As you know, recently I build myself a Rivendell Platypus, a bicycle that is highly appropriate for the current juncture in my life:
It looks great, it’s good for everything from long mixed-terrain rides to taking my son to tee-ball to lunch dates with my wife, and best of all I don’t have to strain my aging groin by hoisting my leg over a lofty top tube.
However, there’s more to life than being sensible, and to that end I’ve just completed a second bike project that is in many ways the polar opposite of the Platypus. The impetus for this project was my Midlife Crisis Fixie (or singlespeed, depending on my mood), which Bicycling sent to me so I could write about it, and which eventually turned into this:
It’s always good to have a no-frills runabout you’re not afraid to leave locked to a pole in the city for an hour, and a high-tensile bike you got for free is just that. If I had any sense I’d leave this perfectly serviceable lock-up bike alone…but of course I don’t have any sense, and instead I kept thinking to myself, “Maybe I should move the parts over to something a little nicer.” Well, this past weekend that “something a little nicer” finally arrived…
…and first thing this morning I retreated to the basement and got to work:
Behold, the Midlife Crisis Fixie Mark II!
I’ll let you know how it feels once I’ve had time to do more than ride it up and down the block. In the meantime, see you on the Fixed Gear Gallery!