Hey Hon, can you get me a fixie?

There are some things that are necessary and many things that are not.

A bicycle? Yes.

A folding bicycle? Arguable.

A fixie? No

A folding fixe? Absolutely.

That's right. I'm not the first to pull off such a feat nor will I be the last. For the last year, I have joked with friends that I wanted to build up a folding fixie to have when I traveled and to simply to keep in my car to always have a bike with me. Sure, I could have kept it kosher and rocked it single, 3, or 7 speed like many that come stock but there was simply some allure to making it fixed.

This was the second folding bike that I got my hands on but the first that I made into a fixie. The first was a 20" wheel Dahon Speed D7, that I ended up trading my former co-worker, Brent, for my Karate Monkey frame. I got this 16" wheel folding bike, a Hon, precursor to Dahon from another former co-worker at my old shop for a pair of Oakleys. Check out an old post on the No Drive website to see what this started out like.

I did do a few modifications to the bike to be able to make it work. Since I am all legs and arms at a little over 6 foot. In order to get proper leg extension and reach to the handlebars, the first thing was to cut off the attached flat bar that was on the steering column. Without putting much thought as to what I would do after removing it, I soon discovered that the it was extremely close to an 1 1/8" steer tube. Grabbing a stem, it confirmed it. I then, added a pair of mustache bars that had been floating around on a couple of bikes but had never found a good home.

The bike then sat for a good month or so. I built up the wheels once I found the Maxxis Hookworms, then I knew I wanted to change the color of the bike. Originally, I was going to black out the bike but ended up changing my mind after taking it completely apart. Raw seemed to be the better way to go. The bike sat in pieces for 2 months as I explored how I was going to extend the seatpost.

Enter, a good friend of mine, Bob Hammond [who happened to do all the photos in our current catalog], who is a bit of a machinist and took up the challenge of making a post that would not only be long enough for my leg but also strong. What he ended up using was steel, machining it down to size for a seat clamp and the notched properly to keep the seatpost in line; even going a step further to drill completely through the middle to lighten it up a bit.

The last week I've spent clear coating the bike after having it sandblasted, cleaning/polishing all the parts and attempting to remember how it all went together. In the end, the bike came together great and I even discovered that one of the old Velocages worked remarkably well on the old reflector mount on the steer tube. I topped the bike off with a rear rack that was made specifically for the Hon, the Pedro's Trixie [carefully placed I might add; see picture below, right side] and some hipster cysts for good measure. There a few things I'll be adding but for the most part, it's all done.

Here's a few of the specs on the bike:

Frame: 19?? Hon 16" Folding Bike
Wheels: Velocity [349] Aeroheat 32H, Radial Front, 2x Rear on Velocity Solid Axle/Cutout Flange Track Hubs
Tires: Maxxis Hookworm 16 x 1.95
Gearing: 46 x 13 [roughly 59.7 gear inches]

Pseudo-classic becaue we ride...

Well, we made it through most of the crew, but that doesn't mean we are done with our regular '...because we ride' segment. Each of us have enough bikes to keep this going for weeks and months to come. So today we make it back to one of my rigs, my 1953 Schwinn Racer. There isn't much that is stock on this bike anymore outside of the frame, fork, and chain guard thus 'pseudo-classic'. I received this bike around 5 years ago from the owner of Europa Cycle, the shop that gave me the start in the bicycle industry.

Two bikes had come in for 'restoration', this Racer and I believe a slightly newer Suburban from the 60's. The customer wanted to take all the 'good' parts from the Racer and put them on the Suburban but then did not want any of the remaining parts. Enter me, and my boss was kind enough to let me have the parts as long as I treated the bike kindly. Well, it's been treated kindly and for a the first 4 years it was pieced back together with the combination of Racer/Suburban parts, which meant: the Sturmie Archer 3 speed hub with rim brakes with the old S-6 beaded tires, and the fenders were the from the Suburban.

This past summer I started customizing it a bit. Getting my hands on a Bendix 2-speed kickback Yellow band hub, lacing it to a Deep V rim, then building up a front track wheel with the B43 and solid flange/hallow axle hub. The bike really began to take shape. I then decided that the old fenders needed a more modern look to them so I cut them down a bit and removed the brackets. I've had a few different handlebars on it and haven't officially landed on what I'd like for it and has an old Brooks-esque saddle that has cut down by Jacobi. The purest might frown the bikes set up, but the bike is perfect for runs around downtown and simply cruising around.

Our Rides, because We Ride

Today, a new little segment we'll be starting up called 'Our Rides, because We Ride' series. If you've frequented or stumbled onto the regular Velocity site you'll notice a section under the About Us there's a few links to some of the guys bikes. This will be similar to that, but hopefully with a little bit more depth on the bikes themselves, maybe a story or two from on the ride. Plus give you all the opportunity to familiarize yourself with more of the Velocity crew.

We'll start off with one my rides, my Cannondale Cyclocross Optimo 3. This bike only has a few stock pieces left on it and has taken quite a few different transformations over the past 2 years; I'm sure there will continue to be a few changes as time passes. For now I have upgraded the wheel set to a custom Velocity Brown Fusion rims [Velocity road hubs, 32 hole, 3 cross, DT Swiss Champion spokes, with blue alloy nipples, using Veloplugs], rocking it 1 x 9 [inspired by Carl Buchanan's cross set-up] a 105 crank set with a Salsa Crossing Guard and 41T Salsa Ring, topped off with Kore White Canti brakes and stem, a Brooks B17 saddle, and recently install new bright white bottle traps. All in all, She's a looker.

The bike has seen the gravel of Iowa for Trans Iowa last year and competed in a few of the Kisscross events here in GR. This bike is really my all around bike, I'll swap out tires quite frequently from the Bontrager 700 x 34 CXR's to Continental 700 x 25 Ultra Gators and rock the bike as a commuter when I feel the need for some gears. Of the 7 bikes I have, this is 1 of 3 that I would have a hard time parting with.

Spec on the bike:

2007 Cannondale Cyclocross Optimo 3

Frame: Cyclocross Optimo
Fork: Slice Ultra XR Carbon
Wheels: Velocity Fusion 32H
Spokes: DT Swiss Champion w/ Alloy Nipples
Tires: Bontrager CRX 700x34
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beater SL
Crank: Shimano 105 41T w/ Salsa Crossing Guard
Chain: Shimano 9-speed
Rear Cogs SRAM PG-950, 12-26
Bottom Bracket: Shimano 105
Front Derailleur: None
Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105
Shifters: Shimano Tiagra
Handlebars: Cannondale C3, 31.8 mm,
Stem: Kore K34 100mm [+6 degree]
Headset: FSA Alloy integated
Brakeset: Kore Race + Canti
Saddle: Brooks B17
Seat Post: Cannondale C2 Carbon-wrapped