I've been riding a bike since I was 5 years old. I taught myself how to ride by gravitating down my drive way through traffic and into a barbed wire fence on the other side of the road. I repeated this process over and over. It's like spanking a child, eventually he's going to learn. Right? Well, I learned how to ride a bike that day.
The next phase in my world of bicycles, I moved to a tiny town in southern New Mexico when I was 14. The first friend I made was this kid my age who was into BMX and graffiti. It was pretty much right up my ally and it was easy to get into both these hobbies. I got a BMX bike for Christmas and used my art skills to bomb. This town literally had nothing for the youthful to do. BMX riding became a very focal point during that time in my life. I spent countless hours in the park and local bike shops living BMX.
Fast forward to my 20's. By this time, I had lost some interest in cycling and I was trying to to rekindle my love for the two wheeled velocipede. I thought I might give mountain biking a try, much to my knowledge I knew nothing about mountain bikes. After high school I moved to Ohio where I learned quickly that there is a short window for nice weather. I was very focused on outdoor adventures. I spent most of the summers fishing and hiking, To add to my outdoor experience I bought the mountain bike. Never ever buy a bicycle from a Walmart, Target, Sports Authority, DICK'S, Sports Chalet, etc. They don't hire reputable or knowledgeable mechanics to run their bicycle departments and most of their bicycles are garbage to begin with. I ended up buying a mountain bike 3 sizes too big for me because the salesman says the size depends on my comfort level. I had been riding tiny little trick bicycles this whole time. I had no clue to what a proper size mountain should fit me. This should have been in the salesman department but he obviously didn't know what he was talking about. I tried to make the best of it, but I couldn't get use to it. It took me 3 months to get rid of the bike and in the end I took a huge loss on it.
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| Iron Horse Maverick 2.1 |
I didn't want to give up on cycling. So I took what little money I made from the mountain bike to buy a used BMX bike. I thought I still had it in me after being off a BMX bike for 3 years. Well, 3 years is a long time I suppose because I lost most, if not all, skill I ever had on a BMX. I bought the bike because I knew there was a BMX park near by. Unfortunately, I never did anything with the bike after I bought it. Canton, OH isn't exactly a cyclist friendly community. I rarely saw people on bicycles the 5 years I lived there.
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| DK Cincinnati |
My girlfriend and I moved to Arizona and stayed with an old high school buddy named Dakota. He lived in the farthest northeast corner of Scottsdale. Our plan was to live in Tempe because of ASU. Turns out Tempe is a pretty awesome town to live in, especially if you have to live anywhere in Arizona. Tempe makes cycling extremely accessible with over 165 miles of dedicated bike lanes. I knew if I can get a job close to where I lived, that cycling to work would be fun and most of all a money saver. I went to all the bike shops to check out my options. At first, I was going to get a cruiser. I was back on the west side of the country so I guess I had some of that west coast attitude in me. I noticed Tempe Bicycle had a lot of 2 kinds of bicycles, cruisers and fixed gears. I was interested in the fixed gear bike because it just looked fast and sleek. Andrew was an Australian salesperson for Tempe Bicycle and was in the fixed gear craze himself. He explain to me how these bikes were becoming popular in the area because of it's simplicity and nostalgia. It was clear that this particular bicycle was a big craze with the hipster bohemian crowd. I had been tucked away in Ohio for 5 years in my own recluse world. I had never heard of a fixed gear bike until I stepped foot into Tempe Bike. Anyways, I wasn't interested in a cruiser anymore and good road bikes are too expensive. I manage to sell my BMX bike for more than I bought it for and used that cash to put a nice ass KHS Flite 100 on layaway. In a matter of no time I had my black beauty.
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| At Tempe Town Lake in front of Light Rail. |
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| KHS Flite 100 |
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| Origin8 Velocity "Rasta" Wheelset and a pair of White CST 700x23c tires |
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Origin8 Crank Set and Bolts
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I also got a gold Origin8 chainring, Origin8 silver threadless headset, and blue anodized Origin8 crankset and bolts. The wheelset as you can see are a little off the wall and scream attention. I didn't like that but they were velocity rims for half price and I wanted to upgrade the performance of my fixie. The wheels were also NMSW (Non-Machined Sidewall). My fixed gear stopping skills weren't that great and I was still using a handbrake most of the time. One day I was riding my bike home drunk and I drop my u lock into the spokes of my front wheel. The wheel was mangled and destroyed after that. My only other set were those rasta wheels.
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| First photo of bike with new wheels. |
I rode with these suckers for a long time. I just got use to them. People would ask me me all the time if I did it myself or where I got them. It was kind of annoying because I wasn't exactly proud of having them.
One day the coolest thing happen to me that I could remember in a long time. I got a phone call for a job offer to work in a bike shop. It was amazing, I had taken the bike maintenance course at the bike co-op and by this time I had built my own fixed gear from the ground up (that's a different post). I was amazed John my boss was so willing to work with me. I had to take a pay cut from what I was use to but the benefits of working in a bike shop out way the wage. I knew that I was now put into a situation that could allow me to hone my interest in cycling and bicycles. I'm learning to be the best bike mechanic I can be and I get to talk about bicycles all day. I also have the benefit of buying the best the bike industry has to offer at a fraction of the cost.
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| This is was what my bike looked like at the beginning of 2011 |
I'm writing this blog because I want to share with people my interest in bicycles and the cyclist lifestyle. I figured I would start from the beginning so I can start fresh from where I am today. I hope to continue to update this blog as often as possible. I will share everything from my daily life at the bike shop and everything that has to do with bicycles. My interest in the subject has grown stronger since I've started working at a bike shop and I find that I will have a lot more to share. I like to think of this post as a BETA or pilot episode of what is soon to come.
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| Since working at the shop, I've been able to pimp my fixed gear out! |
