Sentimental cyclists rejoice – no longer need your rusty rides be relegated to the garden shed. They can now be mounted with pride above the mantle, looking down on you with glazed brake levers and leathery griptape.
Bicycle taxidermy is the brainchild of architecture graduate Regan Appleton. After a year of tinkering, he has begun promoting his surreal new business to the world: providing a service for grieving bike lovers to preserve their “dead” bicycles, by fixing their stem and handlebars to a wooden plaque above an engraved epitaph.
“One of the things that fascinated me for a long time was this idea of stuffing your pets,” he explains. “There’s not much you can do with a bike when it dies. It seems a shame to throw it away.” For James Lucas, co-founder of The Bristol Bike Project and Boneshaker Magazine, a publication that fondly celebrates cycle culture, it confirms the increasing fetishisation of our bikes.
“The bicycle is no longer seen simply as a utilitarian work machine. So many illustrators get in touch with us who have bicycles featuring prominently in their work. People are making belts out of inner tubes and candlestick holders out of handlebars too.”
However, an emotional relationship with bikes also exists, says Lucas: “I think you can form an attachment. I’ve just spent five weeks touring the Hebrides and when your bike is getting you through it all, you do build up a bond with it.”
From a decorative perspective, it’s the faux-antler effect that really makes bicycle taxidermy work, says Abigail Ahern, an interior designer well known for fusing antique curios with contemporary chic. “I do like the idea behind it,” she says, “It tells a narrative and there is a mashup of the nostalgia and the modern, which is why it’s intriguing, although maybe it’s better if you’re a twentysomething living in a loft. Personally, I’d rather stick a moose on the wall.”
Although Appleton may still need to convince fans of the more traditional beheaded beast, sales are going strong. Bernie Wheeler, who works in the action sports industry and is from North Carolina, bought a plaque for an Alan Cyclocross road bike he was given in the 80s. “It was absolutely a sentimental decision,” he says. “But aesthetically pleasing.” He plans to hang it beside his current bike rack. Anne-Marie Gudel, a personal assistant from Switzerland bought a plaque for her husband – a former semi-pro cyclist – to display in his office. She is still wondering what to inscribe beneath it. But for those who really live by the seat of their saddle, her suggestion “You know my bum better than anyone else” seems an appropriate tribute to a well-used steed.
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