my fixed gear bike

Posted by Fabio Benedetti

My imagination has been recently captured by the amazing world of fixed gear bikes. Bikes and cycling have always been a passion of mine, even though I have never considered it seriously and never went from amateur to professional.
As for fixies, what really appeals is the fact that design can be easily customised, and with a tad of creativeness here and a quirky touch there, you can create truly unique models and stand out from the crowd.
This is why, last November, I started collecting all the parts to build a unique bike – and I learnt a lot of the most technical side of the business, including how a bike really works. For the first time I realised what’s what and that was very cool!
On eBay and Velosolo I ordered all the parts I needed for the custom bike – and I am very proud of it, indeed. For a relatively decent sum, I managed to build my fixie fairly quickly and although I still have to learn a few tricks, I am very happy with it!
An interesting fact: mine is a 1978 Raleigh, refurbished frame that has been repainted and assembled. Because of its colour – turquoise – and my Italian heritage (I’m from Tuscany) I named it Freccia Azzurra (blue arrow). In the near future, I am hoping to set up a dedicated microsite; in the meantime, I set up a Flickr account so please have a browse.
Fixed gear bikes come in plenty of models – and certainly much cooler than this – but I have to say that more than once I was asked about the bike by random people of all ages! I was more than happy to explain what I did and how to them and felt a little proud of my ‘baby’. It would be great to build  – or even design – other bikes in the future. In fact, the next one is being planned for summer 2011: I already have a vintage frame ready to use so… watch this space!