Snakes on a Frame: Harry Barrett's Custom Serpent-Inspired 161
If you didn't already know, 2025 is the year of the Snake, and it's obviously having some influence on Privateer riders! We recently got our first look at the Andi Sykes long awaited custom Alfa Romeo-inspired Privateer 161 donning the famous Alfa Romeo snake logo on the downtube, and today we're treated to another custom bike, once again featuring our favourite legless reptile.
This time, the build comes from Privateer Bikes and HUNT Mountain rider Harry Barrett, who, with the help of his wife and professional tattoo artist, Amy Barrett, put together this hand-painted work of art.
"So the inspiration came from me always wanting to create a custom bike frame, unfortunately, I don’t have very good vision when it comes to creativity. I want a custom paint job but I have 1000’s of ideas. Poor Amy had to deal with a design idea every day. Originally, I wanted just some funky colours without much detail. Thankfully, Amy talked me out of this idea and had an idea to create a trad snake which I also have on my arm. She came up with the idea for it wrapping around the frame all the way through. I fully trusted her and never doubted her for a minute. The frame was hand-painted and took roughly a month to complete. Chipping away between working her full-time job and letting parts dry before painting again.
We really wanted something that would stand out from the rest of the custom-painted bikes out there. We went for a white base to give that pop with red (blood) for some nice contrast. Then all black and chrome parts to bring it all together! Ridewrap over the top with a tailored gloss finish.
We appreciate all the positive feedback we’ve had so far, we (Amy) will definitely be creating more projects moving forward so watch this space!" Harry Barrett
Big shout out to all the brands who helped bring the bike to life:
