From Road to Reef - Curated Red Sub and Custom Bike package

Since the early days of Bulang & Sons we have been curating watches with custom build bikes to match the DNA and style of vintage watches and our modern urban lifestyle.

How much cooler does it get then matching your ride to the office, bar or outdoors with your watch on your wrist? Do you remember the last such package, where we curated a vintage Colnago bike and a Rolex GMT Master back in 2013? We have created custom bikes and curated packages around themes such as modern expedition and vintage Raleigh. This one is dedicated to the early days of diving and builds a connection to the between the watch and the bike as a daily companion. All our custom build curated bikes make use of vintage frames and parts, combined with modern elements including the saddle, steering apparatus and brakes. They are build from scratch based on our concept and fully serviced by our local partner ‘Vive le Velo’ .

Concept to Creation

The concept for this curated package was already in our minds over a year ago, when we were able to source this amazing NOS carbon fibre ALAN Record frame. The pure lines and stylish timeless elegance reminded us immediately of the look and feel of a cool vintage Rolex Submariner, from an era where tool watches were still professional tools for divers, the military and a key aspect of the adventurous lifestyle. Back then, diving was still a dangerous occupation and the equipment including suits, scuba tanks and masks were still in their early experimental days. These items were pure, no nonsense, rugged and made from some amazing looking materials.

The Match…

This aesthetic we felt was evident when we saw this beautiful frame, with its matte grey/black color carbon fibre and aluminium fixtures. This bike was perfect and we just needed to wait for the right watch to create that right match. And then ‘bingo’ – when sourcing this amazing Rolex 1680 Red Submariner from 1970 we knew it right away…this was the one.

Simply one of the most iconic vintage Rolex watches, the Red Sub has all the DNA we searched for – deep black, shades of matte grey and the steel professional look. The watch also had the special elements that add so much understated style for passionate collectors; the warm and creamy ‘popping’ indexes and hands and of course the special line of red SUBMARINER text on the dial.

What more is needed..? Well how about stunning original condition and rare box plus double punched paper…this a very special watch!

All in The Details

So we took these style elements and feel to create this amazing curated package ‘From Road to Reef’ to take the legacy of the past into a modern package for your urban adventures today and for the future.

We also added some beautiful custom touches to the bike, including a Brooks saddle which emotes all the feeling of a vintage diving suit and the cream elements on the wheels and handlebar just adds this warmth and style to the bike and can also be found on indexes of the watch. And of course the matching frame color with the dial as well as the steel case of the watch being repeated with the fog. The icing on the cake; of course, the red-brake-line adds just that last bit of detail…less is more and a perfect match to the red line on the Submariner dial.