Finally we have something to show everyone! This bicycle we created to test out a few idea’s we had in mind for the first couple of models for the gentleman. We wanted to offer a simple, elegant alternative to the modern day fixie. We drew inspiration from the great images of the first half of the 20th Century featuring men in wool, smoking cigarette’s as they rode over the Alpine passes’ of Europe.
We started with a old track frame which features intricate Nervex lugs, and a chrome fork and added a pair of wheels from Australia’s own wheel manufacturer, Velocity. We went a slightly different way with the brakes by including a Shimano coaster hub brake in the rear wheel to allow us to achieve the brake-less look. Japan dominates the drive train with a set of Sugino GP cranks and MKS pedals. We have used a variation on the Nitto North Road Bar – choosing the slightly narrower Nitto bar. Finally, to sit on we have the classic Brooks saddle.
When I took it for a ride this afternoon I couldn’t stop riding it ’till my hunger got the better of me. When I first jumped on the bike it was quite twitchy compared to my Reynolds 853 steel road bike as it is a true track geometry frame we have used. But after you adjust your subconscious to the steering inputs necessary it all worked for me. For production models we will be using almost identical geometry as my steel road bike, so it will feel much more stable which is going to make the bike more enjoyable to ride leisurely.