Check out our Catalog to see of these new shirts we just got in. This one has a whole bunch of animals Kung Fu fighting for fun. This Watercolor print of our Good Company logo came out pretty sweet! The Good Company T is now also available in a Women’s cut. Water, Water everywhere! This is not really a shirt, we admit it. Leif Frame for dreaming of tiny house living.
I built up a Weekender frame and fork set with some fancy parts. It’s a special treat to myself since I’m usually a riding a bike with an assortment of miss-mathced sample parts. I started with our Weekender frameset in Electro Silver (available now). I used SRAM Force cranks (GXP BB) and a direct mount 40t X-Sync sprocket. I love these chainwheels since you can do away with the chain guide when running 1 x set ups. Of course my bike has my trusty Odyssey Trailmix pedals that also just toured the French Alps with me. I used SRAM’s 11 speed 10-42t cassette on the rear. Combined with the 40t up front this gives me a huge range of gears. It’s also geared very low. When I’m cruising this bike on flat ground I’m usually only a couple cogs away from the hardest gear. I geared it down for some upcoming camping trips where I’ll be pulling the dog in the trailer. If I wasn’t planning to ride this bike loaded up I’d go 42t or maybe even 44t up front. Zipp 30 course wheels (135mm spaced with disc mounts) are awesome! Super light and very sturdy feeling. 32mm Continental Gatorskin tires are plump enough for rough roads but very fast. Most folks would probably tour with a dropbar bike, but I like the upright Archer 2 bars. I know I go faster on drops, but since my back fusion surgery I’m a lot more comfortable riding upright. I did my Japan tour with a similar set up HERE. Blackburn heavy duty rack up front and since I’ll be pulling a trailer I don’t think I’ll need a rear rack. She’s looking pretty sweet all silvery and shiny don’t you think? I like the Electro Silver finish because it’s got such a warm glow to it… not all glitzy like true chrome, more of a softer burnished look. Certainly everyone has different tastes in bikes and set ups. This is what works best for me. As always, we love seeing your custom builds. Feel free to send them in to: info@fairdalebikes.com Or, hit us up with questions too. -Taj
Sandy Carson was our first team rider back in January of 2012. “Team Rider” is a term we use very loosely at Fairdale. We don’t expect our riders to win races (though Sandy did just win a Texas State Championship on a mountain bike). Hell, we don’t expect our riders to even ride all the time. Mostly our team is made up of friends who are doing cool things. Folks we admire. People who in some way have bicycles as part of their lives. Sandy couldn’t sum that up more. As a full time photographer he is always doing something exciting… some shoot or another, working on his own photo books and shows, or traveling around to odd places. More than any of that what really makes us admire his work is the way his photographs portray the world. He takes some of the most interesting photos we know of by catching little details that the rest of us skim over. Those little things that when expertly highlighted can reveal special moments all around us. On top of all that he is an amazing bike rider. A cyclist who is perpetually motivated to ride all kinds of bikes. Riding with an infectious sense of humor and inspiring enthusiasm. His great history as a sponsored BMX rider means he can naturally shred on any bike. Applying that mastery to bikes with other sized wheels has lead him into an even bigger love for cycling. We spent some time down in Austin filming the man and would like to present to you this video. Check out our friend Sandy. Visit SandyCarson.com to see more of his work. CAMERA & EDIT: Francis Delapena MUSIC: Water of Life / Concrete Antenna Water of Life Water of Life LP by Water of Life Music courtesy of Water of Life. Make sure to also check out their new project, Concrete Antenna. Follow them on Instagram via @SurfacePressure.
Our 2016 bikes won’t be available to you until Novemeber, but BMX Cruisers posted up some info on a couple of our 2016 models for you to preview. Check out the 2016 Taj bike, and our new model, the Weekender MX. We’ll have some more official news on these and all the new models coming soon. Read on to see more HERE.
If you follow Fairdale on Instagram ( @fairdalebikes ) you might have noticed we were in France recently. 4 of us went over and rode a bunch of famous Tour de France climbs. The trip was truly mind blowing for all of us and we really want to tell you all about it. However, were in a bit of holding pattern right now as the story will be first published in Bicycling Magazine. We’re holding back a lot of great photos, stories and video but it will all be available soon. For what it’s worth, plan a trip to the French Alps now… what an amazing place to ride bikes! There is a great selection of instagram photos from the riders that will give you a bit of taste here: #fairdalefrance
John Watson shot this photo and some other great ones of our Goodship for Andre Chelliah’s review on The Radavist. Check out the review that contains excellent consumer advice like this, “What would I change on the bike? Not a lot. At $2999.99, The Goodship might be the best complete steel road race bike available right now. I definitely feel that for the price point, you are getting the most bang for your buck.” Thanks The Radavist! We really appreciate it!!
Bicycle Sports Shop wrote up a review talking about our latest creation, The Badship. This one of a kind specially painted Goodship frame and fork also got a special part build (and so we named it the Badship). They had the pleasure of sailing around on this black beauty for about a week, and you can read about their experience by clicking HERE. It’s also full of great insight into our Goodship frame and fork too: “…But the bike is also point and shoot. Aim the Goodship at a turn and counter steer a bit and the bike holds a line like it’s nobody’s business. At speed or cruising town, the Goodship capably does what’s asked of it when it comes to handling. And that holds true out at the Driveway Series as well. Hanson at the Lamar store has a Goodship that stepped on the podium a few weeks back. Not for nothing but he rolled away from a bevy of guys on the latest aero everything and just missed the win taking second. All aboard a Goodship.” Check out the full review and keep in mind the Badship will be auctioned off for a charity Aug.1 so it could be yours! And thanks to BSS, SRAM, and Zipp for making the Badship reality. PS I just mistyped “Badship” as “BARship”. Could be a new bar cruising model!!
We gave you guys a sneak peek of the Badship last week, and now we have a video showing you guys some of the hand-painting process and custom build that went into this one of a kind Fairdale Goodship. The Badship’s components were selected by Bicycle Sport Shop with help from our friends at SRAM and ZIPP. Some key features include: Full SRAM Force 22 drivetrain with a compact crankset and an 11-28 cassette Zipp Service Course SL cockpit and seat post Zipp 30 aluminum clincher wheels Zipp Service Course road bar wrap Zipp Tangente clincher tires Fizik Kurve saddle The Badship could easily retail $4,500 and it will be auctioned off the evening of August 1st at the ABGB as part of the Bicycle Sport Shop’s and TexasBikeRacing.com’s El Diablo’s Poker Dash & Bash. Auction Proceeds will benefit the Texas High School Mountain Bike League. To get an idea of what it’s like sailing around on this thing, click here, or if you want to scope her out in person, swing by the Bicycle Sports Shop on 517 S. Lamar Blvd. in Austin!
We sent our newest employee, Diego, on an overseas trip. He hasn’t traveled too much so I’m sure it was all a bit overwhelming for him. We pretty much said, “Here’s a plane ticket to a country you’ve never been and to meet people you don’t know. You’re on your own!” He visited our office in Taiwan to check out samples of the 2016 bikes and do some QC work. He then jumped over to Japan to visit our awesome distributor MX International. They organized a ride for him with one of their favorite bike shops. He was certainly in good hands and he’s put together a nice little story about his Japan ride. It’s good inspiration to get out there into the unknown… you can almost feel his wide eyed wonder at the places they rode through. -Taj The Quest For Sanshu Asuke Yashiki -Diego Today was a memorable day because I went on the most stunning bicycle ride I have ever been on. It was absolutely breathtaking every peddle of the way. The countryside of Aichi, Japan was filled with a sense of tranquility that I haven’t quite felt in other places in the world. 6 AM… Alarm. Stretch! Water! Banana! Water! 7 AM… Meet Toshiaki Yokoi: Owner of Bike Quest in Aichi, Japan. Mr. Yokoi picked me up from the hotel and brought me to his bike shop to build my Fairdale Goodship road bike. Once we arrived at Bike Quest, Mr. Yokoi hurried inside to waste no time. I was extremely curious to see how a bike shop in Japan would be organized. Two steps inside the store I was wowed as it was packed with so much inventory! Mr. Yokoi told me he had the same bike as mine in his store; an orange Goodship frame & fork. I was very happy to see there was a Goodship available for someone on the other side of the world. Our first stop was at a Circle K for sandwiches, pastries, and coffee. Mr. Yokoi spoke little English so we communicated through facial expressions and hand gestures. I knew nothing about the ride or where we were going, but that’s the best way to start a real adventure. After I built my Goodship Mr. Yokoi said there would be two of his other friends joining us. As he was trying to communicate that to me, Fumi Kondo came flying in. Fumi has been a customer of Mr. Yokoi’s bike shop for years. Recently, she purchased a road bike from Bike-Quest and this was only going to be her second ride. Fumi’s spirit and the confidence was obvious, she’s a fighter with a big heart. Fumi also spoke very little English but was willing to try to express herself to me anyway. Last, but not least Takeshi Hayashi rode in at 8 am on the dot. Takeshi spoke the most English and I immediately felt a big brother vibe from him. He was able to make the journey special by translating. Thanks to Takeshi we were all able to communicate. We rolled out at […]
The Badship is a one of a kind, hand painted version of the Fairdale Goodship. The Badship’s components were selected by Bicycle Sport Shop with help from our friends at SRAM and ZIPP. The Badship will be auctioned off the evening of August 1st at the ABGB as part of the Bicycle Sport Shop’s and TexasBikeRacing.com’s El Diablo’s Poker Dash & Bash. Auction Proceeds will benefit the Texas High School Mountain Bike League.
New shirts! September 25, 2015
New custom bike day for Taj September 24, 2015
Cycling, Cameras, and Cats with Sandy Carson September 14, 2015
Preview of some 2016 models September 04, 2015
#FairdaleFrance September 02, 2015
The Radavist reviews The Goodship August 04, 2015
THE BADSHIP: Ridden & Reviewed July 14, 2015
The Badship July 13, 2015
Diego Goes To Japan July 13, 2015
The Badship / Preview July 07, 2015
