Seriously though, I love some of the words you use in your comments. I am trying to work “tensegritous” into all my conversations this week at work.

  7. jimmythefly Avatar
    jimmythefly

    I’m not sure where the line between form and function is or should be. If this sells to people who will be fair-weather riders, then they nailed it. But after the first rainy ride the customer will need to replace those fenders with something that works, which of course will compromise the style. If this happens, then it’s irresponsible to waste time and materials on a throway or ill-functioning accessory.

  8. Fritz Avatar
    Fritz

    Wild, one of the things I really like about the folks in the mountain bike biz is how approachable they are. Fisher & Breeze both are nice guys. Tom Ritchey, too, who’s also just a regular unassuming guy. And then there’s you, too, leaving your comments on every bike blog from Marin to NYC 🙂

    No clue what “tensegritous” means. 🙂

  9. bikesgonewild Avatar
    bikesgonewild

    …hah, here we go again james…as i’m sure you’ve ascertained, the term is an amalgamation of the words ‘tensional integrity’ which came about through the friendship between sculptor kenneth snelson & buckminister fuller…

    …snelson was exploring sculptural concepts utilizing poles held in place through the dynamic tension of wires w/ out fasteners…thus the tensional integrity…bucky fuller coined the term ‘tensegrity’ by the obvious marriage of the two words…

    …i extrapolated from the terminology, that rather than calling something by the awkward term, ‘a tensegrity system’, why not refer to it as ‘a tensegritous system’…logical english language evolution, no ?…

    …the reference to the human body is both a good & simple example of a tensegritous system…our bones (poles) are held in place by our muscles (wires) but we’re only fastened to the ground by gravity (ie: we’re not fixed in place) & yet through the complimentary forces of tension & compression we have an amazing range of motion & action…

    …why, you’d have to say we are structured in a synergetic format rather than an opposing format…but, hey, lets hold off on that for now…

  10. bikesgonewild Avatar
    bikesgonewild

    …fritz, just caught your compliment after i posted…thank you, sir…

    …hope my explanation suffices…

    …& ya, w/ all the mileage i’ve been covering, my knees are fine, it’s the wrists & knuckles i’m worrird about…hah…

  11. bikesgonewild Avatar
    bikesgonewild

    …damn…”worried” is what i was typing..not trying to coin another new one…sorry…

  12. Kim Avatar
    Kim

    @Jimmy- I came to leave exactly the same comment! That front fender’s going to leave some wet feet and a soaked BB. I hate when designers leave out the functionality of a product that serves a specific function. What’s a blender without blades?

  13. jimmythefly Avatar
    jimmythefly

    A blender without blades could still look cool sitting on the counter…and if that’s how the target customer will likely use it it might be a defensible design decision. That’s how I’m thinking when I see these fenders, they’re like nipples on a man. But more design-y and less evolved-y.

  14. B. Nicholson Avatar
    B. Nicholson

    Front fender too small.

  15. erik k Avatar
    erik k

    have you guys seen the all wooden bike that was recently built

  16. Fritz Avatar
    Fritz

    Nah, James never ever ever posts about wooden bikes at all. 😉

  17. erik k Avatar
    erik k

    fritz, yah you got me on the one, i missed that link. I was actually thinking i was surprised i didn’t see it here

  18. Alvaro Avatar
    Alvaro

    I am selling a RAW Cannondale on ebay. Please have a look at:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/bike-G-Star-RAW-Cannondale-limited-edition-/251194906624?

    It has never been used, it was part of a G-Star Store window for years.

    Thanks!

  19. […] At the time, Torgny Fjeldskaar was Cannondale’s global design director in 2008, and he told BicycleDesign.com: […]

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