Just started this year, Squid Bikes is a rider-owned company in Sacramento, CA. Working in aluminum, they are starting out making primarily cyclocross bikes, and sponsoring riders Anthony Clark and Emily Kachorek.
Making custom aluminum is not new, but also not very common. Aluminum bikes need some post-processes done after welding that require large machinery, typically making it cost prohibitive for small operations. But aluminum also offers the property of being more corrosion resistant than steel, so they can offer the really cool “Rattlecan” model. F0r $1600, you can get a California built frame and ENVE CX carbon fork, in a raw finish so that you can finish it yourself with rattle can paint from the hardware store.
One could argue that selling a raw aluminum frame is nothing new, and maybe even taking the easy way out. However, Squid’s explanation of why they do it is fun, and makes sense.
“Over the years we discovered that our favorite bikes were always the ones that we had “customized” with some spray paint, stickers, and/or a Sharpie. (Not surprisingly, these account for most of the bikes we own.) These bikes are our favorites because they don’t look like everyone else’s. They are playful, fun, they spark conversation with the dude you pull up next to a stop light. It would be nice to say that Squid Bikes was developed for some reasonable purpose. But really we just all like an excuse to hang out, ride ‘cross bikes by the river and dream about how to transform our wildest bike ideas into reality.”
Emily Kachorek is a trained biologist, so artist made sure to include Emily’s love for living creatures. As a pro cyclist, Emily concentrates on cyclocross after discovering it in college, and currently races for the Vanderkitten racing team.
Psimet painted the bike with environmentally friendly powder coat, to align with Emily’s passion. The bike started life as a Creatures model from Squid, which comes painted and with ENVE CX fork for $2,000.
