BIKE CHAIN BELT

"sw8 fixxy"  (http://prollyisnotprobably.com/)

The frame-set as pictured costs about $850 retail.  It is no wonder that when Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist saw a bike messenger riding it in NYC he also saw a hefty bike lock around his waist.  Here is what Scott posted last week and his comments:

 

Whenever I see these bike messengers with their big bike chain wrapped around their waist I always think about Karl and Chanel. I keep waiting for the day I see Chanel models racing down the runway sporting heavy chain belts with leather threaded through - a thicker version of a Chanel bag's chain. This messenger's look is just begging to be Karlized.

I know he has Chanelled other sports but has Karl ever interpreted bike messengers? Just imagine all that gear (high-heeled biking shoes as showcased earlier today) with the Double C logo. --The Sartorialist (http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/)

Now, I actually missed his post and only read it after Bike Snob NYC cried of the lunacy in divorcing purpose from style on his cynical bike blog:

Speaking of new trends, yesterday I mentioned that bike lock you wear like a belt, and subsequently many people have informed me that fashion blogger The Senatorialist or whatever he's called has identified the waist-borne bike lock as being ripe for haute couture appropriation by Karl Lagerfeld...The rider pictured is of course local messenger, bike racer, and Red Hook Criterium winner Daniel Chabanov...There's something perverse about divorcing certain items from their context and then turning them into fashion accessories, especially when you consider the reasons people use these items in the first place. For example, no cyclist wants to carry a gigantic chain, it's just that we're forced to because if we don't then our bikes will get stolen...--Bike Snob NYC (http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/)

I understand the Bike Snob's sentiment--who would wear a 15 pound lock if they didn't need to lock their bike up?!  Still, I feel he grossly underestimates the power of good design in the interplay of form and function.  What do you think?  Should bike messengers be Karlized?  Is focusing on "bike fashion" off the streets perverse?  Let us know in the comments section!