Two More Wheels

Posted Friday, December 14, 2007, at 11:12AM by Eric Richardson

Eric Richardson

Tuesday afternoon I walked into Hollywood Pro looking for bar tape. One thing led to another, and yesterday I walked out with a new fixed-gear bicycle.

Even back when I bought my road bike in 2005, I had already been fighting the little bug in my head telling me that a fixie for around Downtown riding would be a lot of fun. I had thought before about getting an older frame and building one up from parts, but had never shown the follow-through to actually act on that desire. In the end a confluence of a couple different bits of good timing led to this being the perfect time to go ahead and buy one.

A couple relevant bits of info: The frame is a Soma Rush. The bike's running a front brake and 48/15 gearing (relatively high and fast).

Yesterday evening I took the bike out to the Fashion District and practiced on completely empty streets. I think I represented myself adequately, though I have to say that I can't think of anything so jarring as when you forget you're on a fixie and decide to coast. The bicycle will remind you of how impossible that is very quickly.

I took some up close shots yesterday, but don't think it's particularly cool to take a full bike shot inside. My goal is to ride up to Elysian Park -- my favorite spot for bicycle shots -- and take my photos up there, but those hills are going to present quite the challenge.