The Service Course x Speedvagen: A CAPSULE COLLECTION IN CELEBRATION OF THE ICONIC ICHICO DESIGN

Back in 2015, Speedvagen released the first edition of the “Ichico” paint work for their annual Surprise Me program (no hints, no regrets...), creating an instant classic in their constantly evolving catalogue of striking handmade bikes.

The original design concept was a collaboration between Sacha White of Vanilla Workshop/Speedvagen and Tokyo-based customer, good friend and graphic designer, Masashi Ichifuru - known as Ichico to his buddies. 

Sacha’s take on the end result: “What he designed was quintessentially Japanese insofar as it had aspects that were refined and represented high craft, but it also had all of this killer, super cute Japanese pop culture vibe.”

The following year, freshly retired from the pro peloton, TSC founder Christian Meier made the pilgrimage from Girona to Portland to see the Speedvagen workshop in action, meet the team and inevitably fall in love with their unique approach to building bikes - the beginning of a special relationship that would blossom in the years to come.

“Speedvagen was my introduction into the world of handmade bikes, after years of riding stock bikes from teams. A few things drew me to SV, from their amazing paint jobs, those sexy s bend seat stays and what I felt was their overall personality which was ride awesome bikes and don’t take yourself too seriously along the way. Riding a Speedvagen for the first time solidified everything I had thought and more, agile, smooth as butter yet that perfect dancing partner on the climbs. There will always be a special place in my heart for SV.”

Fast forward to 2020 and Ichico is back by popular demand, with Speedvagen proudly reissuing a Surprise Me paint scheme for the first (and possibly only) time in their history, available in six colours, exclusively on custom frames. And how could Christian resist? His custom Speedvagen Rugged Road was promptly shipped to Portland, later reappearing back in Girona complete with an Ichico makeover, in Army Green, naturally.

Meanwhile, Speedvagen Creative Director Richard Pool was busy evolving the Ichico design once more, this time integrating the The Service Course logo itself, joining the dots between Portland, Girona and Tokyo, connected by a shared love for creating - and riding - beautiful bikes.

The capsule collection features a number of on and off bike items, with the collaboration jerseys limited to 111 pieces in total - the same number of bikes Speedvagen build in any given year.

The Service Course is the exclusive European partner for all Speedvagen custom bikes. Get your dream build started by dropping us a line at custombikes@theservicecourse.cc or find out more at the link below.