My New Bike

Well then, here is my new bike. I’m not sure whether there is actually much I can say about it really, it’s black and chrome; the wheels are round; and it goes both forwards and backwards. As much as I love a totally badass classic NJS track bike with super rare parts there is absolutely no way I could afford to build one and it would be a bike based almost purely on aesthetic values which is really not what I’m into.

Yes, I admit I drool over spindly keirin track bikes with miscroscopic clearances but do I need one? Do you need one? Is paying top dollar for the NJS stamp actually worth it just to hammer around town? Unless you are a total bellend you know that the answer is no, riding a fixed gear should not be about Ltd. Ed.’s, stamps or high priced NOS, it should be about riding a bike the way that your great great grandfather rode one, it should be about fun and simplicity and the pain of getting to the top of a big hill with only your own strength to thank at the top.

In a world where people upgrade the things they own I have kind of gone the other way with this, in many ways I have downgraded, not with regards to quality but I have stripped things back. No more flashy paint job, goodbye deep rims, see ya later ‘new style’ cranks, toe overlap be gone! Don’t get me wrong I loved my last build but it wasn’t really practical for what I was using it for which is commuting, longer rides, fucking about in car parks and just riding for the love of riding. I couldn’t turn when I wanted to because of the overlap and the gales that come with living on the coast just don’t mix with deeeeeeep rims (neither does weighing about 4st!). I loved that bike but it didn’t really love me back.

This new build is plain, free from overlap, it has the shallowest rims I could find, the cranks are basic; the brief I gave myself was ‘classic lightweight but with new parts’. It actually only cost about 2/3 as much as the last bike, it feels kind of special to have an expensive bike, it’s something you can feel proud of but with great spending comes great worry.

These are some of the components of my new bike and why I chose them…

Brother Cycles frame.
I’m sure you have read about these frames around the place. Brother Cycles is a new UK company and this frameset is very affordable at only £299 for the frame and forks. I went with it for a variety of reasons: it was in my price range, it would support the UK scene and it has threaded dropout adjusters! I cannot put into words my love for the time and misery they save me.

Velo Orange PBP wheelset.
I wanted to move as far away from the weight of my Dodici rims as possible and I love the whole square 70’s box section rim thing so these were perfect. They are laced to Origin 8 hubs which are just like System Ex, cheap and cheerful and as good as someone like me needs. If I win a million clams on the lottery I’ll buy some Phil Woods, until that day comes I’m sticking with the cheapos.

Andel Cranks.
These are a blatant rip off of some old Campagnolo ones but without the logo. Again they fitted in with my back to basics philosophy, my budget and like the hubs they are absolutely fine for a ‘fast bike’ (fuck me, I hate that people are calling non-trick bikes fast bikes these days!!!) that is going to be used day to day.

What do you think about all this then? I don’t love this bike like I loved the last one but this is so much better, it’s all swings and roundabouts mate, all swings and roundabouts.

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