I'm using this photo I took with my 35mm to introduce a new Ask Prolly post. Its significance is nothing more than to illustrate amount of time I get to spend on my bike as a result of my current job: this blog. I get so many emails from people asking "how did you do it?", make this blog my job. A recent email from a reader asked this, after a long intro, which is very atypical. People usually ask how I get ads or something else irrelevant and catty. This email was different. And it's something we can all identify with. How do you deal with a turning point in your life?

Check out more below.

Perfection in a Commuter by Cicli Devotion

I've gotten a few of these emails, but Harry from Sydney had the perfect questions:

"Hello Mr Prolly

My name is Harry and im in Sydney Australia. I know this might be an unusual email for you but I wonder if you could help me spec-out a bike build I'd like to do. I realise you are busy and its cool if you cant reply.

Long story short, I want a steel road bike for commuting / cruising with a single sproket up front, and a dereilluer in back. I want it to be simpler and cleaner looking than an average road bike, with just 7-9 gear ratios to choose from for when the going gets tough. Maybe even set it up with some 28c tanwalls and path-racer moustache bars.

I dont understand the differences in road/cross/mountain (basically any geared) drivetrains. I come from a BMX and Fixed background, where all of them use 1/8 chains. Could you recommend a drive train? I take it I'd need some kind of front chain-guide? Do you forsee any allignment issues?

Thanks for your time and keep up the fine work on the blog.

regards,
Harry"

Check out my answer below!

Like clockwork, each time I post a photo like the one above, I get the same question: "How do you stand up your bikes to photograph them?". Well, it's simple enough. Check out the answer below.

Parking your bike in NYC can be a pain in the ass. In the last few weeks I've had my saddle bag raided, my Hold Fasts stolen and even had someone try to steal my front wheel while it was locked to my bike! With all the thievery going on, a lot of people ask me if I would ever pay for bike parking in NYC. It's a weighted question. A lot of the rates that are advertised in parking garages around midtown are way too high but when I came across this sign in the East Village yesterday I considered, for the first time, using bike parking.

I said considered. Personally, I just don't lock my nice bikes up in the city and if I do, I lock it with a few locks. But that doesn't stop people from ganking your saddle, bars or even toe straps. I guess there's no real answer to this question but if I worked at an office that didn't allow me to bring my bike up, I'd totally lock it up in a secure location for $1 a day. That's less than a cup of coffee for piece of mind.

I've mentioned before that I love taking the trails to Piermont from 9W and when I do, people often ask where they are. While I can't find the entrance on Google Maps (it's a trail entrance right after the big descent), I can find the exit. As you're coming down Piermont Ave, you'll come across Bridge St. Standing on the bridge, you'll see this entrance. That leads to a tail that snakes its way around and eventually terminates at 9W. If you get lost, the worst that will happen is you'll look back around. It's a beautiful ride filled with leaf-covered compact gravel and in some spots, broken asphalt.

Definitely worth the detour if you're tired of taking 9W the whole way into Piermont!

I have gotten this email at least 30 times in the past week: Where the @%&# are the Viking New Eras? Rather than having to answer the same question over and over again, here's the status: an email was sent to New Era asking for an ETA and I am waiting on a reply. That's all I know. I know I thought it would be a few weeks. We turned the P.O. in the first week in September. Which leads me to believe that they're on their way.

I'll update the blog with information as events warrant. Thanks for your patience!

I've gotten this question a few times since posting the Wheel Talk x Specialized P-Fixed. People are apprehensive about such a small tooth-driver on a fixed, asking if this is too much too soon? And now, with other companies talking about making 9t fixed drivers, I began to wonder: could a 9t fixed driver support the constant wear and tear of riding fixed?

The other day at Affinity, Ben and I were talking about it. Right off the bat, he showed me two torn drivers from a few months of riding on his BMX this summer. Ben's a smooth rider and he's also anal as hell about his bike (like most mechanics). He raised a good point: I wonder how long these 9t fixed drivers will hold up? Is a 9t Fixed Driver Really the Answer?

Check out some more photos below and feel free to comment!

I get this question once and a while:

"Hey Prolly, we have a small apartment and there's no room to store our bikes so I'm forced to lock up outside. Do you do that? What's the best way to do so?"

I'm lucky and have the luxury of indoor bike storage but I can give some perspective...

I know my neighborhood bikes. Well enough to notice something that's out of place. A few weeks ago, I noticed this track bike locked up outside. It's on my walk back from the deli. There it was, brand new, sitting there glistening in the streetlights. The next morning, on my way out for a road ride, I noticed the bike in the above condition. Bars, stem, cranks and pedals were stripped bare. A few days later I snapped this photo with my film camera. Still, to this day, the bike sits there in this condition. I wonder if the initial stripping made the owner lose hope in cycling? I hope not. It goes to show that no matter what, if someone wants your bike or your components, they'll do anything to get them. Luckily for them, it wasn't an expensive bike.

Don't leave your bikes outside bro. But if you do, go with a beater. I know, I know, it sucks, but you don't want to leave a nice bike outside overnight.

One of the most common questions I get is about bike rentals in NYC. More specifically, fixed and single-speed rentals. A recent slew of emails crossed my inbox last week asking this question:

"Prolly, I'm coming to NYC in a few weeks and can't afford to bring my bike. Do any shops rent out track bikes or single speeds?"

The short answer is "yes!" I know of one shop that does and that's Chari & Co. Their current offerings are a small Swobo Sanchez with a basket and a brake, a single speed, coaster brake Swobo with 26" wheels and other bikes at request... all for $8 / day. Then for the big spenders who want to do some serious road rides, they also have a Lemond Ti road bike with full Ultegra for $75 / day. All you need is a credit card and matching ID. For more details, contact the shop.

Other shops that rent bikes (not fixed or SS though):

-Gotham Bikes
-New York's Waterfront Bike Shop
-City Bicycles
-Manhattan Velo‎
-NYC Bikes
-Pedal Pusher Bike Shop
-Hudson Urban Bicycles

Of course, you could always go with one of the 100 shady bike rental spots in Central Park...

One of my more recent Ask Prolly emails was pretty straight forward and slightly off-topic:

"Hey Prolly, what's the last book you've read? Any recommendations? It doesn't have to be bike related"

To be honest, I don't read as much as I'd like to. It's kinda hard for me to find time to sit around with my nose in a book. Earlier this summer I picked up a book entitled Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford. It's been on the NY Time's best seller list and its published, Penguin was kind enough to send one my way out of the blue. It took me a little while to get around to reading it but with the recent time I spent on planes and vegging out on the beach, I managed to finish it quickly.

Crawford's premise is that with the dissolution of shop classes in high schools, our generation has been raised to be technologically savvy and in the process we've lost touch with the soulcraft of making things. He goes on to relate the recent economic decline and job losses to the boom in "blue collar" job openings, which usually pay much better than the "desk job / tech" counterparts. It's an excellent read and as someone who went to grade school without the use of computers, I can really identify with that he's saying. So if you're looking for a book to read this summer, pick it up at your local shop!

As a continuation of this series, here's the latest question to come across my inbox. In one form or another, this is probably the most asked question I receive as a cyclist living and riding in NYC:

"I'm in New York on the 20th and I'm keen to look at some bike shops that deal with the whole track bike world. I want to hopefully pick up a new track frame, new courier bag, gloves etc. and just check out what’s new and going on in the culture of Track bikes in NYC. So, if it’s not too much trouble, I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction with a list of shops to go to, and just general must see’s and do’s?"

Here's a list of bike shops that I frequent by borough:

Brooklyn:
Affinity Cycles
Post Bikes
Bike Doc
B's Bikes
Bushwick Bikes
Outlier Showroom (open Saturdays)
King Kog
R&A
Brooklyn Bike & Board

Manhattan:
Chari & Co
NYC Velo
Bike Works
Rapha Cycling Club
Chrome (new store opening soon. 238 Mulberry Street)
Continuum Cycles
Bicycle Habitat

New Jersey:
Grove St. Bicycles

Of course there are tons more but these are the ones I've had a personal experience at. I've probably missed a few, so politely remind me in the comments!

Got any suggestions for an Ask Prolly? Email me.

Previously:
Ask Prolly: What's A Good Beginner Fixed Freestyle Bike?

I get so many emails from readers and from now on, when I get a re-occurring question, I'm going to address it in a post. In recent weeks, I must have answered this one question countless times:

"What's a good beginner sfixed freestyle bike? I need a bike that can take a little bit of tricking and not break the bank."

To which I've replied, each time to check out the Gran Royale Lurker, pictured above...

and the Subrosa Malum (pictured here) for complete street fixed builds under $600. If you're looking to spend a little more, there's also the Bens Cycle Bruiser economy builds for $900. All three offer super solid rides and can handle beginner-tricking. There's no sense in dropping over a grand on a bike designed to withstand BMX tricks unless you're sure that's what you want. I always recommend people try something out first before investing a ton of money. For the longest time, my bike of choice for beginners was the Surly Steamroller. Now, with unicrown forks more common, it makes more sense to go with one of the three aforementioned builds.

Edit: A reader brought to my attention the Redline Urbis as another bike in the under $600 pricepoint. Solid build for sure. Disk-brake front too. Can you think of other options? Send them my way!

Hopefully this answers a few questions. Got something else you'd like to ask me? Feel free to email me!

Previously:
Gran Royale Lurker
Subrosa Fixed?