Fyxation was founded in 2009 when the fixed gear market was just taking off. Fixed gear bikes have been around for a long time and were originally used by bike messengers in cities because of their ease of maintenance and clean looks. When we launched Fyxation, the fixie market consisted of very few out of the box fixed gear bikes that you could buy at stores. Most people would convert old road bikes into single speeds or fixed gears using parts they could get through their local bike shop. We focused on parts and sold tires, pedals and other upgrade items that helped people complete that fixed gear bike build.

Around 2010 a number of start up bike brands that were launched by college students or recent graduates that started importing affordable fixed gear bikes from China and the market took off. Companies like State Bicycle, Pure Fix and Retrospec all launched around the same time and brought these affordable fixies to the masses. Buying bikes online was just taking off and these companies used their web savvy to build strong direct to consumer bike brands that eventually expanded to them selling their fixies to bike shops and bike dealers as well.

We originally launched our Eastside in 2012 as a single speed with the option to convert it to a fixed gear by simply flipping the wheel around (flip flop hub). Since then we've launched 2 other fixed gear models: the Pixel which is an affordable single speed great for cruising and the Comet which is a go fast aluminum track bike. 

The market for fixed gear bikes peaked a few years back and while many people think it's dead, there are definitely still a lot of single speeds and fixed gear bikes being sold today. They are a very utilitarian bike in that they are affordable, easy to maintain and look great. In many cities like Chicago that are flat and there are stop lights every few hundred feet, it doesn't make sense to have a bike with 10 + gears because you mostly ride in one gear and there are plenty of stop and starts with traffic. That's where a fixed gear bike makes a ton of sense. Some people also buy them as their get around town bike that they can use to grab a cup of coffee instead of taking their road or mountain bike.

The good news is that the lead times for some of these parts are starting to go down and production overseas is picking up the pace. This however has lead to a new issue. As factories crank out products, they have to be shipped to foreign ports. In the case of our bikes, we manufacture them in China where they ship from a port and then are routed to Korea, Los Angeles, Chicago by rail and then Milwaukee by truck. Before you start to say we should make them here in the US, we agree but there are currently no factories for all of the small components that go into making a bicycle. And if there were, there are no workers to work at these potential factories. It's simple to sit there on your iPhone/computer, chair and clothing that are all made overseas and say that we should make our bikes here in the US, but the story is more complicated than that.

Every step of this supply chain right now is clogged. Pictures of boats docked outside the West Coast ports are common right now and everyone thinks that is the reason for the bottlenecks and by simply saying we'll fix the ports that will help the problem, but that is not the only issue right now. The ports are part of the problem, but once the vessels dock and the items are eventually unloaded, they need to be loaded onto a truck chassis to be shipped to a warehouse or they are loaded onto a train to be shipped to an inland railyard like Chicago for example. Right now there is shortage of drivers to deliver the goods, trains to ship the goods and truck chassis' to physically truck the container to its final destination.

We recently had a shipment leave Asia on 6/24 and it is just being delivered to our warehouse in Milwaukee today - 10/20. That is almost 4 months in transit. And oh by the way, we ordered these items in September 2020. This shipment sailed from China to Korea where it sat at port for 45 days. Once loaded onto a new vessel it arrived in Los Angeles and sat for 30 days. It was finally loaded onto a train and arrived in Chicago on 9/15 where it sat for over 30 days to finally get delivered to Milwaukee.

The reason for the delay is that there is a truck chassis shortage in the US right now. Tariffs were added to imported chassis' a few years back and there hasn't been enough domestic production so instead of the tariffs actually working as some people think they might, there is now a shortage and people can't get their stuff. Fun.

We'll wrap this up saying that hopefully things will get better in the next few months but most analysts and people in the know, say it's going to be here for a while. We have a lot of bikes on the way and even more on order so I think we'll be able to ride this out. In the meantime, please be patient with companies like us and even your UPS guy. We are trying our best but these things are out of our control.

The Matador Comp crank is made from forged 6061 aluminum and this track ready crankset is stiff and light. The Matador comes ready to roll with a 48T front chainring and 144BCD. A JIS square taper spindle makes for an easy upgrade from existing square taper cranks. Retail price is $119.95.

Specs:

Forged 6061 aluminum,

• Forged 6061 aluminum
• BCD: 144mm
• Chain Ring: 48T,  CNC machined 6161 aluminum
• Crank Arm Length: 165mm
• Spindle Interface: JIS Square Taper 
• Bottom Bracket Shell Compatibility: 68mm
• Recommended Bottom Bracket: 68x107 (42mm Chainline) - not included
• Weight: Cranks arms/spindle - 658g

The Matador Elite crank is our flagship and is a great upgrade for any serious fixed gear or track cyclist. This forged 7075 aluminum crankset is striff, light and is ready for the track or streets. The Matador Elite includes a sealed BSA bottom bracket and ships with our 48T 7075 chain ring. We're pretty confident this will take the market by storm and it's a great upgrade for any of our bikes and most track/fixed gear bikes on the market. Retail price is $179.95.

Specs:

• Forged 7075 aluminum
• BCD: 144mm
• Chain Ring: 48T,  CNC machined 7075 aluminum
• Crank Arm Length: 165mm
• Spindle: 24 mm hollow, chromoly
• Bottom Bracket Shell: 68mm
• Bottom Bracket: Sealed bearing BSA bottom bracket with alloy cups included
• Weight: Cranks arms/spindle - 800g
• Weight: Bottom Bracket - 106g

Our complete build options include our standard build for $1699 features our 4130 double butted chromoly Quiver X frame with our Sparta all road Carbon fork. For $1819 you can swap out the alloy steerer Sparta fork and upgrade your build to our full carbon Sparta FCR fork. Regardless of the fork you select, each build comes set up as a 1x11 with SRAM Apex and a mix of FSA and Tektro parts.

We've carved out a space in our warehouse and we've set up a proper new bike assembly area. We borrowed some of our pro mechanics from our Milwaukee bike shop, and the crew is cranking out our stock builds but we're also working on some fun custom builds.

The Quiver was originally released because we wanted to come up with a bike that our single speed customers could upgrade to when they wanted to move to a bike with a few more gears. We decided to design the frame so it could fit large tires but we also wanted to add fender/rack mounts so the bike could be a versatile city bike but could be used to hit the open road outside of the city.

We didn't realize it at the time, but the Quiver was one of the first true "all road" bikes which is now a super crowded yet popular category in the bike world. Many companies refer to their new bikes as "quiver killers" because they're designed to replace many bikes with one versatile build. Well that's why we came up with the name Quiver about 8 years ago and the new Quiver X keeps the versatile tradition of the Quiver rolling and is our best Quiver yet!

The new Quiver X is packed with features and is ready for any road. Huge tire clearance, tons of mounts for fenders, racks and water bottles, double butted tubing and a do anything carbon fork, the Quiver truly is an all road bike. We've taken prototypes of the Quiver X on our annual Tour de Chequamegon bikepacking trip and this bike is ideal for a gravel tour. This 3 day bikepacking trip in northern Wisconsin let us put the Quiver X through it's paces and after 110 miles of sweet gravel road, the Quiver checked all the boxes.

As a commuter bike, the Quiver X is equally capable. Change out the large gravel tires for some city tires and the Quiver is the ultimate way to avoid the crowds and commute into the city. I'm building mine up right now with some road tires and I plan to use my Quiver as my road bike for the next few months but once the Tour de Chequamegon rolls around, my gravel tires are coming back on and so are my touring bags. The Quiver is a blast! Please give us a call or email us if you want to discuss our stock and custom builds. We're here to help.

Here is a quick preview of our 2020 bike line-up and estimated arrival times for all our new bikes. We are taking pre-orders on our website now for all these bikes and due to the unprecedented demand for bikes right now, we expect all these shipments to sell out by the time they arrive. Not trying to pressure y'all, but if you want a Fyxation bike in the Summer/Fall of 2020, you might want to load up the cart and submit that order.

Fyxation 2020 Pixel - New Colors

• Colors: Matte Black, Blaze Orange, Sandstone, Emerald Green
• ETA - June 15, 2020
• https://www.fyxation.com/collections/pixel

Eastside X - New Colors

• Colors: Matte Black, Chrome Red, Blue Steel, Gold
• ETA: July 15, 2020
• https://www.fyxation.com/collections/eastside-bicycle

Third Ward - 3 Speed Step Through City Bike - NEW MODEL

• Colors: Sage Green, Cream, Gloss Black
• ETA: July 15, 2020
• https://www.fyxation.com/collections/third-ward-3-speed

Comet Track Bike - NEW MODEL

• Colors: Stealth Black, Indigo Heat
• ETA: August 15, 2020
• https://www.fyxation.com/collections/comet-track-bike

Pixel 7 and Pixel 1 - NEW MODEL AND COLORS

• Colors: Black and Tan, Olive Green
• ETA: August 15, 2020

We're back! Demo and construction is underway at our shop on Humboldt and we still plan on being open early March, 2020. Just because we're closed for remodeling doesn't mean that we're sitting on the beach or out riding our fat bikes for the next few months.

We are pleased to announce that we have opened a Pop-up Shop at our warehouse and business headquarters in the Pedal Milwaukee building in Silver City. We've partnered with our neighbors at Velobahn Coffee and for the next 2 months we'll be open offering full service, repairs and new bike/gear sales. It's a bit smaller footprint but it's an amazing space where you can grab a coffee while you shop. 

Hours:

Tuesday - Saturday 9AM - 4PM 

Address:

3618 W. Pierce Street, Milwaukee, WI 53215

Phone:

414.210.4907

Google Map Directions

The Tour de Chequamegon is an approximately 110 mile, 3 day bike packing trip on gravel roads in Northern Wisconsin that we've been hosting since 2016. The trip is designed as a fundraiser for the Wisconsin Bike Fed and while we are the hosts of this trip, the Bike Fed helps with some planning and logistics.

The trip is fully supported by our crew and this year we had 3 support riders on course at all times, 2 support vehicles and a medic following along by car just in case we encountered any incidents on the trail. Also included in the trip are 2 nights of camping, breakfast/lunch/dinner, snacks for the trail and plenty of beverages once riders make it in to camp. We provided detailed maps with turn by turn instructions but if you have Ride With GPS, you can download an offline version of the route and you basically have Siri type voice instructions keeping you on the trail. There is limited cell phone service up there but GPS works like a dream and takes the guesswork out of where your next turn is.

The ride leaves from the town of Cable, WI and immediately connects with some of the best gravel roads we've ever ridden. The Chequamegon National Forest has hundreds of miles of smooth gravel roads, ATV trails and singletrack that wind their way through dense forests and riders are treated to lakes, rivers, elk habitat and amazing vistas. The full course can be downloaded here at Ride With GPS - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31183749.

This year we left early on Friday from The Brick House Cafe in Cable and while it was raining all morning, the rain stopped just as we hit the road. The ride starts off with a pretty long hill climb just out of town which is ironically, the hardest hill of the trip. A few miles onto the road we turned left onto a jeep road/ATV trail that was a bit soggy after the morning rain. This is the most challenging section of the  trail and with the sloppy conditions, was a bit of moral buster for some of the crew. However, after about 12 miles and 1100 vertical feet we reminded the riders that the entire 3 day tour had about 3500 vertical feet which meant it should be smooth (ish) sailing from here.

Day one was about 45 miles and was a challenging ride for everyone on the trip. Once the group hits the road, things tend to spread out quite a bit. Former Fyxation Senior Mechanic and current employee at Feedback Sports, Steve Mehne, flew out from Colorado to take the lead support role on our trip. Steve is fast and trains in the mountains so he took a lead group out from Cable and we didn't see him until we got to the campsite that night.

In the middle, was Fyxation co-founder Ben Ginster who happens to live in Utah also flew out to help support the trip and get some miles on the bike. Ben's job was to float in the middle of the pack and make sure things went smooth. Day one was a challenging ride so Ben offered help where he could providing water, bars and moral support for the crew. We provide wraps that people can eat on the road so that riders can stop when they need to for a bit of nourishment while out riding. On day 1 people needed those wraps and riders would peel off to the edge of the trail to enjoy the scenery and the yummy food that was also provided by the Brick House Cafe in Cable.

In the rear, Michelle from the Bike Fed, rode with the group and swept the back of the ride to make sure nobody got left behind. Michelle had a great attitude and she is an experienced bike packer, so she was in a perfect position at the back of the pack keeping people motivated and moving along.

In addition to the 3 support riders, we had 2 vehicles on the course at all times to make sure riders were safe and had what they needed. The vehicles would ride ahead each day to set up camp, get food and firewood and make sure the group had everything they would need at the end of the day on the bike. After that, they would traverse the course to offer food, water, gatorade and tech support as needed throughout the day.

The amazing thing about this adventure is that you get to spend 3 full days on the bike and at camp with 40 strangers that at the end of the ride, feel like friends. Some people did the ride solo and some in groups but either way, everyone got along and had great conversations along the way. The group consisted of riders from Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and the age range of the group was 14 - 76. Everyone is responsible for carrying their own gear during the course of the ride which makes those miles feel a bit longer and harder than a normal gravel but everyone on our trip handled the ride and their gear like a pro.

We'd wake up early each morning to get breakfast ready and we'd boil water for oatmeal and coffee. If you've ever camped before, camp food tastes amazing and while we didn't have the fanciest breakfasts, a hot bowl of oatmeal, a hot cup of coffee and some fruit were all the crew needed to tackle another day on the bike.

Day 2 was a quick 28 miles, sunny and amazing that ended at the Day Lake Campground in Clam Lake, WI. About a mile from the campground are a few great up north bars and a bunch of the group stopped in for some deep fried food, beers and a bit of college football. Day 3 was a bit longer coming in at around 38 miles and weather wise, was a pretty nasty day. Some of the crew saw the forecast and decided to take a shortcut and take the paved road back into Cable, which while it knocked a few miles off the journey, was still a challenging ride with long hills and a bit of wind and rain. The rest of the crew broke up into packs and took gravel roads all the way back to Cable. Day 3 is the most scenic day of the trip and features a bunch of lakes, an amazing stream in the woods and some beautiful forest. The final 10 miles of the day are on paved roads so just when you're feeling the most tired, the final stretch into town is smooth and fast.

Once back in Cable, we made sure that everyone signed in and that there was nobody left on the trail. The final riders made it back by about 2PM so most people were able to hit the road and drive home for a week back in the real world. Most of the Fyxation crew went back to Milwaukee as well but Nick and Ben, the co-founders of Fyxation, stayed behind for one last night at the Sawmill Saloon and enjoyed some amazing pub food, local beers and spent the night recapping the trip and already planning the 2020 ride.

Sorry for the super long blog post but it's hard to put in words how much fun this trip is. We made a ton of new friends, got to ride our bikes for 3 days in an amazing place and were able to support a great non-profit here in Wisconsin. We can't wait for 2020 and we hope to see many of you back on the gravel soon. Check out the ride Facebook Page and http://www.ridefyxation.com/ for updates.

5 years ago we partnered with the Intelligentsia Cup to bring fixed gear street criteriums to the Midwest when we hosted the inaugural Fyxation Open in Chicago. The Fyxation Open turned 5 in 2018 and this year we decided to pass the baton to our friends over at Chrome Industries. Hosting and planning an event like the Fyxation Open takes a ton of work and we felt that bringing in some fresh stoke to the event would help keep this great race going in the future and Chrome, having a retail hub in Chicago, was the perfect company to hand the reins to.

Introducing the Chrome Coveted Crit. Offering Men's Open and WTF category races, with equal cash primes and payout. Using the model of the Fyxation Open these 2 races took place in Chicago at the Intelligensia Cup Fulton Street Finale. With races like Mission Crit and Redbull Bay Climb, Chrome came up with a Fixed Gear Speed League point based championship. This tracks the riders race results in combination with city challenges to find out who the overall winner is taking home $3000. Check out the Chrome Grand Slam details here.

With larger teams out on the field working with team mates was required for victory. Team Pratt/Phil switched pack positions often to share the load.

On the men's second to last lap, things got interesting with a snaking chain of riders attempting to keep everyone in their position 

Nicolas Kote made some time up on the back stretch of the course finally laying down all the watts for a final sprint to the finish.

WTF Category 1st place goes to Evelyn Williamson from Team Pratt/Phil - See full results here

Men's Open Category 1st Place goes to Nicolas Kote from Team IBIKE. See full results here.

To celebrate our 10th year around the sun, we plan on a few year 10 or "X" releases over the next few months. First up on the docket is an amazing new refresh of our Gates pedal strap line up with the introduction of 9 new hot colors.

When we first launched Fyxation, we were really focused heavily into to urban cycling and most specifically, fixed gear riding. Fixed gear bikes had always been around but in 2009 this style of bikes started to become a bit more mainstream. The same year that we launched a number of companies launched all with the focus of making fixed gear parts, frames and bikes more affordable and available for the masses.

Our original focus as a company was parts and in 2009 we introduced the world to Fyxation with the introduction of the Session 700 tire. After the Sessions, we launched some additional parts/accessories and in 2010 we introduced our Gates pedal line up. The Gates pedal was a huge success and riders immediately starting asking us which pedal straps were compatible with our pedals. Brands like Holdfast, YNOT, Burro and a few others were just introducing their product and while they all worked with the Gates pedal, we wanted to introduce our own pedal strap that was designed to work with the Gates pedal but also improve upon some of the existing products on the market.

We launched the Gates pedal strap in 2011 as an easy to adjust pedal strap made from durable materials and with extra thick webbing that helped our straps keep their shape. This project was especially exciting for us because we were able to make the straps by hand here in Milwaukee which was the first domestically produced product from Fyxation. Here it is 2019 and our Gates pedal straps are still one of our best selling products. We've sold 10's of thousands of these straps and our popular pedal strap kits are being ridden daily by thousands of riders around the globe. 

To celebrate our 10th year, we've added 9 new colors to the Gates pedal strap collection. These straps are proudly made right here in Milwaukee and while they're great for fixed gear riding and FGFS, they are also a great pedal for commuting and everyday riding. We hope you enjoy the new color options and stay tuned for other "X" product releases over the next year.

Thanks!

Fyxation Crew

The Contest:

When: February 1st - February 28th

The Details: Get out your camera and start taking some photos of your Sparta. Post the photos to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook... and use the hashtags #fyxation and #spartafork. There are no limits to how many photos you can post so get out there on your bike and tag away. The contest runs all of February so you have some time to get out there. Just make sure you use those hashtags and be creative.

Winners: At the end of the month we'll choose 3 winners from all the photos that have been tagged. Winners will be chosen by our crew here at Fyxation and we'll definitely take into account the photos that got the most love on social media. 

Prizes: 

1st Place - Blackburn Outpost Seat Pack ($120 Value)

2nd Place - 2 Blackburn Outpost Cargo Cages ($50 Value)

3rd Place - Black Outpost Carryall Bag ($35 Value)

The three winners will be contacted by us directly when the contest is over and we'll be posting the 3 winners across all our social media accounts so your bike can get some love.

Thanks for all the support and we can't wait to see your photos!

There has been a big shake up in the bike world of late in terms of bike trade shows and dealer events and CABDA has emerged as THE go to bike show for the bike industry. This was made possible by the recent demise of Interbike as it was announced that Interbike wouldn't be coming back to Reno in 2019. Interbike may make a comeback in the future but what that looks like remains to be seen. For now, the only options for dealers are events put on by the big brands like Trek and Specialized or distributor events like Frostbike hosted by QBP. Most of these are invite only though so CABDA is the only real option that's open for the entire industry and dealers and brands have embraced the small regional format.

We've been going to the CABDA expo in Chicago the last 4 years and it's a great way for us to meet the shops that sell our products, try to drum up new customers and to give us a chance to hang out with other companies in the bike industry.  2019 was the first year that CABDA was held outside of the Midwest and while heading to So Cal in January sounds like a no brainer, the industry was anxiously waiting to see if dealers and vendors alike would show up to this new event.

Well we're pleased to report that the show was a huge success. Even though the weather was rainy it was still great to get out to Del Mar to meet with new dealers and see old friends. CABDA West was a 2 day event that started on Wednesday and when the doors first opened, things were a bit slow. I think that was mostly due to the rain and California traffic, however, as the day went on the show got busier and busier.

Electric bikes were a huge focus of this show as they're one of the high growth areas right now in the bike world. The Southern California market is perfect for e-bikes as you have year round riding, hills where electric assist is a great help and where the market has high disposable income. Even though Fyxation doesn't make an e-bike, we have a blast riding them and think they are great for commuting and for getting more people on bikes. The e-bike market in Europe is huge and while the US market is growing rapidly, we think there's plenty of room for expansion.

The bike market in Southern California is very different than here in the Midwest so it was great to get out there and talk to dealers about what was working for them and to see trends that may eventually work their way over to our region. Some of our competitors on the single speed side, Pure Cycles, Aventon, Retrospec and Throne Cycles were at the show and were really promoting their other bikes and not necessarily their single speeds. Aventon is known for blowing up a market with bikes that are priced way below the competition and they were at the show introducing a $999 electric bike. Not sure if the industry saw that but they better watch out.

Anyway, we had a great time at CABDA West and we plan on coming back for more next year. CABDA in Chicago is about 3 weeks away and we're looking forward to heading down the road to show our latest and great and to meet with our customers and industry buddies. CABDA is a great bike show and their regional format is what I think the future of dealer focused bike shows will look. Jim and his team are ahead of the curve and in our opinion, have really nailed it. Keep it up and see you soon!

We love single speeds over here at Fyxation but there are certain times where having gears is a must and the Pixel 3 gives you those gears without sacrificing the clean fixed gear look we're known for. This bike is great for the city and beyond and is a great addition to the Fyxation bike family.

The Pixel 3 is in stock now in Matte Black and Matte Green in 4 sizes and retails for only $399. Head over to our website or your local Fyxation dealer to see these great bikes.

12/19/2018 - Fyxation Expands Carbon Adventure Fork Line-up with Two New Forks

Available For Immediate Release: Fyxation Bicycle Company announced today the release of two new Carbon fiber adventure forks to expand their growing Sparta carbon fork line-up. The two new forks, the Sparta FCR (Full Carbon Race) and Sparta QR (Quick Release) are available now at local stocking Fyxation dealers and at fyxation.com.

The Sparta carbon fiber adventure fork was first introduced in 2017 and was designed as an upgrade for Fyxation's 4130 chromoly Quiver Disc frame. The concept was simple, to create a versatile carbon fiber fork with mounts to allow riders to drop weight off their bikes while adding the versatility of fender and cargo mounts. Flat mount brake standard and a choice of 12 or 15mm thru axle are integral to the original Sparta fork.  While the Sparta was designed to improve performance of their own frames, the versatility of the fork made a compelling upgrade for many gravel and cyclocross frames. Fyxation added a 1 1/8" x 1 1/2" tapered Sparta in early 2018 to further expand the compatibility with other frames.

"We realized early on that the versatility of the Sparta would fill the needs of many riders, but the adoption across so many models has been exciting to see," said Nick Ginster, co-founder of Fyxation Bicycle Company. "The Sparta was exactly what people were looking for and allows many riders to upgrade their existing bike with a lightweight and versatile carbon fork with gear mounts, thru axle and flat mount brake standard. We have customers all around the world using Spartas on their Salsas, Surlys, Lynskeys, Konas... you name it. We continue to expand our list for the number of frames that are compatible with our Sparta fork and we're finding new ones every day."

The two new additions to the Sparta fork line-up opens up the Sparta to a much larger audience. First up, the Sparta QR takes the original 1 1/8" aluminum straight steerer carbon fiber Sparta fork and makes it compatible with 9mm QR hubs. This greatly expands the Sparta’s reach to a host of road, gravel and cross frames that use a QR front wheel/hub. The Sparta QR retails for $299.

The Sparta FCR is a full carbon version of the Sparta that weighs in at only 500g and comes packed with features. Fyxation updated the original Sparta design, and the Sparta FCR now features triple gear cage mounts for more bottle placement options and compatibility with the Salsa Anything Cage. They also added internal Dynamo routing to give clean wire routing when running a Dynamo Hub. The final upgrade on the Sparta FCR is their new thru axle design which features a removable lever on the axle that gives riders the ability to remove the lever for lower weight and a cleaner look, or keep it on for access to a 5mm hex wrench at the end of the lever. The Sparta FCR retails for $420.

Here's a quick image gallery of our new Sparta QR and Sparta FCR forks. Enjoy!

Black Friday week is back! This week we're offering huge savings on everything here at fyxation.com. Save 20% all week on our entire site by using coupon code BLACK19. We're also offering daily deals on some of our most popular parts, frames and bikes with savings up to 40% off. Below is a quick summary of the great daily deals we'll be running this week.  

Monday - Sunday: 20% off site wide using code BLACK19

Tuesday 11/26 Deal #1: 30% off our Sparta All Road fork

Wednesday 11/27 Deal #2: 40% off Pedals and Straps

Thursday/Friday 11/28 - 11/29 Deal #3: $100 off all Fyxation Bikes

Saturday/Sunday 11/30 - 12/1 Deal #4: 40% off Quiver X Pre-orders

*Please note that the 20% off coupon code will not work for the Daily Deal. 

Thanks!

We put together this quick video detailing the main differences between the Pixel and Eastside. While they are both singlespeed bikes that share the same geometry/sizing, there are quite a few differences between the two. Below are a few quick bullet points that explain the differences between these two bikes, but we suggest you watch the video to learn more.

• Frame Material - Hi-tensile Steel Pixel - 4130 chromoly Eastside
• Paint Scheme - 1 color matte paint Pixel - Vertical fade Eastside
• Parts Used - Great affordable parts Pixel - Session 700 tires Eastside
• Price - $359 Pixel - $479 Eastside

 Enjoy!

It's Riverwest 24 weekend and we're inviting you to come join Fyxation in the festivities. If you've never been a part of the Riverwest 24 you're missing out. Starting Friday Night, over 1000 teams and individuals race, ride and cruise around Riverwest for 24 hours celebrating this great community and all things bike.

To celebrate we have a ton of great things going on this weekend and you're invited. Starting today, we'll be running a sale in our shop on all bikes in stock (details below). We've also invited 4 local Riverwest breweries to our parking lot for our first pop up Beer Garden. Come join the Fyxation crew and these great local breweries to soak in all the fun that is the Riverwest 24. 

Bike Sale - Save 20% off all in stock Linus, Marin and Salsa Bikes. Also, get $50 in free accessories with the purchase of any Fyxation bike. Sale runs 7/26 - 7/31.

Beer Garden - Come join Fyxation and Lakefront Brewery, Gathering Place, Black Husky and Company Brewing Friday, July 27th from 6PM - 10PM and Saturday, July 28th from 2PM - 6PM for our first ever pop up beer garden in the Fyxation parking lot. Great local Riverwest beers will be on sale while supplies last.

Riverwest 24 Viewing Party - Our store is a great place to watch the Riverwest 24. Come join the Fyxation crew to watch this great community bike race. The race starts at 7PM Friday night and we'll be open until 11PM to watch the race and provide race support to riders in need.

Hope to see you all this weekend!

We are super excited to announce that the Fyxation Open continues it's expansion as we will be bringing our exciting fixed gear criterium to the great city of Denver on August 18th, 2018. This is the 5th year that we've been running the Fyxation Open and historically our event has been held here in the Midwest. With the addition of Denver on the 2018 Fyxation Open calendar, we will be bringing our exciting event out West in 2018 as an exhibition race and in 2019, Denver will be an official stop in the Fyxation Open Omnium.

We have partnered with the Velorama Festival to bring the Fyxation Open to Denver. The Velorama Festival combines music and cycling and is hosted in the heart of the RiNo District in Denver. The Velorama Festival is hosted in conjunction with the Colorado Classic which is a 4 stage professional road race throughout Colorado. Our event will be held on August 18th, which is the 3rd day of the Colorado Classic. The day starts off with the Pro Men's field doing 2 criterium laps on the downtown crit course and as they head out for a grueling 100+ mile stage race, the Fyxation Open will immediately take the stage. There will be a 30 minute women's race followed by a 30 minute men's race. After our exciting fixed gear races are done, the Women's Pro riders will head out on a similar route to the Pro Men and both Pro Men and Women's races will finish at the same location in downtown Denver.

In addition to bike racing, the Velorama Festival is a music festival and immediately after the bike races finish, fans will be treated to a great line up of music acts and additional events. We are very excited to be a part of this great event and we can't wait to bring the Fyxation Open to a new market. Registration information will be posted soon at https://www.veloramafestival.com/

The Fyxation Open Omnium fixed gear criterium is back for it's 5th installment. It's hard to believe that the race turns 5 this year and based on the pre-registration numbers we're seeing, the 5th installment will be the biggest yet. This year we have 4 exciting races and over $5000 of cash, primes and podium prizes available with equal payouts for the men's and women's fields.

Every year we make a few little tweaks to the series and this year is no different. The Fyxation Open Omnium will be held in Milwaukee and Chicago this summer with 4 exciting races with a dedicated men's and women's field. This year we've added a third venue in Milwaukee with the exciting Shorewood Classic now part of the Fyxation Open Omnium. Racing will be held June 28-30th in Milwaukee and the series finale will be held on July 29th in Chicago. 

Registration is now open for all 4 races in the series. We're busy getting ready for an exciting series and we hope to see you out at the races.

We recently had the opportunity to work with 2 great brands that needed custom bikes and because it's summer and we're slammed, this blog post will be a quick recap for each custom build.

Goose Island Next Coast Custom

We've had the privilege of working with Goose Island Brewery on a number of custom bikes and annually we deliver custom Goose Island bikes for their employees 1 year anniversary at the company. We were recently contacted by the crew at Goose Island to develop a custom bike for their soon to be released Next Coast IPA and after working with their design team we came up with this amazing custom Next Coast Bike. This was a smaller production run of bikes but they were looking for something truly custom so we worked with a local painter and went all out with this amazing single speed bike. Below are a few pictures to get an idea of how things turned out. Thirsty?

Nike Custom Bikes: Ekin

Next up is this amazing custom bike that we designed for the crew over at Nike. Yeah that's right, Nike! We were contacted by a group within Nike that goes by the name Ekin (Nike spelled backwards). These guys are based in Chicago and they a sort of grass roots team at Nike that does events and goes around and gives away free gear to help promote the brand. Their jobs sound pretty sweet and they needed some equally cool custom bikes that incorporated Ekin branding into the bike but they also need something with gears to haul tons of shoes.

For this project we used our stock matte black Pixel and designed some great custom graphics. This is a more affordable option for companies and has a much quicker lead time because we can quickly design and print the decals in house and apply them to a stock bike. To add gears to our single speed Pixel we used our proprietary Six Fyx Shifting System that lets you turn any 120mm spaced track bike into a six speed commuter. We have to say, we're pretty pumped how these bikes turned. We even worked with our friends over at Bern and made some custom helmets for their group as well. Enjoy the gallery below and make sure to check out www.fyxationcustoms.com to see more of our custom bikes or to request a quote.

Built around our 4130 chromoly frame and fork, the Eastside Fade Series blends an amazing custom bike quality paint scheme with Fyxation parts to create what we think is the ultimate single speed/fixed gear. The Eastside Fade is available in 5 stunning colors and 5 sizes and has a retail price of only $449.

Due to rider feedback we brought back the 46cm Eastside for this year and we've expanded this offering to come in 4 models. The 46cm Eastside uses a smaller 650c wheel so the bike fits a smaller rider, but maintains the classic track styling of the Eastside.

Named after the paint scheme we chose for the 2018 Eastside, the Fade Series seamlessly blends 2 paint colors in a half tone fade that looks great here on our site but trust me, looks better in person. We've been working on getting this paint scheme right for quite some time and even though we had to invest quite a bit to pull this off, we've kept the price of the 2018 the same as last year and this amazing bike can be yours for only $449.

In addition to our Eastside frame and fork, the Fade bikes ship with our go anywhere Session 700 tires, sealed bearing hub and bottom bracket and new for 2018, 31.8 rise bars/stem. We're a bit biased but we think these bikes are a work of art and have the feeling this first production run won't last long.

Enjoy the image gallery below and click here to check out the complete collection.

Well for 2018 we're bringing the The Pixel back and it's better than ever. When we say its fun, fast and affordable, we mean it. The Pixel is a steel single speed bike that ships with a flip flop hub so it can be ridden as single speed or fixed gear as well. The Pixel is available in 5 colors and has a retail price of only $329! The Pixel is designed here in Milwaukee and has the same geometry as the Eastside but is made with a slightly more affordable material and parts. This lets us bring you a great bike that is not only affordable, but looks great and is a blast to ride.

The Pixel comes packed with great features like our sealed bearing hubs, sealed bearing bottom bracket, 31.8mm rise bar and stem and front and rear brakes. The tried and true geometry that the Pixel and Eastside share make this bike super responsive in traffic and whether you're cruising into town for a quick ride, or you're considering racing a fixed gear crit, this frame design will meet your demands. 

The Pixel features very subtle branding and comes in 5 amazing matte color combinations with a color to suit every rider. From the stealth matte black to the stunning matte green with brown parts, there's a pixel for everyone. Frame sizes range from 49cm - 58cm. The Pixel is in stock now and at your local Fyxation dealer. Click here to learn more and get the full tech specs, size chart and to learn more.

The market for platform pedals has really taken off since we first introduced the Mesa MP and with the introduction of the popular Race Face Chester pedals and most recently, the Kona Wah Wah, the market continues to expand. We welcome the new entrants to the market as they've done a great job of increasing awareness of the benefits of riding nylon pedals on any terrain and they've brought a ton of exposure to the category, especially from mountain bikers.

The Mesa MP (MP stands for Metal Pin) is currently available in black, blue, red, green, orange and purple. The new Desert Series, which also retails for $59.95, adds 3 new great color options to the Mesa MP family and are designed for the rider looking for a little more subtle color options for their ride. Inspired by the desert Southwest and the cycling meccas of Moab, UT, Fruita, CO and Sedona, AZ, the Desert Series pedals feature the same subtle earth tones that you'll find in these amazing riding destinations. 

We just got in our first production run of the new Desert Series Mesa MP pedals and we hit the road to the Colorado Plateau and visited Moab and Fruita to give these pedals a proper launch, get the great photos you see here and of course - to ride some bikes.  If you've never been mountain biking in the desert, we suggest you schedule your first trip now. 

In addition to the amazing scenery and chill towns, the variety of trails are unbelievable. Everything from super grippy slick rock to fast and flowy river bottoms can be found in the desert and every trail seems to have it's own personality. As you can see from the pictures in Moab, you have mountain ranges like the La Sals just outside of town that pop up out of nowhere and you have the ability to ride from snowline to the shores of the Colorado River and everywhere in between.

While in Moab we hit up every shop in town to introduce our new pedals and to get some tips on local trails. There's something for everyone in Moab and we did our fair share of riding but of course we had to make a trip to the famous Slickrock Trail. I always ride Slickrock Trail when I'm down in Moab because it is an experience like no other. Even though it's crowded and you have to dodge motorcycles and drunk Jeepers, the trail is worth it. Just a quick ride up the road from downtown Moab, Slickrock Trail meanders through for about 12 miles through an unbelievable rocky desert landscape and other than a few sandy washes, the entire trail consists of following dotted lines through the rocky trail. The traction you get on the rock is unbelievable and if you have the right skills on a bike, you can pedal up or down things you'd never attempt on any other surface.

After Moab we headed up to Fruita, CO which isn't as well known as Moab but features equally amazing desert trails. We stopped in at Over The Edge Sports for a quick shop visit and headed out for one more ride before heading back home.  Enjoy the gallery below and make sure to visit these great mountain biking destinations at some point in your life.

Show Recap

There are a lot of interesting things happening in our industry right now and we won't dive into all of them here in this blog. One thing we will comment on though is the state of bike industry dealer shows. Interbike in Las Vegas used to be the grand daddy of them all and everyone in the industry would flock to Las Vegas annually to see the latest from established brands and to see what was on the horizon. Over the years however, larger brands like Trek, Specialized and even large bicycle distributor QBP started to host their own dealer events and decided not to attend or to scale back their presence at Interbike.  Intebike moved to Mandalay Bay and over time, we could see the number of attendees and exhibitors start to shrink. We think there are a number of reasons for the drop in attendance/exhibitors and it's probably better shared over a beer than here on our blog, but 2017 was the first year since we launched Fyxation in 2009 that we didn't exhibit at Interbike.  

CABDA on the other hand has been steadily expanding year after year and has become an important show for us and for other exhibitors we spoke with at the show. It is a small regional show that is intimate, hosted by bicycle dealers and the show caters as much to the attendees as it does the exhibitors. What originally started at a small venue west of Chicago, has become a large bicycle industry trade show that this year had over 200 brands exhibiting and over 2500 attendees pre-registered for the show. This year CABDA was held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, which offered more than 100,000 feet of expo space and was a great venue for a bike trade show.

Being an exhibitor at a trade show is a lot of work and you really want to feel like your efforts paid off when it's all said and done. Because there are few really large players in the bike industry, booth set up and tear down is often done by company founders and higher ups and this year's CABDA show was no different. We like building our own booths and while they're a pain to set up, the end result is always great and our two co-founders rocked out the booth in a couple of hours. During setup this year, show director, Jim Kersten, walked around the floor with a megaphone to inform everyone that the outside doors were closing and that there was beer at the back of the hall. We never pass up a free beer so we went to check it out and it turned out that free beer was an understatement. Jim had a full a bar with cocktails, wine and beer and some fancy appetizers that included salmon, steak and some other goodies. This is something we NEVER thought we'd see at a bike show and we were floored by the gesture. It's little things like that and the industry breakfasts that were held each day, that keep us coming back to CABDA year after year.

The show started on Wednesday and we were busy from the moment the door opened until it closed on Thursday. We saw a ton of familiar faces and we met a lot of great new potential dealers and we got to connect with old and new faces from the bike industry. We got to show off some great new gear, introduce people to the great events we host, the Fyxation Open fixed gear street criterium and The Tour de Chequamegon bikepacking trip, and we left the show charged up for the warm days that we know are right around the corner.

We think that CABDA has been such a success for us and has grown so much over the years because it is a small regional show that is easy for dealers to attend and is scheduled at the right time of the year. It's not hard for shop owners and staff to head off to the show during the winter and they all know that warm weather is right around the corner. It is also held in a more intimate setting than a larger venue so you feel like you can really have meaningful conversations with customers and other exhibitors. Bicycle Retailer just posted an article online that CABDA plans to expand the show into other regions of the country and we think it's a great idea. By focusing on making the show great for the dealer and the exhibitor, we think their regional model will work in other regions and we plan to be there when it does.

We're going to wrap up our post here with a link to our photo gallery so you can see some of the cool things we saw at the show. There was very little bike media at CABDA this year due to scheduling conflicts with Frostbike and NAHBS and we figured there wouldn't be a lot of pictures online from the 2018 CABDA Expo so we sent our photographer down to the show to document what we saw. Hope you enjoy!

The Mesa MP Subzero builds off of our popular Mesa MP pedal platform that was originally launched in 2011. The Mesa MP uses a durable nylon body and replaceable steel pins that are designed to handle the toughest riding conditions and over the years these pedals have been embraced as much by the dirt/downhill and fat bike rider as it has our core urban customer. For the new Mesa MP Subzero, we've taken all the great features that riders love about the Mesa MP and winterized them for the year round cyclist.

Whether you're fat biking in the winter or are a year round commuter, riding through the elements during the winter throws a lot at you and your gear. Even with religious cleaning and washing of your bike, winter riding tends to take a toll on metal parts and rust is almost a foregone conclusion of riding in the winter. Here in the Midwest and most of the country with snow/ice, salt is used to clear the roads but it wreaks havoc on your bike.

The Mesa MP Subzero was designed with that in mind. Each pedal includes 16 stainless steel replaceable pins that are designed to prevent rust while providing tons of grip to your winter riding shoes or boots. In addition, we've electro-plated the sealed bearing cromoly spindle on the Subzero pedals, further rust-proofing the pedals. Finally, by sticking with the impact grade nylon body over alloy, these pedals do a better job at keeping your feet warm than a metal bodied pedal on cold winter rides.

The Mesa MP Subzero is $69.95 and is available in 4 great color options: Black body with black, blue or orange anodized pins and a grey body with black anodized pins. These pedals look great on any ride and are designed to stand up to the elements. Finally there's a pedal as tough as you. Don't put your bike away for the winter. Ride it!

Specs:

• High impact nylon body built to take abuse
• Smooth running sealed bearing and DU bushing
• Electroplated cro-moly spindle
• Electroplated stainless steel replaceable pins for added grip with shoes or boots
• Nylon body doesn't suck heat out of your feet like alloy pedals do
• Installs with 15mm open end wrench or 8mm hex wrench
• Pin Spec - M3x0.5 x 7.5mm
• Spindle Thread: 9/16
• Height: 14mm
• Width: 105mm
• Weight: 351g/pair
• Color: Black/Black, Gray/Black, Black/Blue, Black/Orange
• Pin Kits: Stainless steel pin kits available soon for use with existing Mesa MP pedals or other replaceable pin pedals on the market

We recently had the opportunity to be a part of an amazing effort from Wish List MKE to fill empty storefronts here in Milwaukee during the holidays with carefully designed window displays from five local businesses. Retailers have been closing at a record pace the last few years and Milwaukee, like many other cities, has a number of vacant buildings in what used to be highly desirable retail locations. Wish List MKE set out to change that, even if only for a short time during the holiday season.

Wish List MKE is a collaborative effort between local design firm Retailworks and the Milwaukee Downtown Imporvement District, the goal of which was to fill empty storefronts with beautifully crafted window displays and to draw attention to potential tenants of these vacant locations. We were honored to be selected as one of the five local businesses to get a window display and we made the most of the effort by helping Retailworks design a great window.

Featuring two of our custom Milwaukee Flag bikes pulling Santa's sleigh, the window was filled with crank/pedal snowflakes and a great mock-up of a city street. Our gear and our brand was on display for all to see and we truly appreciated the ability to be involved in such a great project.

For full details and some more great pictures, head over to https://www.mainstreet.org/blogs/national-main-street-center/2017/12/19/city-sidewalks-dressed-in-holiday-style

The snow is flying and Cake Eater's are now in stock!

The Cake Eater is available in 26x4.0", 26x4.6", 27.5x2.8" and  27.5x4.0" widths to fit most modern frames including the emerging 27.5 plus and fat categories. Each model is available in their standard or light versions. The standard version runs a 33TPI casing while the light version uses an ultralight 120TPI casing to shed grams and increase performance. The 33TPI version of the Cake Eater has the lowest studded fat bike tire price on the market at just $150, while the lighter 120TPI comes in at $200/tire.

The Cake Eater's weigh in at 1345g and 1529g for the 4.0" and 4.6" version. This compares very closely to the Dillinger studded tires from 45NRTH. To measure the width of the tires we used Sun-Ringle Mulefut 80SL rims, the same rims we used in our Dillnger Tire review.

Terrene Cake Eater vs 45NRTH Dillinger Studded Tires

The Cake Eater is designed to be a fast rolling tire with low profile center treads and chunkier side tread. This should offer quick performance and some bite when the snow gets deeper. These tires are available in studded or stud-less versions. Stud kits and installation tool are available as well, so you can tune your tires or go fully studded at will. Studs fit into a pre-formed stud pocket using the tool from Terrene. Installation is similar to the process used to stud 45NRTH Dillinger tires. You can check out our video tutorial to see the process.

Written By: Dave Schlabowske - Wisconsin Bike Fed Deputy Director

It is hard for me to stop thinking about this year’s Tour de Chequamegon, the 112 mile bikepacking weekend we just put on with Fyxation. On at least three occasions since we got back, I have cracked a beer and relived it looking through all 200 plus photos at the 2017 Gallery page. You can also download the photos and even order prints from the Bike Fed’s Photoshelter Gallery of the same images.

Below are major reasons why I keep going back to it.

First, I finally saw the Clam Lake Elk! I’ve ridden up in the area dozens of times and hunted near the smaller Butternut herd, but I’ve never seen the elk. I always slow when I come to those elk crossing signs, hoping the beacons will flash, but they never have. Then I got up early Sunday morning to pay the camping fee for the night before (I forgot, oops), five elk were munching along the road just outside our campsite at Day Lake. They were completely unafraid of me, and I was able to take a bunch of photos (always carry your camera). It was still pretty dark, but I managed to make a handful of nice images before the sauntered off. I was so stoked!

Second, the initial weather reports were for three days of rain, but instead it only rained Saturday night after everyone had dinner. The fire was raging with a hot bed of coals and we had four 10×10 tents set up around it, so we kept the party going until 9:30 or so. By the time we woke up, the rain had stopped and we eventually got sunshine. In fact, we had sunshine every day and no precipitation while riding.

Because we managed to get all 20 guinea pigs back safely on our maiden trip last year, we decided to open the ride up to 40 people this year. By the time we added staff and medical support, we had 48 people on our trip! Aside from one minor misdirection, this year we managed to get all of them back happy and safe again! That was in part due to the great guides from Fyxation, and also thanks to the radios we brought with us this year. We were told by Air Communications that they might not work on all of our route, because “you guys are going to the middle of nowhere,” which is the whole point of this trip! Thankfully they did work for the entire route, even if communications were a bit staticky in the far southeast part of the route.

Third, even with 48 people we had a really great group of riders with us. Nobody complained, everyone was in good spirits, up for a challenge, and a pleasure to guide through the Wisconsin Northwoods.  I also really enjoyed introducing so many people who had not bikepacked or ridden gravel before, to an activity I love in an area of Wisconsin I can’t get enough of. It was wonderful to see so many of them share my enthusiasm for the Northwoods.

So a sincere thank you to all the riders for joining our second Tour de Chequamegon, and for supporting the Bike Fed at the same time.

Of course the trip would not have been possible without all the help from the stalwart crew from Fyxation and my Bike Fed coworker Tony Giron. I received plenty of complements from the riders about your professionalism, hard work and helpfulness. You guys all rocked, and I hope you enjoyed yourself a bit too.

It goes without saying, but the food from Chef Heather at the Brick House Cafewas delicious again. And thanks for flexing with us a bit and sticking around a little longer than planned Friday night Heather!

New this year we bought our beer from the Whistle Punk Craft Beer and Cafe in Stone Lake. Ian Finch, a Certified Cicerone®, CAMBA board member, and genuinely nice guy, not only picked a perfect mix of beer, but he gave us a really great deal on it. They always have some really interesting stuff on tap in Stone Lake, so it is worth stopping in when you are up in the area, even if it is an extra trip.

For the gluten free folks on our ride, and anyone who loves a good cocktail, we were extremely excited to have Soulboxer  as a sponsor! It doesn’t get more Wisconsin than a brandy Old Fashioned in the Northwoods. These Old Fashioned cocktails are the real deal too, made with California brandy (or Kentucky bourbon), Angostora bitters, and real Door County cherries and oranges. Not only that, but I learned Doug from Soulboxer is a former track racer who spent time at the Brown Deer Velodrome!

Also new this year we had medical support along. I have no idea why I didn’t think of it last year, but thank goodness we didn’t need it. Turns out we didn’t need it this year either, but what a relief to know Hans Erdman from the National Mountain Bike Patrol and Backcountry Trail Patrol was with us the entire trip. While we didn’t test his extensive medical emergency expertise, his local knowledge from supporting so many other area events was invaluable. Thanks Hans!

Since this trip seems to be such a big hit, we have decided to bring it back again next year for the weekend of October 5th, 6th and 7th, with the optional Thursday night pre-ride gathering at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley. We have registration is open here if you are a super early planner. We did increase the fee from $200 to $300 because we incurred some additional expenses this year, but that price should stay fixed in future years. I think after two runs, we have our budget pretty dialed in.

We did reduce the number of spots to 30. While we didn’t have any major growing pains going from 20 to 40 people, we feel like 30 might be a sweet spot. If it sells out quickly, we might add 10 more spots, or we might just add a second ride instead.

Even if you weren’t lucky enough to join us this year, can also order our sweet Tour de Chequamegon gear from Fyxation. The logo Fyxation’s talented designer Tim Reddington created was inspired by this video of two elk fighting on County Road M, just outside Cable where our ride starts and finishes.

And last, for the adventurous crowd, I have connected the TdC route with few of my other Northwoods routes via some gravel roads I have not ridden to create a longer five-day loop that includes a bunch of nearby waterfalls. I don’t have this one on the calendar yet, but I’m thinking of sometime early next spring. Stay tuned bikepackers…

We've had the honor of working closely with Lakefront Brewery here in Milwaukee over the years on many custom bike projects. Lakefront Brewery is a local institution and they've been brewing great craft beer in Milwaukee for 30 years, long before the micro/craft beer craze took hold.

Lakefront recently reached out to us to help them come up with a unique custom bike to help them celebrate their 30th anniversary. Over the years we've designed a number of great bikes for Lakefront and they've all been built around our Eastside single speed. For this project, however, the team at Lakefront was looking to make a real statement and opted to have us design them a truly unique custom Lakefront Brewery fat bike.

They wanted a bike that really stood out from the crowd and that not only reflected their brand, but their home town of Milwaukee. Now for those of you not from the Midwest, fat bikes are sort of a big deal around here. Their wide tires let you roll over any surface and they are great for riding in the winter, which like it or not, is a good portion of the year here in the north. Fat bikes are more than just a niche here in Wisconsin and there are thousands of local riders that embrace these bikes and ride them only in the winter but all year long.

We could go on and on about this custom bike but we'll let the photo gallery below do the talking for us. If you'd like to see this bike in person, head on over to Lakefront Brewery at 1872 N Commerce St here in Milwaukee. The bike will be on display in the Lakefront tasting room and dining hall and from what we understand, the bike will be raffled off as a prize.

And if you're interested in seeing more of our custom corporate bikes, head on over to http://www.fyxationcustoms.com.

Special thanks to Ryan Day from the Hayes Bicycle Group for coming by the shop and giving us all the tech specs and insider knowledge about both the Manitou Mastodon Comp and Mastodon Pro fat bike forks.  We have both the Pro and Comp versions in stock here at our shop in Milwaukee and online by following the above links.

Currently my gear list includes the following which has been broken down by purpose:

Shelter:

• Eureka Spitfire 1 person tent
• Tent footprint (2 dollar space blanket available at most outdoor stores, I use this because it’s cheaper, lighter, and just as sturdy as an ultralight tent footprint)
• Thermarest prolite sleeping pad (utilizes memory foam so you don’t have to blow it all the way up and is a bit warmer)
• Mountain hardwear lamina z spark sleeping bag (synthetic fill which will keep you warmer when wet, rated to 34F)

Sleeping Clothes:

• Craft Baselayer tights designed for winter sports (lightweight, packable, and toasty warm)
• Smartwool wool socks (keep your tootsies warm at night)
• Smartwool mid layer sweater

Camp Kitchen:

• Dangly mug (Because how else would anyone know you’re #bikepacking right?)
• Jetboil zip with french press attachment
• Dehydrated meal(s) for dinner(s)
• Instant oatmeal with dehydrated peanut butter and blueberries for breakfast
• A plastic spoon I got from a fast food restaurant
• And coffee duh

Extras and Essentials:

• Lighter or waterproof matches or both for extra safety
• Fire starters if you’re in an area that allows campfires
• Knife
• Headlamp
• Bike lights
• Knee warmers/leg warmers and arm warmers
• Bibs and jersey
• Sunglasses for looking cool and keeping your retinas from being incinerated
• Socks
• Rain jacket
• Ride snacks
• Phone charger
• Wallet
• Phone
• Flat kit
• Book
• Water (currently using a 3 liter reservoir in my frame bag and 2 liters in my backpack this varies depending on conditions and resupply points)
• Toiletries
• Napkins (for pooping and cleaning up)
• Bug dope
• Sunscreen
• Dangly cycling brand trucker hat for extra #bikepacking irony points

*To be extra safe in bear country; if your campsite does not have a bear box bring some rope and a carabiner to hang a bear bag. Check with your destination on how to store your food.

How to get all this stuff on your bike

This varies on what you want accessible, how you prefer your weight distribution, and just where things fit the best. The way I do things is in no way the only way. Do some testing. Ride your bike to work with all the goodies on it. Fill your bike up with groceries. Do your long weekend ride loaded. All this will give you an idea of what works best for you but for now here’s how I do it.

I like to keep the weight low and centered. This tends to keep the bike handling the same as if it were unloaded. I’ll work my way from the front of the bike to the back.

On the fork:

On either side of my Fyxation Sparta fork I have two Salsa Anything Cages (not a recommended set up as I am only using 2 of the 3 required bolts but I like to live dangerously) a Blackburn Outpost Cargo Cage would be more appropriate. To those, I lash my sleeping mat and sleeping bag (these are lightweight and do not affect the handling of the bike). They are housed in water resistant stuff sacks to keep ‘em dry.

In the frame from the top down:

On the top tube I have a Revelate Gas Tank which carries all my ride snacks and sunscreen and whatever else I can jam in there. Sometimes I add my lighter so that I know where it is and that it will stay dry if the wet stuff decides to start falling from the sky. In the top of my Revelate Full Frame Bag I have my stove shoved all the way forward to stay out of the track of my knees, book, headlamp, dinner, and flat kit; on the left side I have a small slim pouch that I put my napkins in in case of a nature break. In the lower compartment I have 3 liters of water and the coffee and french press attachment (which I double bag because it’s extra smelly).

Seatpost:

In the seatpost bag I stuff my tent, sleeping clothes, and camp shoes in (pro tip put the poles on the bottom to help add support then the rain fly then the tent then the tent footprint, this way when you unpack them, they will be in the correct assembly order.)

Backpack:

Sometimes when I run out of room or need more water I bring a hydration pack. In there I usually put things I will need for riding such as knee warmers, arm warmers, rain jacket, and extra snacks. It is also a convenient place for my glasses tooth brush and contact solution/case.

I hope this has helped you break down what you need and how to fit it onto your bike. This is just a guide; remember to try out your set-up and change things as needed. Weather really is the determining factor for what type of clothes and gear to bring. The way I pack things changes constantly so don’t get too stuck on trying to replicate what I or anyone else has told you, do what works best for you.

The one thing that you should keep in mind when choosing gear is to look for gear or clothing that serves multiple purposes, try not to fill your packs with single purpose items. Feel free to leave your essential gear in the comments and let us know what you think. Hopefully we’ll see your smiling faces on October 13th!