Bike Check: A Creative Rider's Custom 'Mind Management' Hornet Norco Sight

Apr 22, 2021
by James Smurthwaite  
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Photography: Bryn Atkinson

You may remember Sully Hicks' 'Yippee Ki Yay Melon Farmer' bike from earlier in the year. That wild bike came from Jill Kintner's Mind Maintenance competition organised with Red Bull that encouraged riders to design their dream custom Norco Sight design that would be painted by Tony Baumann of Made Rad by Tony. With Red Bull only able to promote itself to over-18s, Sully's bike was supported by Norco as a side project, but the winner of the main competition was Zac Martines and this hornet-themed bike.

Zac's design beat over 5,000 entries and it apparently stood out right away. Jill says, "The minute we saw Zac's hornet bike, it was intriguing; A bold graphic, super well thought out as a 360 design, and the elements from the wings and eyes had so much potential in paint. Tony was excited to create this bike, and his enthusiasm for the project helped it rise to the top. We all agreed it was a killer design, from all angles."

Tony said, "Zac’s concept was one of my favorites from the very beginning. His whole idea was pretty dialed. The way he laid it all out, the colors he chose and the amount of detail I knew I could work with really got me buzzing. In doing my research, I got really sucked into macro shots of hornets and fell into a deep rabbit hole when my search led me to a bunch of other macro bug photos. There are definitely some other really rad bug bikes just waiting to happen."
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The final result is a stunning custom bike packed with detail that Zac will surely cherish for life. From the detailed macro-shot face on the head tube to the delicate wings on the top tube and Zac's name on the chainstay, it's sure to cause a buzz wherever he rides. To top it off, Jill, Tony and Bryn came to drop off the bike in person and he got to show them around his home trails on his new steed.

bigquotesWords can not describe how stoked I am. This is the sickest bike ever! I feel like the luckiest kid ever! Massive thank you to everyone who made this contest possible!Zac Martines

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Tony gives Zac's drawing a good study before putting airbrush to frame.

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Tony was anticipating the hornet's head would be the hardest part of the painting job...

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... however it ended up being the wings on the top tube. He said, "The wings however, ended up being much more difficult than I anticipated and I spent way too much time on them. I was trying to keep it as close to Zac’s mock-up as possible, but the light blues and purples he used really didn’t jive well with the rest of the hornet. As a last-ditch effort, I decided to go rogue and I made the wings more of a fiery yellow/orange and hoped for the best. I think it was the right call and luckily Zac agreed."

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With over 5,000 entries to pick from, there were plenty of other strong designs that came close to winning. Jill said, "It's a shame we had to pick just one. Judging was beyond difficult with so many great concepts. Isaac Orloff's dart frog was a close contender again for the boldness, textures, and vibrant colors. The broken TV bike was fantastic, the Robot bike had a fun personality, the watercolor 'dirt church' stained glass bike was beautiful, the treasure map bike was full of surprises, and and and…They were all uniquely special."

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We've been told that Red Bull and Jill are planning on bringing back Mind Maintenance again sometime next month so if you fancy your chances of winning your own custom bike painted by Tony, keep an eye on Jill's social media feed.

Author Info:
jamessmurthwaite avatar

Member since Nov 14, 2018
1,770 articles

107 Comments
  • 122 6
 I think this bike will create quite a buzz.
  • 6 1
 Lol you beat me to it, good one.
  • 52 0
 Come on, everyone's making this pun. It must be the hive mind.
  • 17 7
 @robomatic: These puns are sweet like honey
  • 41 1
 I wasp gonna say the same thing.
  • 11 0
 Stunging....
  • 33 0
 The artist is a straight up Pablo Beecaso
  • 24 0
 If this bike doesn't run King "angry bee" hubs, it'll be a missed opportunity
  • 5 0
 It's a straight up stinger!
  • 12 0
 Somebody get me my Epi pen I'm having an allergic reaction to these puns
  • 21 0
 @rip8569: Do they really bug you that much?
  • 14 0
 Oh beehive
  • 3 0
 Especially since that air brush looks like a giant ganja pipe, quite a buzz indeed...
  • 3 0
 @suspended-flesh: Camper van Beethoven
  • 5 1
 @noapathy: Punsters are much like hornets, once one emerges you may expect a swarm.
  • 4 0
 Ubeelievable
  • 1 0
 @ceecee: Interesting comment - I wonder where you came up with those 2 degrees of separation.....?
  • 1 0
 @suspended-flesh: 'artist' added a degree, musical made buzz fuzzy, and even if photo five is the interior of a box truck, camper van doubled down on the fuzz, as Ludwig shouldn't have to fly solo? Frames are my canvas and my studio needs new tires....yep, it's a stretch
  • 1 0
 @ceecee: Oh yeah - that works for me. That band lived on the same block as I did and I knew a couple of them many decades of abuse ago.....so it was weird to see the name here, in another reality.......
  • 1 0
 And I thought he was catching a buzz. I guess I didn't know what an airbrush looks like.
  • 60 0
 That is an amazing looking bike. Kudos to that dude! I hope the hubs are loud.
  • 14 2
 He should get I9s
  • 20 3
 @ols532704: He should get Chris King.....
  • 5 8
 @porkchopsandwich: My new Chris King hub is stupidly quiet. I don't care for it.
  • 9 13
flag justwaki (Apr 22, 2021 at 11:03) (Below Threshold)
 Nope. Such bike must run Profile. Loudest I have ever heard. Halo Supadrive is nasty too. I think both CK and I9 fall behind these two.
  • 3 0
 @Explodo: give it some time to break in
  • 2 0
 @diegosk: Yeah....it doesn't compare. All I did was switch it from HG to microspline. The several year old HG internals weren't loud either.
  • 1 1
 @justwaki: Supadrive hubs suck, rebranded "chosen" china hubs. Lasted 3 months before pinging and slipping.
  • 1 0
 @Explodo: bummer. Ill admit I haven’t played with a CK hub in a while. They must’ve changed their recipe a while ago to quiet things down.
  • 1 0
 @diegosk: so that's a thing? I just got a new bike and i thought i was imagining the hubs getting louder as i ride it more
  • 5 8
 @senorbanana: I meant sound wise. No way to compare to CK or Profile in quality.
  • 2 0
 @justwaki: Agreed. Profile ftw if you want a loudass, angry swarm of bees hub.
  • 2 0
 @diegosk: In my experience the hardware is the same, and it all depends on how much ring drive lube is in there. A 3 minute disassemble and quick wipe of the drive shell will add 10 decibels. Wink
  • 1 0
 @kram: I did give the splines a nice solid coat of ring lube before assembly.
  • 45 3
 Hornets are assholes.
  • 11 0
 ...and that's also a place where you don't want them in.
  • 26 1
 "This guy pollinates"
  • 2 0
 I like your style
  • 10 1
 I think it looks amazing, but what do you do with a bike like that? Hang it on the wall? Trailer it to races and show it off? It hardly seems like something you'd actually ride, especially in the dirt.
  • 10 0
 Kind of the same dilemma as classic cars. I think you just gotta drive em, ride em. One of a kind paintjob but there are plenty of sight frames out there, so it isn't as bespoke as it could be and that's a good thing. Throw some ride wrap on there and shred it.
  • 9 0
 let me assure you, zac rides the thing Smile
  • 3 0
 @gemma8788: I have a classic car and paint my bike frames. Granted I don't abuse the Cougar like I do the bikes, but yeah...they've got to be seen and enjoyed. That's half the fun of having something that looks really cool! Smile
  • 1 0
 Wrap in some kind of frame protection, ez.
  • 2 0
 @GlassGuy: Hell yeah, everything is temporary anyway lol. I built up a Rune V3 frame in the spring and did a decent job with helicopter tape. First ride always feels a little barbaric on something new/nice, but then the fun kicks in and I've found that unless you straight up abuse stuff, it'll last.
  • 2 0
 Just wrap it in clear vinyl to protect it and away you go!
  • 11 0
 That tree frog design is one of my favorites.
  • 2 0
 Havent seen the last of that one B)
  • 1 0
 I would absolutely love to not only ride that, but see it in person. That is a stunning design.
  • 2 0
 I second that. 1 Poison Dart Please
  • 10 0
 That bike is gunna be a buzz in the industry.
  • 11 0
 Until they sting you with the price tag
  • 10 2
 Anybody else think the airbrush was a pipe at first glance?
  • 2 1
 @iamamodel: Dunno what sort of boring childhood you grew up with, but this absolutely looks like the metal pipes everyone I know had growing up, smoking the devil's lettuce
www.pinkbike.com/photo/20489455
  • 4 0
 @the-lorax: You must be rich. We used bongs made of bits of garden hose and orange juice bottles.
  • 1 0
 @iamamodel: haha. love it. bent pipes, gatorade bottles, apples, it's all fair game at that stage in your stoner career..
  • 3 0
 Got a wasp stuck in my helmet on a fast descent while road cycling the other week. Little f*cker stung me half a dozen times across my temple. Head felt like it was on fire for the next 12 hours. And that’s my wasp-related story!
  • 4 0
 My favorite contest I've ever been a part of, super props to Jill and everyone involved and thanks for posting some of the runner-ups! Can't wait to see this bike on the trailzzzzzz
  • 2 0
 It's nice to see some art on bikes. Can we see more of this instead of the boring banded colorways please? I'm not saying they need to look like the featured frame, but the possibilities are endless.
  • 4 0
 Awesome design! love the leg and head detail. Wish the wings looked more like the sketch though.
  • 1 0
 It's pretty awesome, but for me that poison dart frog is the winner. That looks spectacular.
  • 4 0
 who else thought that airbrush was a ~super sick~ titanium pipe? Mind management am I right?
  • 2 0
 Guilty
  • 3 0
 That looks mint! The Test Signal design is defo my favourite though! That’d look seriously bad ass!
  • 3 0
 DAMN!!! That Dirt Church, Robo, and Test Signal though! (All these designs are insanely sick!)
:O
  • 3 2
 Absolutely great paint job, if I didn't COMPLETELY DESPISE WASPS, it'd think it was appealing. I'd want to jump off that thing and freek right out, pretty much every moment of riding it.
  • 2 0
 What if you grazed your calf against the hot rotor? You'd pass out right then and there.
  • 2 0
 i will scream if there isnt some form of RideWrap or frame protection on this
  • 3 0
 Scratching that would ruin my year though.
  • 2 0
 This may be the sickest paint job since the Night Storm Kleins Tinker Juarez raced. I'd be afraid to get it scraped up!!
  • 2 0
 Incredibly well done; looks like a lot of the other entries were also really amazing.
  • 2 0
 All those ideas were super cool. The dart frog and the tv were especially neat. The hornet is amazing artwork as well.
  • 2 0
 Custom paint is great as long as your frame doesn't break. No warranty on that.
  • 1 0
 Some companies still warranty...
  • 2 0
 Fox needs to offer all there products in non-Kashina. I like a black shox better Smile
  • 1 0
 def
  • 2 0
 6 legs but only two pedals? Not sure if that'll work bud
  • 2 0
 Just need a little venom on the pedal pins and it's ready to ride.
  • 1 0
 I think this is cool. Don't know if I would want to ride on it cause it's so mint. Thoughts?
  • 2 0
 This is the largest of the murder hornets in BC.
  • 1 0
 The paint job is amazing. Love the Frog concept, but the color scheme better compliments the latest Trek pallettes.
  • 2 0
 That "Dirt Church" concept was pretty rad too.
  • 1 0
 I’m all about medieval pirate map.
  • 2 0
 Killed it on the trail with his murder hornet
  • 2 0
 Just love that head tube!
  • 1 0
 Dirt Church Stained Glass is fire....I want that....maybe in a few years figure out a way to do it. A wrap maybe?
  • 1 0
 Where do you sign up for awesome coloring competitions like this? Is it on Instagram? This was amazing.
  • 2 0
 Dang that's a sick ride
  • 1 0
 well at least... in terms of paint schemes and design
  • 1 0
 Anyone else think the 4th picture was of pipe?
  • 1 0
 That first scratch is really gonna sting.
  • 1 0
 Wu! That ain’t a bike no one will f*ck with!
  • 1 1
 a hornet aint no killah bee
  • 5 5
 so gross this paint job makes we wanna barf, because i hate hornets they give me the heebeegeebees
  • 1 0
 Anybody else mistake the airbrush for a pipe?
  • 1 0
 Love seeing some Iwata action!! Much respect to the painters skills!
  • 1 0
 Only thing missing is some custom suspension graphics.
  • 1 0
 Too pretty to ride... Almost
  • 1 0
 every hornet on the trail is going to chase this guy...so, I'm down.
  • 1 0
 Those graphics put me in anaphylactic shock!
  • 1 1
 Woulda been cooler if they used donkey kong country wasps
  • 1 3
 I bet you’re wallet took a sting
  • 4 1
 It was free
  • 2 0
 @ols532704: ...as a bee?
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