I love how you relate everything back to fun. My coworkers constantly ask why I ride a "fixie" to work, and having a FUN bike that I can horse around on at the stoplights is my honest answer. My commute is 100% more fun, and working on bikes and customizing them to suit you.. So much fun.
The 8-bit onscreen text and the subtle jazz music. It's these little extras that make me trust that this guy deeply understands beauty, aesthetics, truth and quality.
Damn, actually the idea finally hit me an had the gasp moment to realise that I should paint my bike after 6 years in different tone - because it wont change my riding experience with it, but was afraid to commit to it. Thanks Zach for the vid!
No no, style is not "look" or "surface". Style is important and is for real. It is a design quality, and "no nonsense engineering" is a type of style. Aesthetics is not just appearance.
My first bike was a 75 dollar walmart fixed gear that I stripped down to its barebones I had so much fun exploring san diego with it. I still love that bike and have it after I got in an accident in it.
There has been many times I find a bike with either no logos or painted over so I can't tell the brand but you can usually tell the higher quality bikes in the details
not afraid to say i own a Pure fix, i was curious about the Fixed gear style of bikes and i didnt know much until now. its been good to me when i go for my weekend rides but from watching all these videos i need to feel how much better they can be.
I wholeheartedly agree with Scrod, the owner of Retrogression. I have an EAI Toyo/Godzilla frameset I bought from Retrogression. It 's one of my favorite bikes I have ever ridden, just like Scrod says about his EAI Bareknuckle, a similar bike. I have a collection of fixed gear bikes, and my Godzilla is the one I ride the most. It's so high quality, gorgeous to look at, beautiful paint job, flawless welding, I could go on and on. Photos don't do it justice. You really have to see it in person. The ride quality is one of the best I have ever had!
By the way, this video is over a year old. EAI Bareknuckle and Toyo/Godzilla have been out of production for years. Retrogression still had/has some in stock. The Bareknuckle is sold out, but there are a few Toyo/Godilla framesets left. My Godzilla is red size 56cm, which is also sold out.
You are so correct about Wabi cycles. They are well designed and of top quality. My 9 year old Wabi Lightning has been trouble free and is lot of fun to ride!
I have a surly steamroller, I did swap out the forks, I put on some master bike co chopsticks, the reason I did it is for how I ride bikes, I’ve turned it into a street bike rather than a commuter, I feel I can bounce around rather than being glued to the road
Personally. I love my conversion fixie. You can respray the frame easy. They look cool And it’s not too much of a deal if you scratch it damage the frame. They are good looking so that I’m inspired to ride it but I’m not scared of getting scratches
Well, you also work on tuning the paint. You rubbing your hands over the bike covered in grease and oil and wipe off the excess. You don't let bikes deteriorate.
I found a $100 single speed on Facebook marketplace with no logos or any brand listed. Apparently It was a completely custom build by a bike mechanic in another state. It’s probably not the best quality, but man is it fun.
I run hi tense as winter rigs. Canada, lots of salt. Dont want to rot out my high end steel. So cheap hi tense is my salty go to! Helps with fitness as well, heavier bike = harder work.
Man... So to explain... I'm a motorcycle mechanic based in germany and over the last year's (i dunno? 5 Maybe?) I developed a real passion for bicycles and bike nerd history and especially for the fixed gear scene. I've been following your channel for a long time and I gotta admit I don't agree with everything you say but man... This Video really hits home! Because I always had this huge grudge against cheap quality in general. And with that also against overstyled bikes JUST because of that very reason. Its SO aggravating to imagine that someone gets deterred from the beauty of cycling just because of bad experiences due to low quality parts. And I never want to call people or bikes out because I believe "if you like it then ride it" but man... do I get triggered if I see a beautiful frame massacred with 90mm deep alloy wheels or china 3 spokes or china cranks. Or Thickslicks that suck the joy out of riding. Or low quality entry level bikes that just are awful to ride and try to fool people who are new to cycling... It's just. Sad? And I love to see that I'm not crazy and not the only one who gets so invested when it comes to that. So yeah.. Nice video. And also nice self awareness at the beginning of the video 😜
Are also going to forget that on Wabi’s website, they’ve completely dropped the handlebars off the cliffs in the pictures for a stylised look. Except they actually make quality bikes.
Great topic for discussion. It's personal - some people appreciate quality more than others. It's what you're happy with when it all boils down... and expensive doesn't always translate to better quality!
I bought a steel frame that had no paint and you can see the welds, burn marks but the finish is premium and rides like a treat. The only component that has paint on it is the fork. The rest is raw.
i love Fixie when I'm a kid until now. My Fixie (now) is a used bike, bought it 22 dollar (rm 99🇲🇾) change the rim & tyre (2nd)kolo,handle bar, paddle & seat overall almost 100 bucks ❗just paddle,no fancy bike(can't afford to buy the branded bike) Prewel mati ✅✌🏻😊
Hello Zach I understand and agree with what you’re saying in regards to a high quality bike. The one point I’d like to make is that the definition of quality is generally accepted as: Fitness to purpose. Therefore, for a person that values/desires a cool, flashy, nice-looking bike, a flat purple, no decals bike would not fall into the high quality bike.
Well how about saying hello to the rest of us? You Should understand and agree with us 1st cause we were here 1st. You're just crazy. There's no reason to speak to you accept to point out you're wrong.
Your starting to cost me money - my bikes last me a very long time and a cheap bike means years of riding somewhere instead of enjoying my rides. I rode Steamrollers for a few years and liked them on rides on CA coast - I just fixed up a $200 Bianchi Pista and it is great - but I realize the feel I am looking for could be much better. I expanded my search area to include Sacramento, SF and LA and found some amazing NJS bikes and great looking All City. The wife has agreed I need a fourth bike (nobody NEEDS 4 bikes) This post you did kind of explained what I could not put well into words. Time to break my daughters piggy bank and "invest" in another bike.
My bike is lil bit older than me about 10 years i think its an ave maldea from the Philippines and it is pure quality, no logos just black paint and bull horn it is really good
Quality means different things to different people. The book spends a whole chapter on quality. My Aventon Cordoba didn't have the defects you identified with the frame. I basically took it apart bolt by bolt after it came out of the box. I enjoy digging into the details and did have to fix some things that would have caused trouble later. Most people would not have been able to do that. So for me this was a quality bike but wouldn't be for many people. Several years later there are no creaks or ticks. I kept my eyes and ears open and avoided a SRAM GXP "upgrade" That would have been style not quality!
Imma say it, i ride a hi-tensile black single speed decorated in stickers from my favorite anime. Is it stylish? In my eyes yes. But I’d ride it regardless of that because i love my bike, as of now, the wheels are shit and I’m looking to upgrade. However it has been reliable and helped me push the limits of my cycling. So I really can’t complain about my bike, i love it and I can’t wait for spring to return so that I can ride it outdoors again.
after buying a budget new bike im itching to build a retro road to single speed. just seems like there's so much more soul in them and you can still stay in a lower budget
I agree with everything youre saying but like a guitar - theres no need to get a top end one to see if youll get the bug. I started with the worst guitars ever but still found my way to Berklee on scholarship and the same can be said for my love of bikes.
Love the Zen shout out. My dad gave it to me to read in the 1990s. I remember the early lesson about using a piece of a beer can as a shim instead of the hassle and unnecessary expense of an OEM part.
A master once showed me 2 rims. He said this one is weak. He threw it on the ground and it made a soft doing sound. Then he took a strong rim he threw it on the ground and it sprung in the air with a high kling noise. The strong rim had no large scratches.
i took both a good quality bike with style Since I live in the Philippines there's alot of expensive bikes here but the set i want to build is Tsunami snm100 frame Rac OTA 48 teeth crankset Arrow wheelset or XJ wheelset Pizz seatpost Cinelli bullhorn or Any dropbar this will cost more or less ₱20,000 ($300+) which is pretty expensive for me since i still have problems with my skin disease called psoriasis and we spend alot of money for the treatment since my whole body is covered with it but i do wish that we can build it soon with my mom
I think it would be interesting if you did a special set of videos in which you get an extremely cheap bike, then do maximum upgrades and compare it to a more expensive bike. Maybe an extension of your Walmart bike video.
Not sure if you've made a video on this, but can you do a review on tires for a bigger sized rider? I just bought my first fixie(not the ones shown in this video. lol) I was thinking of changing the size tire I have. I was gonna get Thick Slick, but need some opinions or some feedback if anyone has ridden them.
I'm wondering why no one manufacturer hasn't made a model of quality tire without big letter prints on it. Make it all black (or tan wall, if you like) without any logos on it. My bike would buy a pair of those and I'd accept it.
I have a tsunami snm and an introtech wheelset with a wide bar. u listed it on C yet I feel like its an A so I have no idea just how about good a wabi cycle is. anyway, good stuff man.
This is a good video. I started out on a style crappy bike, rode my buddies bike had the gasp moment and bought a bike I've had for 10 years. I think those bikes are still needed because of the low cost entry level risk of it. I've seen too many people go out a buy bikes like you suggested and be ghost selling it. If you get into it and are passionate then I agree totally invest.
But you're wrong. If you spreading misleading information again you'll be reported. I bet you've got NO style. Men are shithouse at style and must be forced into having some style. Your buddy wouldn't know what day of the week it is. Low cost entry GOSSIP, is you.
