Volume Thrasher aka see yall soon!

I know its a fixed freestyle ride, but it sure looks like a fun commuter to me. Damn it, if I didn't have my Subrosa I would pick this puppy up.

P.S. C2D is on a bit of a vacation for a few days. See ya'll soon enough with mad updates!

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Subrosa Malum

Fast. This puppy is fast. I'm sure there are faster bikes out there, but this is the fastest bike I've ever owned. Granted, my downhill bike can be fast if pointed in the right direction, but not like this. I always ride rapidly, but one can only be so quick on 24" wheels, or better yet 20"s. We're talking wind in the ears riding up Williamsburg bridge @ 20mph fast. How do I know? This guy told me.

The whole fixed gear deal is a trip. I constantly "stop" pedaling to take a second off, but the Subby immediately reminds me that "this aint be a coasting bike, son". Trippy. It's like a god damn exercise bike, I swear. Gearing is a bit high and tough, takes a bit to get it up to speed, but once it's up to cruising speed, its on. Might drop it a tooth or two in the future.

Front brake is a must at this point, since slowing down without it is an adventure. My very first fixed gear ride was a brave journey over Manhattan bridge, and it ended in the most last second panicked awkward brakeless bmx foot jam stopping procedure, while surrounded by Chinatown tourists. I was that guy. For some reason I thought that stopping a brakeless fixed gear would be easier - no better way to learn then to dive in at the deep end, or should I say steep end. Once I got to my destination, I threw a mandatory rolling barspin before I bolted on the brake - no worries. Anyone got any tips on doing some sweet skids?



Stem could be a bit shorter and not as dropped, I'm reaching. Perhaps that's how these bikes are meant to be ridden. I'm told that putting a short (50mm) stem on this thing would make it twitchy, but will it really be any twitchier then a rigid cruiser or a bmx? I guess I'll find out.
I'm also not a big fan of the Shadow grips, I like them softer, and Animal Edwins is where its at anyway.

I immediately outfitted it with some Hold Fast foot straps. They were highly recommended by Prolly, and since he seems to ride his bicycle quite well, I took his word. Plus, they are handcrafted in Brooklyn, and that happens to be my middle name ( introducing myself as Curtis Hand Crafted In Brooklyn Chorizali always makes people alert, as if a punchline is a breath away).

After a few days of riding and a few dozen of the roughest bunnyhops ever unearthed the rear wheel has a handful of loose spokes - might have to go to town with a spoke wrench before I ride this beast out to go eat me some BBQ this fine and sunny NYC afternoon. Expect much more on the bike as I ride it more.

There is never too many bike photos. Blue Whale is sold and gone - so this is THE new commuter - it really needs a name. Any suggestions?

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Engin Cycles

A friend recently showed me a picture of this bike. What a gorgeous specimen right there. Over the past few days there has been quite a few semi-erotic images on this blog and judging by the amount of letters we've received from concerned readers, that is not the direction we'll move forward in. Those unfortunate few posts are the reason why I can't describe how I feel about the bike above with my true tongue. Let me just say, it reminds me of the day I became a man who knew about love.

I been meaning to build a commuter that's a bit more aesthetically pleasing then The Blue Whale, and I've been even considering scraping all the MTB parts and just getting a fullout single speed road bike thingy. I may no longer need to do that - as seeing this beauty above revitalized my senses and made me realize, all I need is a sexy steel frame of appropriate size - I have all the other necessities. Granted I'll still be stuck on the 26" wheels, as opposed to 29"s like above or the 700cc like the road bikes, but seeing the fixed gear freestyle debates about the 700cc vs 26" wheels, made me realize that I might be ahead of my time by freestyle commuting on a 26". Besides, I'm known to throw a barspin or two off a curb and what not, so I might just stick with the 26"s and let people think I'm a fixed gear freestyler as opposed to a MTB commuter.

When The Blue Whale was curated it was meant to be a "girlfriend" bike - a present that was returned to me a few short months after its birth, either because the said girlfriend dumped me or because the bike was a pile of crap. Or both. Since then it was repainted with the florescent blue can and received a rigid. The whole thing is just very sluggish to ride and the uber low frame/super high seatpost combo is less then "sexy". Couple that with drive train from hell and you got yourself a nightmare to ride. Yet, its the only bike I own that I can actually get full extension on, and my legs like that. Therefore the hunt is back on for a nice steel mtb frame with a horizontal top tube.

Its seems that the weekend will be beautiful. Ride!

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