fixed impressions

–Back on the Road–

The fix will have its new rear wheel this week. I wallowed in the buy/rebuild karma loop before finally leaning to the rebuild-LBS-good-buddy-deal-finally-offered. They reeled in horror at the internet prices I was quoting….You can buy a built Suzue fixed wheel, made in USA, with a decent rim for $88.00, slightly less than cost for the LBS. I’ll end up handing over the same or more cash when I pick up my wheel. But, I bet the cog/lockring are shored up and ready to use, which would not happen with the internet. And I’ll know that Ralph (LSB) built it.

Karma.

LBS.

Service baby!

LBS

6 days until the Tour.

This will be the 7th year of the “shave.”

I will pretend to have a reason to, and will shave my legs in accordance with a tradition of mine that perfectly corresponds to LA’s performance in the tour. I shave my legs during the Tour => LA wins each time. I know that I’m responsible in part for his amazing success. And you wouldn’t want to change the routine after back to back to back to back to back to back wins, would you?

So, I’m going to get some extra razors and shave cream.

Allez LA!

All of a sudden I am visualizing all these people on bikes.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if … 25% of Americans rode a fixed gear commuter? Even if it was say, 50% of the time. What would that be like? Fixed gear road rage? Fixed gear gridlock, overflowing bike lanes. Fixed-gears with double hundred-watt-subs blasting bad new skool hip-hop! Imagine 15 deep trackstands at intersections. Picture the domino effect if one person goes down. When lights turn yellow, some people stop, but think about the fixed gear guy behind you on his lift kit monster fix, who has no intention of getting caught at the light and just rides right over you on your old italian track bike when you slow for the yellow. “Fuckin Geek” they yell as they “full blow” run the red, mashing their 80″ gear monster fix through the intersection, ignoring the fact they just ran you and your family down.

Think of how evolved the rides would become: low rider fixes, import-tuner fixes, economy fixes, fam-van fixes (that’s hard to imagine for me!), AWD fixes……Imagine the crashes, ouch! Mandatory fixed-gear insurance and licensing….NO! Yikes. Bad dream.

I guess maybe it’s not such a bad thing that few ride fixed…because really, what would happen if everybody was trying it?

The Vulture Blog

I’ve been guest-writing the blog over at www.vulturecycles.com this year as they are busy building bikes and don’t have time to blog. I am not so busy, and am looking forward to receiving a custom Vulture frame this summer. It is an arrangement of the the highest convenience. I work for them and they work for me.

Because it’s their site, I’ve sort of contained my ramblings to relevant matters: steel, brake choice, “to EBB or not to EBB”…”whether it is nobler in the mind”…

I’ve been researching the peripheries of cycling for some time. And much of that research is direct experiential testing…like fixed gear riding. I have ridden fixed off and on, but until recently it hadn’t really caught on with me. Given my history of obsession with “fringe” sports, I’m surprised that fixed-gear didn’t stick right from the beginning. Well, now it has. Inspired directly by www.63xc.com I built my most recent fix to go direct to dirt. The missing link. Fixed and trail riding…a more natural combination than meets the eye.

Welcome to the blog.

Bike Commuter Karma.

I rode to work in a downpour.

One less car.

But, one of the cars that was on the road hit my commuter bike while it was locked up and wrecked the rear wheel and bent the frame.

Cost of a night at work: ~$125 rear wheel.

Having a blog to blow off steam: priceless