IT’S not just about the bike. It’s about the accessories as well. As when dressing for a night out or a special event, the outfit has to be smart, just right, even sexy for some, but the accessories have to get a good amount of consideration as well.

Earrings, necklaces, big watches for the men... these things make the outfit and give us a certain amount of confidence, and increasingly we see our bicycles in the same way. This means adding Brooks’s saddles and handlebar grips, antique-looking saddle bags and pedals, wicker baskets, and now even coloured tyres.

Matching bar tape to racing bikes, custom colour paint jobs for new and old bikes and long hunts for vintage head badges are a daily occurrence now in my shop. I even had a customer threaten to cancel a classic bike order if it came through the door with black tyres instead of the required cream ones of yesteryear. That desired look of a bicycle is so important now we are prepared to spend over and above the price tag of off the hook normality. One hundred pounds on a saddle here, £95 on a basket there is nothing if your bicycle gets you noticed and brings you joy every time it is hauled out the shed.

A custom colour job on a Brompton adds £60 to the bill of an already pricey bicycle but nine out of 10 customers request it. A respray to a vintage bike never comes in under £100 but is so much better than a DIY job with some cans from Halfords, so we are prepared to pay for it. For years I have had a Pashley tube rider. This is a cruiser-style classic bike that I have had locked away waiting for an accessory update. With the moolah and the time to do it, I have changed the grips, saddle, chaingaurd, mudguards, tyres and even the cables to get the desired appearance. The cost was not a consideration; I even spent a fortune on bamboo mudguards in an attempt to make my little bike stand out that little bit more. With high price bits and bobs on your wheels you tend to cherish and ride it more. They may be expensive but with high price tags comes quality that will last.

Brooks saddles last a lifetime; they have testimonials on their website of daily use of 44 years. Your £30 gel seat could never withstand that type of use. All over the internet there are images of customised bikes that make you weep with joy, you can buy anything from the normal components to the ridiculous like speakers, wine bottle holders even antler handle bars! To many their mode of transport is just an extension of their personality. Cars have been customised for years so why not your bicycle? Personally, I like the attention my bespoke bikes get, and so do many of my friends. Customisation is almost compulsory if you are attending any of the many bike shows. And it’s nice to see time and effort put into ones appearance, so match your saddle to your grips, your basket to your saddle bag and join the beautiful bicycle movement.