Ok, ok, stop emailing me now! Here’s the full monty on my Milwaukee Bicycle Orange One frameset. I didn’t think everyone would be so receptive to such a gaudy paint job but after the 10th email, I promised I’d post the frame. But there’s more to me posting this bike. Let me explain my recent rants about rack and fender mounts.

Check out more on this and a few more photos below.

You may have caught some discourse in the recent All-City Mr. Pink entry regarding “sporty” and multi-functional bicycles. When Drew at Milwaukee told me that they were working with Waterford on a new road version of their popular Orange One fixed gear, I was stoked. Call it a niche-fetish, but I like seeing companies develop affordable steel road bikes. While I believe that steel is real, part of my interest lies in the multiple tasks people can put them through.

Brian Vernor and I were discussing this very subject at this year’s NAHBS. Young people (like you and me) want a bike that they can ride for 100 miles, build a camp site, drink whiskey, shoot shit (not animals) and then ride home. We like the mini-rando trips. The best example I can think of is the Philly Bike Expo ride Harry, Scott, Isaac and I went on. It was a 110 miles of off-road riding and I had to tie my backpack to my saddle rails with a belt! I am always an advocate of a multi-purposed bike. Remember, I still ride around on my fixed freestyle bike around town in an age when people stand to pedal them.

Most riders don’t want a modern steel bike to race on, they want to “epic” on it. At least that’s what I did. I’ve got my rawesome Geekhouse Woodville to do that and now, I’ve got another option to ride. Sure, there’s some functional overlap there. I wouldn’t ride from PDX to San Diego on the MKE / Waterford but you could if you wanted to. In my opinion, you can never have enough bikes and I was anxious to see how this one performs.

I know this is a bit of a read, I’m three drinks in on my Jameson bottle and am giddy with anticipation to build this bike up.