We get all our biker parlance from Sons of Anarchy, and as of season four, the differences between a café racer, a street tracker and a bobber have yet to be explained, but we do know that they all sound cool, and that La Macchina Speed Shop is the place to find them in Cape Town.
The glass-walled bike workshop is considered the beating heart of The House of Machines (ThoM), a venture impressive in name and scope that brings together three diverse retail elements under one rugged roof. Bike builder Drew Madacsi has linked up with Brewers & Union café co-founder Brad Armitage and fashion designer Paul van der Spuy, so that as well as modern updates on classic racers, there’s a clothing section that follows a similar contemporary-but-old-school philosophy in its menswear and grooming range, and an Evil Twin coffee shop stroke prohibition bar with a fittingly distressed aesthetic – all weather-beaten panelling and stripped back brick. If you’re cruising through Cape Town, be sure to pull in for a pit-stop at the House on Shortmarket Street.