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| Our group outside of Lakefront Brewery. Photo by Stephen Wasmund |
There are few things in life I love more than bikes, exploring cool cities, and hanging out with amazing friends--this includes my husband. Throw in some great food, beer and whiskey and I'm like a kid in a candy store which is also a toy and pet store.
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| Lunch at Cassablanca |
This past weekend started off perfectly with a whiskey tasting at my house. Cycling friends gathered to help warm the cold winter night. My thoughts may have been a bit fuzzy, however, when I planned a brewery tour for the following day. In my defense, we were supposed to do the brewery tour the previous week but a ice/snow storm foiled our plans.
The "morning after" found the six of us jacked up on caffeine, making our way to the lovely city of Milwaukee for a field trip. You've all heard me gush about my love for MKE--I'm not shy about it. And although a couple people in the group had spent some time there, we were all on a mission for fun. This mission included not only beer and food, but also the much needed bicycle (would I post this if it didn't include the beloved bicycle).
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| Nick working his magic. Photo by Nathan Vergin |
Our first stop provided us with sustenance of a different kind. Call it eye candy. The intersection of 36th and Pierce is now the new home for
Fyxation--one of the coolest urban bike companies I've ever been exposed to. Nick Ginster, and his brother, Ben started this company just four years ago. They made their mark in the cycling community by designing a tire--that some of my fixie riding friends wouldn't trade for anything--called the
Session 700. Jump to the present and they are putting out pedals which have grips-- perfect for riding with street shoes or winter riding, track straps, stems, several types of handlebars--Nick is using one on his Ducati, bar tape, saddles, and oh yeah...they are now putting out frames and complete bikes. Three gorgeous bikes with names like the Eastside, Riverwest and Quiver. A cross bike is in the works. These bikes are an urban riders dream. Simple and elegant with thoughtful geometry and extras such as low profile fender mounts. They have just enough bling to make you stand out in a crowd (check out the dropouts and color choices). It's hard to believe they've only been selling frames for two months. The word must have gotten out since several of them are already sold out. But don't fret, Nick has got some sweet connections in Taiwan--he worked in the bike industry there for five years--and more will be rolling in soon.
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| Take a look at these frog--"qing wa" in Mandarin--dropouts |
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Fyxation's pedal and strap.
Photo by Nathan Vergin |
I first met Nick at the Midwest Handbuilt Bike Show a couple years ago. His products caught my eye as did his company t-shirt (he used a picture he took of a cyclist in Taiwan and the front simply states "bikes are better"). Nick was such an approachable guy we hit it off right away. I was so impressed to hear he volunteers at several bike events, including wrenching at
RW24 each year. He has also sponsored my all-female alleycat,
Madtown Maidens, for two years. He lives what he preaches and he's even married to one of the staff members of the
Wisconsin Bike Fed!
As with every interview I do, I sent Nick some questions. Here's your chance to get to know one hell of a industry leader. Oh, and if you're in Milwaukee, give him a ring, he might just give you a tour too.
Q: What's in your personal stable right now?
A: So
many bikes, so little time. I spend the most time on a prototype Quiver
lately. It's gone back and forth between a CX build and city build with
fenders
a couple times. But as far as the rest of stable there's an Eastside
single speed, Milwaukee Bruiser, mid '40s Schwinn cruiser, Kona Chute,
Giant AC-1, and Ducati Monster (since it's got two wheels, it counts for
the stable, right?).
Q: What is one of your fondest bike memories?
A: I
have had a lot of great memories riding, but I always feel the best
rides are ones you don't expect. While riding out at a ski resort in
Colorado with
my long time riding cohort Chris and another buddy we had one of those
rides. The whole thing started with innocently borrowing his
ex-girlfriend's car to spend a few days riding the trails at Breck. On
the second day we decided to drive up to Estes park,
but while climbing a steep pass the car died, big time. With a ride
back to town on a flatbed truck we had a few options. The one that came
to Chris' mind first was leaving the car in the mountains and riding a
trail "he had heard some guys talk about" across
the continental divide and back to Boulder. This was at least a six
hour endeavor that would take us above tree line and over the divide,
and given the time of day, a bit of a race against dusk. That was enough
for the third member of our group to opt out.
We promptly got some food and fueled up, headed to the local bike shop
for a map and energy bars and left out of town up a steep dirt road.
Needless to say it was one of the hardest and most beautiful rides I've
ever done. We rode amazing single track above
tree line, past mountain lakes and over at least a few unmarked trails.
Somehow, we managed to roll back into Boulder at dusk, grab a cold
Pacifico and plate of tacos, and settle in to let our sore legs rest.
Q: What got you into the bike industry?
A: I've
been infatuated with bicycles and motorcycles as far back as I can
remember. I rode BMX as a kid, switched to Enduro motorcycles and then
to mountain
bikes; all the while it had been a dream of mine to put my love for two
wheeled travel together with my work. While studying mechanical
engineering at UWM I landed an intern position at Hayes Brake in their
test lab. That grew from the lab, to product design
and eventually I ended up in Taiwan as their Chief Engineer for Asia.
Q: You run Fyxation with your brother, and your wife works at the WI bike
fed, do you ever deal with bike industry overload and what do you like
doing when you just don't want to think about bikes?
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| Nick's Ducati...his other passion |
A: Bicycle
overload, what's that? Actually, I love my work and I ride often, but I
do have other past times which keeps things balanced. I'm an avid
fisherman
and we're fortunate to have loads of great fishing within Milwaukee. If
you ride the Hank Aaron trail or along the Milwaukee River parkway this
summer you're bound to see me fly fishing with my bike locked up
nearby. I also have never lost my passion for motorcycles,
and currently my motorcycle in the Fyxation shop getting all dialed in
for Spring.
Q: MKE has quite a bike scene and yet it isn't celebrated the way
Minneapolis or Portland are. What changes would you like to see MKE
make, if any? Are there any cities on your "must ride" list?
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| Admiring a model of the Hank Aaron trail |
A: The
scene in MKE is strong, and I agree it's not as well celebrated as some
of the other "biking" cities. Maybe it's our Midwestern tendency not to
brag,
but Miltown has a lot to offer cyclists. Our bike lanes are expanding,
we have a terrific network of inter-urban bike paths, Rays MTB park is
here and the rides along Lake Michigan are gorgeous and accessible. A
constant challenge for cyclists is dealing with
other vehicles that share the road with us. Our auto culture is tuned
into looking out for other cars, and often cyclists are seen as
secondary road users. The more people that are our there on their bikes,
the more cyclists are seen as equal road users. I
believe that cities that focus on getting more people riding by
building safe corridors for cycling increases the safety of cyclists,
not only by giving us designated riding lanes, but also by drawing more
cyclists to the streets and thereby increasing drivers
awareness of riders. As Wisconsinites we're fortunate to have an
organization like the Bike Fed advocating for us. If you're not a
member, I would encourage you to join. They're doing great things us
every day.
Q: You've spent quite a bit of time in Asia, how does the urban bike culture differ there?
A: The
urban cycling culture in Asia has undergone a big transformation in
many cities over the past decade. For ages bicycles were seen as
utilitarian
vehicles only. With financial success families would ditch the bike for
a scooter or motorcycle, and eventually a car. In many places this
created a stigma around cycling and ones prosperity. That has changed a
lot recently. I saw this first hand living in
Taiwan. When I first started travelling there you would never see
people out riding for pleasure or exercise; however, during the time I
spent there the number of people riding bicycles exploded. Bike shops
popped up everywhere, with companies like Giant and
Merida opening concept stores packed with the latest carbon bikes.
Urban cycling culture popped up in cities like Taipei, Jakarta and
Bangkok--fueled by young riders first looking towards Western trends,
but eventually carving out their own culture--and is
still going strong. I've had the good fortune of participating in urban
riding and fixed gear events in Asia, and I can tell you there an
infectious enthusiasm there now.
Q: What, in the bike industry, has you in awe at the moment?
A: After
more than 15 years in the industry it's hard for me to be awestruck,
but I do enjoy how the cycling industry continues to evolve. Fat bikes
and
650b are two categories that didn't exist a few years ago, but are
seeing explosive growth. Hydraulic brakes for road bikes stand at the
edge of becoming a reality. I am also encouraged by the number of people
turning towards cycling for transportation. There
are a lot of great companies really looking at urban cycling and saying
"what makes sense for people that ride for transportation". In large
part this has driven our new road/commuter platform, the Quiver.
Q: You've done so well in the urban bike accessory business in the past few
years, why now did you decide to break into the frame/complete bike
business?
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The Quiver with the tires that started it all--Session 700
Photo by Nathan Vergin |
A: We
have been busy rounding out our component line over the past four years
and have gone from two guys and a tire, to an established brand with
over
30 components and as you mentioned we're moving into complete bikes.
Although bicycle manufacturing is new to Fyxation it's not new for us.
I've been involved in design and manufacture of bicycles for other
companies for years, so this is a natural evolution
for Fyxation. Bringing affordable, quality components to riders has
always been our focus and our Eastside single speed and Quiver
road/commuter bike fit that mission perfectly. The Eastside combines
clean styling and quality components in an affordable package,
and the Quiver is loaded with innovative features that make it a
perfect commuter platform. My wheels never stop turning and there are a
lot of exciting projects in the works at Fyxation, so be sure and stay
tuned!
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Ending our tour of Fyxation with a mini tour of the Wisconsin Bike Fed office
Photo by Nathan Vergin |
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Had to end the day with the swings under the Holton bridge
Photo by Stephen Wasmund |
