Fuso thinks...

Fuso must watch his step. This great lion is not so much of a coward.


Fuso pays a visit to the Meyerson, but knows deep down he is music in motion.


Fuso wonders if ancient Egyptians worshiped the power of the fixed gear.


Fuso stops for a few moments of silent contemplation with the all powerful Buddha of Fixies. “May all your journeys be as swift, smooth and silent as the Eastern winds.”


Fuso counts his lucky stars for having paint and clear coat to protect against the elements.


A little arrogant perhaps, but Fuso thinks everyone should be bowing down to him now.


Fuso poses with the pastel goodness of the Color Wall.


Fuso wonders where Steve Martin is when you need him.

Fixie Commuter #2

Dennis,
Once again I must thank you for all of the up keep you do on Fixed
Gear Gallery. This is my second submission, although this is my third
fixed gear bicycle! My first submission, #5355, was sold to another
happy owner in late 2007 when a career change took me away from the
ability to bicycle commute. My second fixed gear, an EAI Brass
Knuckle, is used for track racing at The Superdrome and is currently
sitting in the garage awaiting the start of the 2009 racing season.
Having recently changed jobs once again, I found myself with a
wonderful opportunity to commute to work by bicycle! I started out
looking to build up a Salsa Casserole or Soma Delancy, but then I
found this excellent gem at one of the many LBSs.



This is Fuso #1020, a 53 cm creation of the wonderfully talented Dave
Moulton! I had seen the bike hanging in the used section for about a
month before I bothered looking it up online. Thanks to Wikipedia and
Mr. Moulton's own website I learned that this is from 1987, and is a
30th Anniversary model. One ride had me in love, and I knew I needed
to pick it up with the intention of a fixed gear conversion. The paint
scheme is beautiful and something of an oddity compared to most
current designs. The ride is classic steel, and feels wonderful on the
road. This frame is so well constructed, it makes my carbon road bike
seem almost unnecessary. I commuted for several months on the original
equipment, late 80's Dura-Ace, before the cone bearings in the rear
wheel made gliding nearly impossible and I decided to strip the bike
the second week of January and completed the ground-up rebuild and
conversion in a couple of hours.



I'm turning a 42 x 16, which I have found to be perfect for commuting,
spin training and still provides me with excellent speed. I stuck with
the Dura-Ace cranks and liquid smooth bottom bracket, and a Mavic
Aksium wheel I had picked up to replace the original -whose cone
bearings had bought the farm a month earlier. The rear wheel, an XRP
creation, comes off my Brass Knuckle after two season of track racing.
The Sella Italia seat, Campy Daytona front brake and Profile bar tape
are off of a retired Pinarello Galileo, while the Chorus carbon seat
post and hoods were salvaged off of a Fausto Coppi Neuron that was
destroyed when I was hit head-on by a motorist in June 2008. My
commute is 12 miles each way on typical, traffic congested Dallas
roads so the Delta rack and Novara bag are great for carrying a change
of clothes, lunch and any extra gear I'll need. For visibility I have
installed a pair of Planet Bike Beamer headlights plus three tail
lights, all set to blink in different, random ways. I had been running
two tail lights, but after nearly being hit my another motorist a few
days after my birthday, I decided to slap on a third. She was too busy
writing an email on her phone to look up the road, and I'm only
writing this today because her Lexus SUV was equipped with ABS.



Thanks again for all the inspiration, a day after completing this
build I was already thinking about my next project!

Fixie Commuter

This used to be my Nishiki Sport Fixed Gear Commuter. This is the bike that got me started in fixed gear riding and eventually lead to the construction of my Brass Knuckle Superdrome racer. I eventually sold the bike on CraigsList as I had started a new job in outside sales (a huge mistake) and was no longer riding the bike.

Now that I am back in a cubicle and have attained access to a shower and locker, I have been planning the construction of a new fixed gear commuter. The planning stage has been brief, but I knew exactly what I was seeking from the get-go. Unfortunately, I've had trouble settling on a budget and the quick build I was seeking has not materialized. I got stuck mulling over a few framesets before finding some off-the-rack bikes that would suit the job, but I loathe buying off the rack.

Framesets

• Soma Delancey
• Salsa Casserole
• Eighth Inch
• Jury
• IRO

Off the Rack

• Specialized Langster
• Kona Paddy Wagon
• Redline 9-2-5

The Redline is the best bang for the buck, but the 53.6 TT might be a little long. I'm trying to order one through RBM but sometimes they don't do what you ask them... Sgt D. had a bad experience with this when I bought his KHS fixie and it is still hard to convince him to trust the guys and gals at RBM for parts and service. Given his experience, I don't blame him. Essentially, they ordered the bike and never called to tell him it had arrived. He called them numerous times with no success and eventually walked into the shop, some 35 days after ordering, and found the bike hanging from the ceiling. It had been there for quite some time. Likewise, they neglected ot call me when I special ordered a 144 BCD 51 tooth track gear. Instead, I found it displayed on the sale rack...

The Langster looks awesome in the London paint scheme, but I think a full aluminum frame with aluminum fork will be harsh on the roads. I prefer steel, and don't mind the excessive weight of 4130. The Langster would save me some serious weight, but sacrificing ride quality might not be a smart choice here. I prefer to get a work out... but the Langster does feature bottle cages, rack mounts and a badass paint scheme.

I need to make a decision. If the Redline comes in this week that will likely be my choice, but if the TT is too long and the bike is not balanced (54 cm TT bikes typically do not handle properly to me), I may opt to build up a smaller frame. The real factor here is cost. Do I want to spend twice the cost of the Redline to build a bike from the ground up? I'm tempted to say yes. Choosing the parts is half the fun and I can certainly keep the build cheap as long as I reuse many old parts and concentrate on the frame for construction. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding a frame that has bottle and rack mounts. The Soma is nice, but sporting only bottle mounts does me no good if I can't mount a rack. I could use clips, but its not as solid, and why compromise?

Perhaps the Salsa? I'll need to check the specs again. What else is there? I wouldn't mind building an older steel like I did the Nishiki, but oddly enough I am having a lot of trouble finding one in my size. There are a lot of 56+ cm bikes on CraigsList, but very little in the 53cm range of TT I'm seeking.