Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Kids Are Alright

Raleigh, sweet polished rims and a pretty solid build.
Unknown black and white. Nice!
Never-before-heard-of brand, Ghetto SS, lugged fork crown?,Fargo NDlicense. Nice in a
Sanford and Son kind of way!

Whacky green Duct Tape bar wrap, style points for front wheel knock-off nuts!
Cool Raleigh. I love the straight blade fork, and classic teal paint!
Serious mojo-itis going on here.
Easily the oldest bike I saw, and argueably the coolest.
Surly gettin' some love. Flipped commuter bars:)
John Deere mixte near the Ag Building(naturally!)
A Pacific! Yes!
Very nice Schwinn World Sport FG!
Sweet black tubes with white lugs. Carbon fork, Bonty bars, spoke card, etc.Must ride in with the Spicer Guy, Blue WS, and IRO!
Spicer, nice.
Old Nishiki commuter. Solid. Note red IRO behind it.
I totally love this bike. Whoever you are, you are the coolest biker on campus! CBOC!
Dark dark gray Trek at the DC. Flip-flop rear hub, and drum brake up front. Someone took a lot of time thinking through this bike and it shows. Nice!
Dahon folding bike. Actually looks quite cool. Good spec on it, plus it's blacked out! Bonus!
The kids at ISU that is! I rode over to Ames on Tuesday in hopes of finding a couple of cool bikes to post on here. I found that there are more than a few! I snapped these pics in a mere 45 minutes of geeking. If you have Google Searched "ISU Fixed Gear Bikes" and landed here, please take a minute to let me know if I have your bike on here. And if you like what you see, let a friend know! Later!



10 comments:

Paul Varnum said...

Cool set of pix. Used to be when I'd see a guy riding a fixie around town, there was about a 95% chance I knew him. Now, not so much.

They've gotten pretty popular with the kids. It's heartwarming really. Gives a guy some hope for the future.

Travel Gravel said...

I completely agree, Paul. There were also fixies riding by that I didn't get pics of, one with neon green deep v rims, another with lavender wheels (must have been art students.) But the state of bike coolness on campus is actually pretty frosty. See ya! I am going to do a second set sometime before class is out. Also a set on the forgotten and beaten down bikes, there are tons!

djdau@walnutel.net said...

El Gravelista,

I'm trippin' down memory lane. Used to cruise the campus on my black Zebrakenko Golden Sports, purchased used from the Bike Barn in Ogden.

I don't recall seeing any fixies or track bikes during my time there. 10 speeds were all the rage then, interspersed with the odd 3 speed and rusty old coaster brake tanks. Great to see cycling is alive and well at ISU!

D-meister

Travel Gravel said...

D to the J, In my own experience at ISU (89-91 in pre-Graphic Design and 91-93 in El Ed) the coolest bikes were mountain bikes. Anything with blue or purple ano and everybody and their brother had CNC brake arms f'sure! And if you had a Rock Shox Mag 21 with no fork boots, step back! Bar ends? Stradle wire hangers? Those were the days when I would cut class and ride out to Peterson's or go through the wooded area west of the WOI building. I never rode at "the Arb" but heard people talking it up. What a cool thing it would be to have an all alumni campus-wide cruise! Oh the stories...! Make sure to throw on your neon colored seat leash for that action! There was a kid named Kris Oppedahl who had a blue Trek with yellow cable housing, a yellow Flite seat, and a yellow seat leash. That was a nice bike! I could go on... Later!

bluecolnago said...

there was an old blue 10 speed road bike with disc brakes that was locked up outside of gilcrest hall on the uni campus for about 5 years. never moved. just kinda rusted away....

Carney said...

Joyce is awesome! She did all the ISU Tri Team races I used to put on! She always has a story to tell ya - ha!

Caitlin said...

I'm a student there and while my classy five speed motobecane isn't featured I think I've seen a few of those bikes. Where were most of those pictures taken? I'm assuming over by the design building. There aren't very many fixies around all my buildings but I might have to start cruising around more.

Of course that will just make me envious and I'll lust even more for another bike.

Travel Gravel said...

Caitlin, I took several pictures around the DC and library, as well as the East end of campus. There were just bikes everywhere that day. I would keep your 5 speed and stay ahead of the next trend in biking, as fixed gear is about played out. I predict that coaster brakes will be the hottest new "must have" setup. That and un-restored, original paint and rust clunkers. Keep on riding whatever you have! Love the tat, now you can "check off" the places you visit. Later!

Steve Fuller said...

Was that a drum brake hub on the front of that bike, or a generator hub for the front light?

Travel Gravel said...

Steve, I thought it was a generator hub when I pulled up to it, but it was a drum brake actually. Love the new bike, reminds me that I do not yet have an orange bike. There's always hope! I see you're on the roster for some Nebraska gravel, have you ever ridden out there before? Looks like a fun group:) Later!