After each dialogue, I got into the habit of asking the interviewee who they thought I should track down and feature on my blog. One name consistently came up always with the utmost respect but also tinge of caution a bit like how I imagine a voodoo witch doctors name to be uttered in Haiti; Dave Perry. I was told the author of Bike Cult: the ultimate guide on human powered vehicles, could be a bit particular and eccentric but all the same was the foremost authority  on anything and everything cycling. I walked up to Bike Works on 106 Ridge Street, and it appeared like any regular neighborhood bike shop but upon entering you realize you’ve crossed the threshold to a bike sanctuary. It’s like a the laboratory of a mad scientist that deals with all things bicycle, there are bike, parts and cycling paraphernalia covering every square inch of the floor, walls, and ceiling. I found Dave behind the counter deeply absorbed in daily happenings of Bike Works. My first impression of him, wasn’t to dissimilar to what I imagine meeting Dr. Emmet “Doc” Brown for the first time would be like. He clearly worked to his own internal tempo and when it came to bikes that tempo was faster and sharper than anyone I’ve ever met. When asked whether I could interview him he agreed, and kept right on his manic pace.

What’s your name?

Dave Perry

How long have you been open?

How long have you been open?

I recently moved out of my previous office (my living room) and into open plan studio in the center of the city. A friend of mine linked me to the City Studios website when he came across it through twitter, isn’t technology grand?. The greatest appeal of working here would have to be interacting with other creatives because as anyone whose ever worked from home can testify to; working home alone is not good for interactions skills especially when you start giving inanimate objects personalities (the power socket at home is a rude ass). Also, having a start time and end time to work really makes for higher productivity as well as a more structured day. Lastly, I get to bike in and out of the city which is a perfect start and end to day.

The studio is located up three flights of outdoor metal stairs off Burnett lane way in the center of the city. The whole studio is a bit rustic and unrefined but to be honest I think an overly polished environment can have a tendency to stifle creativity a bit. It’s been about a month since I moved in that time I’ve had a noticeable increase in drive, ambition and creativity just goes to show the importance of surroundings. The space used to be a gentlemans club hence my four muses looking over my shoulder, apparently the whole place used to be decked out in this undeniably classy wallpaper; oh the tasteless elegance of the 70’s.

UP THERE from The Ritual Project on Vimeo.

By the time I made it over to Affinity Cycles in Brooklyn to buy my much anticipated Lo Pro frame, I had built it up in my head so much I was convinced that I would be disappointed. I thought for sure, I would walk in to the store to be confronted by a group of unapproachable fixie/cycling hipsters, but my prefabricated opinions couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I strolled in about 10 minutes after opening, my Gimme Coffee mocha keeping my hands warmed on the drizzling New York winter morning, the store was in an orderly and unpretentious disarray. At the counter I was greeted by Jason Gallagher while directly behind him Miguel Fernandez worked methodically on that mornings project. I could tell immediately by his work ethic and focus, that once he had serviced your bike, you could rest assured in the mechanical sanctity of your ride. He didn’t say much, preferring to nod occasionally when he agreed with Jason or chime in to explain the convoluted  technicalities of NYC bike laws.

A few days later I returned to interview the guys; with Jason stepping out to a meeting and my girlfriend busy at her work experience, it just so happened I got to spend the better part of my day in store hanging out with Miguel.  Who, let it be known, is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to nearly every aspect of bikes whether it be riding, history or mechanics. We talked about the peril of riding in the 5 boroughs, his use of electrical tape as theft deterrent when the gold Chris King headset had just come out and (most interestingly) his plans to get into automotive fabrication so as to not burn himself out with his true passion, bikes. So when I saw on John Prolly’s site that Affinity was looking for a new mechanic I can honestly say that I wasn’t surprised. As he packed and installed my Sugino 75 BB into my newly purchased pursuit frame I asked him if I could fire off some interview questions at him, he kindly obliged all the while never taking his eyes of the cone and cup he was greasing up.

What’s your name and where are you from?

Miguel Fernandez from New York City

How long have you been into bikes?

Since I was 5 that’s a long time.

What was your bigest influence in making bikes your life?

Probably BMX BMXing pretty much got me in.

Why do you think fixed gear scene/style has exploded lately?

Why do I think?, that’s a tough one. Um… I dunno, It started more as trend, I think a lot of people got into it I don;t know exactly where it came from.

Do you think and one person or crew specifically is influencing the whole fixed gear scene?

I think it started  with messengers I think the messengers really made it blow up. A lot of people got into it because of the messengers.

What are your thoughts on belt drives?

I haven’t worked on a bicycles with belt drives. But I’m not a fan of belt driven motorcycles, but they seem to work on motorcycles and also cars have belt drives so if it works on that, I guess it’ll work on a bicycle and it’ll be quiet.

And less maintenance…

It’ll just be like getting a timing belt done, it might be simple going to an autozone and pick up a belt for your bicycle.

What do you think the future holds for the fixed gear scene?

I dunno, i think a lot of the guys that are into fixed gears might switch over into something else. I think because of the fixed gears it got a lot of people into biking and because of that they’re more interested in riding more. I think it may lead into riders; fixie riders, track riders getting into road bikes. And you know maybe touring just bikes that’ll be better for longer distance riding.

What do you love about the fixed gear riding scene?

About fixed gears?  Um… the simplicity, and for the city I guess it would make sense, although I’m more of a fan of the single speed, the freewheel.

What do you hate about it?

That would be a long  long list, I think you’d run out of time. A lot of them are the same they become boring after a while. They’re too simple, too simple.[Jason: Yeah you are much more of a technical person] Yeah  I’m more into more techie road bikes/mountain bikes aspect for cycling they’re just too simple you really can’t make a bike..uh… show who you are. Yeah they’re just too easy to work on.

Helmet or No Helmet: Helmet

Brake or No Brake: Brake

Fixed or Single Speed: Single Speed

Thank you.

The new year has brought with it professional redirection, a handful of resolutions, and what at the time seemed like an insurmountable amount of work piled up on my desk causing a regretful hiatus. Having dug myself out, I now have the opportunity to present a little prize I’ve been sitting on since New York. As we all know I capitalised on my trip to New York by sourcing the parts for my dream build but what you may not be aware of was that I took advantage of the situation to interview my favourite NYC bike shops. Over the next 4 weeks, I’ll be posting a series of interviews focusing on past, present and future of the fixed gear sub culture and those responsible for putting some of the nicest rides on New York streets and possible the world. A big thanks to Jason & Miguel at Affinity, Dave Perry at Bike Works, Joe & Ken at Brooklyn Machine Works, the boys at Grove St. Cycles, Jahoon at Chari & Co and last but certainly not least Fritz at Continuum for their patience and accommodating me and my questions.

Wytze’s graduation project for Cannondale from Eelke D. on Vimeo.

I’ve greedily kept this completed gem to myself while uttering “mY PreCioUs” under my breathe. But seeing as I’m feeling rich with christmas spirit I thought I would share. I put it together the day we landed from our 32 hour flight. It’s everything I had hoped for; the true stand out in my regard is the Sugino 75 BB and Crankset combo. Its like pedalling in…um..butter, well you get what I mean. Seriously though it has nothing to do with the standard drive train on my ‘09 Fuj Track. You can feel the responsiveness and BB and the crank set working in unison coupled with the stiff straight fork and the Phil Wood hubs the bike rides better than I could have hoped for. So without further ado I present to you my ride.

I literally dreamed this bike into reality, I had my heart set on building one way and I refused to be swayed any other way. Every part was sourced for specific reason and I owe a big thanks to NJS Exports, Track Super Market, Green St Cycles, Chari and Co., Affinity, and Gear for making it seem so easy.

Part List
Frame: Affinity Lo Pro
BB/Crank Set: Sugino 75/ Blue Sugino 75 49T
Front: Phil Wood Hub / H Plus Son / Blue Rubino Pro
Rear: Phil Wood Hub / Velocity B43 / Blue Rubino Pro
Handlebars: Nitto x Tee19 / Black Nitto RB021
Stem: Thomson
Head Set: FSA
Seat Post: Nitto x Tee19
Saddle: Kashimax Black Ostrich Aero
Cages: BO Gear FRS Straps
Cog: Phil Wood 16T