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Custom Argon 18 Gallium Pro for Astana’s Miguel Angel Lopez

As Astana’s Miguel Angel Lopez took the start line at Tour of the Alps, he had a different bike than the rest of the team. Argon 18 provided a custom painted Gallium Pro to the Colombian climber many refer to as Superman. Though the connection with the superhero is a mir coincidence, it is fitting that DC Comics celebrate the 80th year of Superman with Action Comics #1000 on Wednesday, April 18th.

“Lopez is a proven world-class cyclist and is also the embodiment of our product philosophy of passion and dedication to racing. We are happy to surprise Lopez with the final design of his Gallium Pro SupermanLopez – ParticuleR” said Gervais Rioux, CEO, and Founder of Argon 18.

The bike blends a connection to the earth and the cosmos, the bike starts as yellow at it’s lowest points, and fades to orange and red, before turning to blue and dark purple. Depending on the angle you look at the bike and the light, the colors change a bit. Stars have been added as flake sparkles in the paint. Along the top tube, a quote in Spanish ties in the superhero connection, “is it a plane, is it a bird, no, it’s Superman Lopez.” Other touches, including a House of El-like shield and stylized graphic of his name are added at different points on the frame.

Art director Alexandre Saint-Jalm worked with the management team of Astana to create this striking and unique bike for Lopez. The Gallium Pro itself is an ultra light, yet stiff performing frame, perfect for when the road ticks upward.

“This project is the perfect opportunity to adapt my designs to highlight the personality of the rider. I can forget all the requirements to produce a design that can be easily replicated. It’s the only condition to really attain the uniqueness that Miguel Ángel deserves” said Saint-Jalm.

Now ParticleR is something new for Argon 18. Dubbed an “internal initiative program” for the Canadian brand, they are tasked with pushing the boundaries of current designs and experiment on new ideas. While a special paint job isn’t exactly pushing designs, it is the first step to showing that the brand is looking to work with subject matter experts to produce class leading products. (As a side note, we had a chance to meet with some Argon 18 reps before Sea Otter and learned about some exciting products that are coming into production in the next year or so, and are looking forward to sharing when we are cleared.)

“It was important for Argon 18 to work with the best in all steps of this process, as in the paint artist. We collaborated with Rob Nicholas of ColourBurn Studio to test possibilities. With Rob’s know-how on techniques, special effects and process, it was possible to put the ideas and vision into real life. The result and quality would have been impossible to attain with traditional production. More projects from this collaboration on ParticuleR are coming in the next month” said Saint-Jalm.

“It is crucial that we explore the extremes of colors and graphic design for our bikes. With the ParticuleR  Program we will be able to develop ways to express our creativity and evaluate what can later enter the marketplace with Argon 18“ said Gervais Rioux.

Beyond the frame, the rest of the bike is standard from the team. A Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain is mated to an FSA cockpit, including an OS99 stem, and K Force bars and seat post. FSA also provides the K Force Light crankset that is mated to a Power2Max spider with FSA rings. Corima covers the wheels with their 32 WS+ carbon tubular wheels, and Prologo gets in on the action with the bar tape and saddle. Lopez uses Look pedals as well.

Tags: Astana, carbon, Crankset, Creative works, custom, Dura-Ace, Fictional characters, Miguel Angel Lopez, Shimano, Superman
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