I will kick off my North American Handmade Bicycle Show blog fest with an extra special post. The bike pictured is special for many reasons but to me the most important point to mention is that this bike is MINE! When I placed my order for this custom YiPsan the frame builder, Renold Yip, asked if I would mind if he displayed the bike at the NAHBS. Of course that would be an honor but it also caused me to give extra consideration to every aspect of the bicycle- from paint to component spec, everything was scrutinized.
The Concept:
This bike was spawned by my chaotic life. I love commuting by bike but far too often something gets in the way. I get up late. The bike isn’t ready. My batteries are dead. The bag is on another machine. Enter the YiPsan Super Commuter, my perfect commuting bike.
The Basics:
The lugged frame is a fixed gear/single speed bicycle designed primarily to get me to and from work. The bike has all the trimmings: fenders, racks, generator lights and comfortable geometry.
The Nuts and Bolts:
The bike is built up with a Chris King Head set, a polished Shimano crank, a Salsa chain ring, and Paul Racer stoppers. Since I am the bling king of bikes I had the brake pad holders polished as well. The shiny bottom bracket was manufactured by Phil Wood and the Nitto bars are wrapped with Brooks tape that match the Brooks saddle. The Honjo fenders are painted to match the frame while the front and rear racks are Velo orange. My YiPsan rolls on a front wheel built from a Sun 20R Generator hub, a Phil Wood rear hub, DT spokes, with an EAI Super Star cog threaded on and Pannaracer Tserve Protex tires keep the bike glued to the road. Soon I will add Supernova lights front and rear and a Gilles Berthoud front bag.
Special Thanks:
Thanks to Renold of YiPsan for accommodating all of my requests. Thanks to Maili for helping me visualize the color scheme. And thanks to my wife Danielle for putting up with me asking her “Hey how do you think this would look…?” at all hours of the night.
I am sure you can read more about this bike in the coming months as I break it in. Until then stay tuned for more pics and words from the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.
The Concept:
This bike was spawned by my chaotic life. I love commuting by bike but far too often something gets in the way. I get up late. The bike isn’t ready. My batteries are dead. The bag is on another machine. Enter the YiPsan Super Commuter, my perfect commuting bike.
The Basics:
The lugged frame is a fixed gear/single speed bicycle designed primarily to get me to and from work. The bike has all the trimmings: fenders, racks, generator lights and comfortable geometry.
The Nuts and Bolts:
The bike is built up with a Chris King Head set, a polished Shimano crank, a Salsa chain ring, and Paul Racer stoppers. Since I am the bling king of bikes I had the brake pad holders polished as well. The shiny bottom bracket was manufactured by Phil Wood and the Nitto bars are wrapped with Brooks tape that match the Brooks saddle. The Honjo fenders are painted to match the frame while the front and rear racks are Velo orange. My YiPsan rolls on a front wheel built from a Sun 20R Generator hub, a Phil Wood rear hub, DT spokes, with an EAI Super Star cog threaded on and Pannaracer Tserve Protex tires keep the bike glued to the road. Soon I will add Supernova lights front and rear and a Gilles Berthoud front bag.
Special Thanks:
Thanks to Renold of YiPsan for accommodating all of my requests. Thanks to Maili for helping me visualize the color scheme. And thanks to my wife Danielle for putting up with me asking her “Hey how do you think this would look…?” at all hours of the night.
I am sure you can read more about this bike in the coming months as I break it in. Until then stay tuned for more pics and words from the 2009 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.
1 comment:
Gorgeous machine. Congratulations!
Post a Comment