While visiting the Phil Wood booth at Interbike, I came across these hubs, which the people at Phil Wood refer to as the "cheese shredder" hubs. Since, well, the hub flanges look like they could shred cheese. They have giant high-polish flanges, and they were originally made for a customer who was putting together a hand-made bike show bicycle that was a copy of a 1940s French bike. The hubs are available in limited quantities, and they can be made with fixed/fixed or fixed/free threading. I love the way they look. (And yes, they are weighty babies.)
OK, this Surly Rat Ride single-speed bike caught my attention at Interbike 2008 in Vegas because, well watch the video. How can you ignore its presence? This fat single-speed with discs, Large Marge rims, and Hoggy-G 24 x 3.45 slicks makes you want to eat a few doughnuts before before your morning commute. Heck, it makes me want to string a bunch of doughnuts together on a necklace and have a giant doughnut breakfast during the ride and wash it all down via a hydration pack filled with coffee.
It looks a bit more like a hippo than a rat. Its shape makes me grin. And I am sure those unleashing its girth on the streets or trails are laughing themselves silly every time then catch a glimpse of their wide reflection in a storefront window or a pond.
Traitor brought a few of their geared commuter bikes to Interbike. One has an oil well on it the frame. The other has a dragon. You can also check out the two other videos featuring the Traitor fixed gear bike videos, the Ringleader and the Pabst Blue Ribbon limited edition fixie. (This is video 3 of 3.)
Traitor Bikes had a limited edition Pabst Blue Ribbon fixed gear in their booth at Interbike. The PBR label is decorating the Traitor Ringleader fixed gear frame. And the PBR fixie special edition has the same parts and frame spec as the Ringleader.
The Ringleader is a production fixed gear available from Traitor bikes. The Traitor bunch have run Transition Mountain bikes up in Washington State for the past 5 years. They are looking to offer some new graphic design possibilities to value-based basic commuter, fixed gear, and urban transportation bikes. (This is 1 of 3 Traitor bike videos.)
The good news, the KHS Flite 100 is going to be available in white and matte black. Things that I am not sure about, for example, the top tube now has a braze on for cable routing if you want to use the bike as a single speed. Those who ride fixed for simplicity may not dig that. However, I live in an urban area that lends itself to fixed gear riding. Those who decide on this bike and who live in hillier geographies may like the braze on detail. Also, the cog that comes with the bike for next year is alloy.(Jump to read more.)
My big fat opinion on cogs: Once you have figured out you are obsessed with fixed gear riding: Buy the highest quality steel cog you can afford. It is money well spent. The fixie alley cats and lady cats will probably shred alloy cogs like cheddar cheese. A national podium-placing masters track rider, Leo, who was officiating at Hellyer track in San Jose, told me a story of a guy who was trying to save weight during a track race and ran an alloy cog. He shredded the cog, and in the process, the alloy shaving that fell to the track punctured $500 of his racing competitors' tubulars when they ran over the metal bits. You never want to be that guy or gal. You want to save weight? Give the cupcake you are about to eat to your pal who still fits in the Levi jeans purchased while attending the seventh grade.
Offering no front brake or lever with the bike for 2009 is going to be a bit of an inconvenience. And for my customers, who again, ride their fixies really hard 11.5 months of the year (the other two weeks of the year they are on holiday lock down traveling to visit relatives in snowy destinations), the unsealed, machine-built wheel set, having had some experience with these, does not inspire a deep and abiding confidence. Sealed cartridges work better for urban riders who tend to fuss less over their bikes than experienced road cyclists. (Shimano has loose ball bearings in all of their hubs, even Dura Ace. But if you are riding those pricey hubs, you keep your bike clean, or you have a team mechanic watch your back usually.)
I don't mind the brazeons for a rack. Because at some point you might want the option of throwing a rack on your bike (easy now, track beasts) so you can hauling home that coffee table you saw at the garage sale. You can always remove the rack a couple of hours later, and return your bike to its minimal best, before your friends mock you.
If you want to try fixed gear riding, and you are not sure if you are going to like it, this is a great bike for you. The price point is really reasonable. If you end up hating fixed gear riding, you can easily flip the wheel, throw on some brakes, and ride a respectable single speed. So, all is not lost. And KHS does give you great value for your money, in general.
I could wear the new Lynskey Performance CNC'd ti clover rear dropout on a chain around my neck and feel pretty. You can see them on this Houseblend R430 road bike frame. The geometry of this bike is more race-oriented. The top tube is longer, and the head tube is shorter. Also, the tubeset is 6 Al/4 V titanium with a bit of Helix tubing thrown in for the seatstays. The tube set is diamond-shaped, and you can dry your tears and stop crying about how ti isn't inelastic enough for your riding style. Undoubtedly, the aero geometry is going to help you to ride fast. The ti compliance won't make you feel like someone beat you with a stick when you get off of this race bike. If you are a powerful race rider who needs to ride a bike that is responsive, won't beat you up, and is not going to noodle all over the place, Lynskey has replied to your request.(Check out the other Lynskey videos from Interbike on this site.)
OK, these are shiny candy bars. The Nitto Mandle handle bar in the Euro Asia Imports booth at Interbike were just waiting to be held and admired. They are chromed steel with a clamping diameter of 25.4. You can get them in a riser or a straight bar. I took a quick measurement, since you can't really cut them down, or you will cut off the end caps, which are their entire identity. My thumb-to-pink full spread is pretty close to 8 inches. So these are a bit less than 8 inches. (Super useful stupid human trick for measuring wood, fabric, paper, handle bars.)
The bar ends are completely capped in steel. The bars, in both styles, are clean looking and made of steel to withstand urban abuse. Of course, if you are not what I call a Beta tester for bike components, you can always look at the lighter alloy Nitto riser in anodized colors. (Heather and Julius this post is for you.) (Jump for more photos.)
I visited the Surly booth. The new Surly Steamroller comes with a brake and lever, sealed bearing hubs, and the chromo steel frame is comfortable for urban riding. The rear brake bridge is drilled for a rear brake, so you can utilize the flip /flop rear wheel and run it as a single speed if you move to the mountains.
We have put a few pro-athlete team-sport sized guys, 6' 4" weighing 215-240 lb guys on this bike. They haven't broken the frame yet. So that is a good sign. The frame has brazeons for a water bottle cage. And you can fit up to 700c x 32 tires on it. The rear stays have a wider clearance. This is good news for those who have to commute on busted up pavement, since you can run a wider tire for a bit more shock absorption. You can then spend less time wondering when your ride over that giant crack in the asphalt if your body is going to be jolted really bad or just a little.
The color is kind of a vanilla cream (kind of the old SE color, actually) and the componentry is mostly black. It comes spec'd with a 3/32nd 47T chain ring and 3/32nd 19T. So that is a gear ratio of 66.8, which is a nice cruising gear, and the bike won't throw you off when you try to stop it. You aren't going to ever beat anyone in a sprint, but you should be able to ride the same terrain you can ride on a geared road bike if you put the bike in the smaller ring (on a double crank set) and in the middle of your cassette. Go here to figure out what gear ratio feels comfortable for your style of riding. I forgot to check to see if you could scrape off the decals or if the clear coated over them and are there to stay. If someone knows about the decals, put up a post for us. (Jump for more ratio picking info.)
And if you don't know what gear ratio might work well for you, borrow a bike with a derailleur, and keep the bike in 1 gear for a week. Don't shift for any reason. Then count the teeth on the front chain ring and the teeth on the cog you choose. Find the ratio, and look on the chart for a chain ring and cog combination that works with your riding style and terrain or with skid oatches, if you plan to skid a ton.
Also, this whole Steamroller bike costs a bit more than a hand-built Phil Wood fixed gear wheelset on Deep Vs. I kind of advise customer to avoid dropping a ton of money into their first fixie until they really have a clear idea of what they want to feel when they are riding. Tricks? Speed? Beater city bike? Highly responsive and quick, but not comfortable on the pavement? Comfortable but feels like riding a couch? Heavy but super durable? Something in between? Everyone is different. It is fun to build up a fixie, but it has to work with your riding style. So, the package fixed gears, like the Steamroller let you start to figure out what you like and don't like at a price that won't break the bank.
