Two Wheels From Home: A few of my favorite things

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.

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).

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.

Take a look at these frog--"qing wa" in Mandarin--dropouts

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?

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?

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?

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!