I think there are so many different ways to enjoy a fixed gear bike. You can hang out and chat with friends, blaze through that city at high speed, or practice tricks like a BMX or skateboard. One of the fun of fixed gear bikes is that the way you ride them doesn't have to be defined by just one style. Of course, it would be great if we could own a different bike for each purpose, but that kind of luxury isn't always realistic.
Still, with the right custom setup, you can build a bike that adapts to all these different uses. It's not just about building a bike strong. If it gets too heavy, riding becomes uncomfortable. If you only focus on making it light, you start worrying about it breaking. That's why the keyword for today's build is "Toughness." I wanted to create a custom bike that you can ride hard in any situation.
Acceleration performance depends on stiffness. We often here about stiff aluminum frames or high-tension wheels being "stiff." Stiffness means transmitting power without loss, and it can sometimes translate into durability as well.
Just because something is heavy doesn’t mean it’s durable—it might even break easily. For this build, I focused on specs that can hold up even when you’re pushing the bike through tricks.
Some people might wonder, “But what about doing tricks on a pursuit frame like the CURE?” In fact, most CURE builds lean toward a speed-focused setup with bullhorns, so a custom like this is pretty rare.
One of my favorite riders, Matt Reyes, rides a pursuit frame and absolutely kills it, whether it’s heavy tricking or stylish city riding. There are lots of ways to define a cool rider, but to me, it all comes down to being both skilled and fast.
That’s the balance I tried to achieve with this custom build. Let me walk you through it piece by piece.
I like the long riser bars that have been trending for a while now, but I still prefer the old-school setup to consist of a shorter riser paired with a block stem. It's the combination I first saw in Keo Curry from Macaframa, the one that got me into tricks in the first place. I imagine that the short stem and short handlebar were originally designed to make barspins easier even on track frames. Even if you don’t do barspins, shorter handlebars are perfect for weaving through crowded city traffic.
WTB silverado race saddle BL special
To match the stem, I also went with a THOMSON seatpost, paired with a WTB saddle that gives great control through the hips. When you’re doing wheelies, you don’t just control the bike with your arms, you guide it with your hips. That’s how you can pull off no-hander wheelies or even throw barspins mid-wheelie, and it really takes the quality of your wheelies to the next level. That’s why saddle control, something most people probably never even think about, turns out to be surprisingly important.
H PLUS SON SL-42 x PHILWOOD LOW FLANGE TRACK HUB
Wheels are essential when talking about a bike’s stiffness, so I went with a really tough setup. The combination of SL-42 rims, built to show their real strength in hard trick environments, and the maintenance-free PHILWOOD hubs is the core of this custom build.
For tires, I chose Gatorskins, which offer both durability and low rolling resistance. I want riders to go all-in on skids and really feel how wheel stiffness makes skids easier.
Of course, it’s not just about skidding, this bunny hop is no problem as well. Honestly, to destroy these wheels, you’d probably need to drop from a massive set of stairs at insane speed.
FOLDFAST FRS
Another theme of this build was adding an accent color. Maybe you’ve already noticed it scattered across the parts, I chose red for this custom.
Although a custom bike isn’t just about practicality, it’s also about letting people on the streets know “this is my one-of-a-kind bike.” Adding a pop of color is one way to do that. However it’s not as simple as just throwing it in, the trick is finding balance. This time, I spread the red highlights across small parts without disrupting the overall look.
Maybe it’s a little greedy to want one bike to do it all. Still, I hope you take your chosen companion into every field where tricks, the streets, even races. Customizing your bike is a way of defining what that one bike means to you.
TATSU
