Andy Laub

It just so happens that the indie designer who works in our building is way into biking, which means it’s easy for us to get lost in our hopes and dreams for future and current bikes.

I want to build a bike, some day. I always tell myself that, but I can’t really narrow down what I want. I think I’ve established so far that (currently) I want a road-warrior looking thing. Some days this is not a road bike because I worry about the damage I could do to road bike rims with the way I ride.

Some days this is a road bike though that means no more spontaneous off-road excursions when taking the long way home. There are other factors that make me doubt the logic of this route as well. Whatever it is, it’s going to have disc brakes. Mechanical disc brakes. I have them now. I love them. I need nothing more. Except for roundagon rotors.

Side note: I did not know that Avid, as well as Rock Shox and Truvativ, were part of SRAM. I’m not sure how I feel about that.

The frame, I think, will be steel. Steel frames are less rigid than aluminum, and while this sounds like a bad thing, it makes for a softer ride. This is why the bike will more than likely not even have a suspension fork. I want a white frame. Matte white. Matching fork, unless it does end up being a sprung fork - then it should be red. At this point, I’m thinking all hardware (seat post, stem, handlebar, crank, wheels, etc) should be black. The pedals will be some variation of these or these. The stem will be either a 0º rise or negative rise (meaning it gets lower as you get farther from the steering tube). Flat handlebar.

Finally, I’m becoming more and more tempted by single-speed bikes, thanks in part to the coercion of my office mate, who just picked up his second, an ‘05 Bianchi S.A.S.S. Maybe I should just get one of these, since it pretty much meets my criteria, except for that pesky color issue. I wish it came in this color.