TN!

found this on the FGG and thought it was great


https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006...haelMartin.htm

sr20det

true that.
his kid has a more blingin' bike than me!
dang, and you read about how he shortened the stem....

chicagoamdream

That's sick. There's a BMX with rear-facing dropouts at Yojimbo's that's roughly the same idea, but nowhere near as elegant as this thing.

humancongereel

i've always said that if/when i have kids, i'll build them a fix as their first bike. and here--it can be done!

dolface

mikorp's bike. that thing is nuts, and it weighs about 15 lbs. i think some of the tubes might be solid

onetwentyeight 

Also worthy of note is they took some drops, chopped the middle section out, and then shimmed and glued them back together to make them narrower. I was working on my bike at freewheel while they were doing that. Hilarity.

travsi

oh man ...the geometry is waaay off.
that kid is going to need really long arms
or really short legs...

summerinside

how many 3' tall kids do you know that have long legs?!

pjay

Could a little kid have the leg strength to pull a skid? Coaster brakes are one thing...

pitboss

Marcus at Yojimbo's built up a similar bike a year or so ago in response to a family's inquiry as to whether or not there were track bikes to fit their child.

Riding that converted BMX frame hurts my knees, but it is really fun to drink a crapload of Yoji's coffee (steeped for at least 4 hours!!!) and messing around on it.

12XU

Looks like ol' mikorp took a page from Wal-Mart's road bike build with his drop bar chop and weld...

arcellus

yeah, you gotta wonder if it really fits the kid.. and i wish it had a brake!

fatbat

i learned to ride on a brakeless fixed.

nothing as nice as that one, just a cheap kids bike. I think it was intended to have training wheels or something, but by the time my folks picked it up at a yardsale, those were long gone. If i remember correctly, it also had solid tires.

i skinned my knees so many times on that bike. The bike had those old rubber platform pedals, and i hadn't really grasped the cocept of backpedaling, so even slight inclines were enough to send me spinning out of control. I'd try to run off onto the grass to slow myself down, or failing that, provide a softer surface for crashing.

colinm

My kiddo has a brakeless Barbie fix from Kmart. I ride mine, she rides hers. I have to do slow circles to let her keep up, and it lets me practice trackstands. On inclines, I test her - "OK, now try to stop"...and she does. Success, happiness, kids are fun.

"Daddy, your bike is so shiny and pretty". lol

gannon

if your kid's face was at stake would you really trust bars that are jb welded together?... i would, but i hate kids' faces.

arcellus

"hope this inspires you to be nice to your kids when and if you have them. peace"

maybe we should be nice by giving them safe, ridable bikes they can handle.. not just ones that fit our personal ideas of 'style'.

if i was 6 or 8 or whatever i think i'd rather have a bmx bike.

onetwentyeight 

kid can't even walk yet. he's got a ways to go.

arcellus

oh, right.

Shiznaz

I'd wear that thing around a necklace. Why on earth he thinks his toddler needs a polished dura-ace tomity cog is beyond me! Also try to find a stem protector for that thing so your kid doesn't have an unfortunate accident face first into it.

MKRG

JB Weld? Handlebars? ACK!

humancongereel

i figure learning a bike is going to be tough, whatever kind it is, but once you learn it, it'll be a life-long skill. why not put out the little extra effort and extra caution it'll take to teach a kid fixed? if you do it right, it'll be fine, just a little more work and give your kid a cool skill.

colinm

I'm just waiting for 8-year olds to start busting no handed skids down the street in front of my house. Lawn chair and beer, watch the show.

And band-aids. Lotsa band-aids.

mrRed

I figure though, If I hammered away for years on all plastic bikes with solid tires and direct drive front wheel, this bike can't be any less safe.

delay

This kid is probably going to weight like 50 lbs at the most when he starts riding it. I don't think it will be a problem.

Plus, brakes? Seriously. Does this man want his son to grow up a poseur? I should think not.

mikorp

Thanks for your interest. First the bike is drilled for front and rear brakes, so brakes will end up on there before he rides it. also he has a 12in bmx bike with training wheels, so this bike is for down the road, or if at all. it's not safe to let a child around direct drive till they are very bright, and connected, then it will still need a chain guard. I also have a freewheel rear wheel for it. Know I'm not putting a 2 year old child on a track bike and sending him down the hill. if he decides he wants to learn on the track some day, then we have a bike. until then, I have an awesome paperweight.

be nice. so many haters on this forum.