Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

Hallowe’en is here again, and behind all the costumes and trick or treatin’ is a counter of the yearly cycle completing another revolution. Coincidentally, today’s bike, built by the legendary frame builder, Colorado’s Mark Nobilette, came together in time for the holiday bearing a resemblance to a certain arachnid-themed superhero.

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

Photographer Mark Reimer captured the Nobilette just after it was built up by the guys at Winnipeg’s Natural Cycleworks. There’s an interesting background to it: “The origin of the paint job is that allegedly it was sent to Spectrum Powderworks with no instructions, and came back to Mark Nobilette with a decidedly Spidey-like paint job. Fitting, as Mark Nobilette is said to own all but one of the first 100 issues of the Spiderman comics.

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

“The frame was built as a show model and was more than 5 years old by the time the customer purchased it from Nobilette and brought it to me for building this summer. The main triangle is True Temper, and the back end and fork is Reynolds 725.

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

“The frame is slightly too big for my customer — as such he requested I build it around a swept back bar. He left the rest of the parts up to me.

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

“I knew that this frame was dear to Nobilette, both because of the handcut lugs and the red & blue paint scheme. As such, I tried to select every component to satisfy the aesthetic of the frame, as well as to support North American manufacturing whenever that was realistic.

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

“Chris King hubs and headset; White Industries cranks, pedals and bottom bracket; and Paul levers and seat post were the first choice, as the customer likes to support North American manufacturing whenever feasible as well.

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike

“The bar is a Soma Oxford, with a SimWorks stem to match. The hubs were complemented by DT Revolution spokes and HED Belgium rims. The B17 was an easy choice as it matched the frame lugs in a pleasant way.

Happy Hallowe’en! Special thanks to Mark Reimer for the photos and Andrew Dalton of Natural Cycleworks, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, for the story.

Mark Nobilette Spidey Bike