Within the bicycle world, single-speed and ‘fixie’ bikes are having fun with an upsurge in recognition. Just like the {custom} motorbike scene, it’s a complete subculture—the place type and individualization are as vital as getting from A to B. However what occurs when these two worlds bleed into one another?
Kevin Bergeron has the reply with this unconventional bobber. Constructed from scratch and powered by an early-80s Yamaha XT250 motor, it attracts closely on bicycle tradition, each previous and current.
Kevin’s primarily based in Alberta, Canada, the place he works as a primary responder. He spends his downtime constructing {custom} bikes out of a toolbox left to him by his late father. “I started modifying bikes as a method to specific my creative skills,” he says, “but in addition to grieve, and, to some extent, spend time with my dad via his instruments.”
Kevin had the imaginative and prescient for this undertaking brewing in his thoughts for some time, however was lastly spurred to motion when Roland Sands Design launched their Dream Construct Off contest. Since he was working on price range he picked an engine he already had (the XT250), and began sketching out concepts on his iPad.
“I by no means grew up with sufficient cash to personal bikes,” he tells us, “so bicycles had been the subsequent neatest thing. I’ve at all times been drawn to their easy aesthetic, and what cleaner look than a ‘fixie.’ So I made a decision to let that prepared the ground for the imaginative and prescient of this bike.”
The centerpiece of the construct is a tubular metal body that Kevin bent and welded up himself. Some inspiration got here from the GT ‘triple triangle’ bicycle that he grew up on—however there are nods to different bike constructing methods too.
“I put my very own spin on the body and created an aero seat tube with a radial recess for the rear wheel,” he explains. “Each tube was TIG-welded, then capped with a brazed silicone bronze—a method synonymous with older bicycles.”
There are hardly any off-the-shelf elements right here. Kevin machined all the pieces in-house on both his lathe or mill—together with the inflexible entrance forks, which replicate the single-crown fashions discovered on outdated street bicycles. “I designed them to look lugged—one other quite common bicycle constructing approach.”
Subsequent, Kevin turned his consideration to the bike’s bespoke wheel set. The entrance wheel makes use of a custom-made aluminum hub, radial-laced to a 21” rim that Buchanans in California drilled particularly for the undertaking. For the again wheel, Kevin modified the entrance hub from a Honda filth bike to just accept a sprocket, then laced up one other 21” rim.
Aiming for supreme minimalism, Kevin got down to design a near-invisible braking system. He began with the disc and caliper from a go-kart, then connected them to the drive sprocket. Every thing’s hidden away behind an ornate cowl, hand-formed from aluminum.
The tubing that you simply see working from the highest of the duvet hosts the brake line, directing it to the right-side foot lever. The left-side lever actuates the clutch, with a small custom-made hand lever for shifting.
The one different management is the inner throttle—an element that Kevin designed and constructed himself, by taking cues from older Honda Monkeys. The handlebars are Renthal items which have been polished and fitted with Eclat BMX grips. However the stem that holds them in place is a one-off.
Out entrance is a ‘flashlight’ that was machined from aluminum, bolted to a hand-made stainless-steel baggage rack. Kevin fabricated the cut up tanks too; one holds gas, whereas the opposite has all of the electrics packed into it. Behind them is a slim seat that he admits is neither sensible nor snug.
As for the engine, that’s largely inventory—although it has been handled to a full top-down rebuild. “It was nicely used,” we’re advised, “so it’s now bored to the utmost allowed tolerance.”
The exhaust is tough to identify at first, however it’s there. Kevin constructed a ‘header’ to direct exhaust gasses into the body’s down tube, with a boxy vent on the decrease proper facet of the bike for them to exit via.
“The measuring and reinforcing concerned to make the body exhaust come to life proved to be far harder than I had anticipated,” he says. “Which, realistically, could possibly be stated for each single element of the bike. By means of this construct I’ve developed a brand new appreciation for the Max Hazans of the world, creating one thing out of nothing.”
Kevin’s bicycle-inspired construct took third in its class within the Dream Construct Off, and walked away with the Committee’s Alternative award at Canada’s annual Kickstart Motorbike Present. However he’s not resting on his laurels.
“There are a thousand issues I’d do in another way,” he says, “however I’m pleased with this step in my fixed pursuit of manufacturing top quality work. I’m very a lot wanting ahead to shifting onto the subsequent undertaking.”
And in case you’re questioning, Kevin has really ridden it. “I rode it three or 4 instances and hated each minute of it. It weighs simply over 150 lbs, so it’s manner too quick to be a inflexible.”
