Designer putts creative wheels in motion to build tee-riffic be-spoke bike

Calum Ray, 22, from Tring, designed the unusual mode of transport to highlight how middle-aged men are swapping the fairway for the cycle lane.

Calum’s creative wheels were put in motion upon returning to his parent’s house following a year living in London as a student at Kingston University.

“I was really struck by the increase in cyclists on the road,” he said. “At the same time I noticed a lot of golf clubs were closing and I wondered if there was a correlation.

“I visited a few clubs and they confirmed their numbers had declined over the past few years.

“Initially I wanted the handlebars to be shaped using the golf club grip, but because the clubs are so thin, as soon as you started to bend it, they snapped. There was a lot of trial and error to figure out what could be done with the material.”

Calum is eager to pursue creative ventures outside of his career.

“It’s so important to keep doing things that you’re genuinely passionate and excited about,” he said. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”

Despite being approached by people interested in purchasing the bike, named Par 12, Calum is reluctant to part with the one-off piece.

He wants to encourage people to construct a version of the hybrid cycle for themselves.

“I am designing a manual,” he said. “Which will be open source, so that other people can turn their old golf clubs into bikes.

“It’s also to highlight the humour in the idea. Imagine a peloton of golf bikes cycling along the highway – or fairway.”