The Radavist

Wait, what? Me on a 26″ fixed? No way. This has gotta be some kinda joke right? Not entirely. Granted, much of the motivation to ride one of these bikes was to see what all the fuss is about. I’d like to consider myself one of FGFS’ longest supporters and over the past few years, I’ve been heckled by numerous outlets for riding fixed freestyle and it sucks (for them). So before I officially write-off 26″ fixed, I figured I might as well try one out. Specialized kindly sent me a size large PFix and I built it up, as per factory specs, right out of the box (minus the reflectors).

Check out more Initial Reaction to the Specialized PFix 26″ fixed complete below!

It looks like the long-awaited P-Fix is now available will be available in August at your local Specialized dealer. This is still wild if you think about it. A major company develops a fixed freestyle bike and it doesn’t suck. Check out the specs here.

I’m stoked on this and the new CruX E5 OSBB frameset. I’m guessing that’s the work of Garrett Chow? Blue and neon yellow? One please.

When I told Andy at Fyxomatosis that I’d be coming to Melbourne for a few weeks, he started to plan an “epic” ride with Dan from Shifter Bikes. The idea was that we’d be gone for three days as we rode out to Woods Point, a remote, rural area of Victoria. I was down but I knew it’d be impossible on the Bruiser so Andy put out feelers for a cross bike. The owner of Fitzroy Revolution kindly offered to loan me a new Specialized CruX Elite cross bike for the trip and when our initial plans were stomped out by a blanket of snow up north, we improvised a smaller, more social ride.

It had been a while since I rode an aluminum production bike and honestly, I wasn’t planning on spending nearly the amount of time on it as I have. Over the past week, I’ve been trekking all over Melbourne on this bike and after our cross ride on Monday, I’ve taken a liking to it!

Check out more below!

Matt Reyes has some more information about the Specialized P-Fix production model. Head over to Slumworm to check out some more photos.

Photo by Matt “Slumworm” Reyes

I know I’ve taken multiple dumps on 26″ fixed before but after pedaling around Tom’s P-Fix, I can see the appeal and to be honest, when Miles had a Villin Cycles months before anyone else made a 26″ fixed frame, I knew this scene was going to blow up. Now multiple companies are stepping up to the plate but no one expected Specialized to be one.

The P-Fix is one of the best looking and best feeling 26″ fixed machines I’ve seen and with the retail hovering around $800, you can’t deny the impact it’ll have. There are a few things I would have changed in the frame design after seeing Tom’s this past week (135mm rear and wider hub flanges) – but it’s a solid start!

iMinusD has a pre-order up, so hop on board with the rest of the 26″ fixed crowd. Personally, I’d kill to see a Tom LaMarche-designed 29’r P-Fixed.

Tom is here in Austin and while he and AJ went to the airport to pick up Tony, I took his Specialized P-Fix out to shoot a few quick photos.

Check out more below!

I don’t know why, but out of all of Velodramatic‘s photos of the new Specialized McLaren Venge road bike, I like this one the best. Hell, I’m not even sure why I like this bike. It’s not steel and obviously strictly for the PRO market. But damn does it look nice. Three cheers to Velodramatic for some PRO photos of one PRO bike. Check the rest out here.

The Slumworm guys have been riding these female front hubs on their Specialized PFix bikes for a little while now and they’re confident that these are the answer, not 14mm bolts. A female front hub is similar to the system that Phil Wood, Profile and Paul use, but just in a beefier version. What do you guys think?

While you’re over at Slumworm, make sure you scope out the new size medium PFix prototype. That looks like a lotta fun. Solid build for sure.

Slummy gives us a nice preview to the Specialized P-Fix splined sprockets. 48t-splined interface to a 23t and 25t sprocket, i.e. designed for compact gearing. This is kinda crazy. Specialized is stepping their game up. Can’t wait to see more.

Al from Specialized took the opportunity to walk you guys through this video showcasing the forthcoming Wheel Talk 26″ fixed bike. Check it out and don’t forget to look at my photos from yesterday!

Previously:
Interbike 2010: Specialized’s Fixed Freestyle Frameset

As I mentioned before, Specialized designed and fabricated the Slumworm 26″ fixed freestyle bikes. After a lengthy process of reappropriating their P20 bike to a fixed platform, the company has produced five prototypes. Three are running 26″ and two are on 700c. The Wheel Talk guys came by my Interbike booth today and I got an exclusive look at the details these frames posses.

Check out more detailed photos, including a look at the 9t 14mm fixed hub below!

Damn. There’s been an overload of really clean and elegant track bikes from all the big companies. Who’s next? This time, Specialized is showcasing their newest version of the popular Langster model. Abandoning the iconic red paint for chrome, they have recreated a classic. I’m impressed. Be on the look out for more from Specialized in 2011.

We’re back in the New Year with some updates on the Rad Bazaar, so read on below…

We’re kicking off the New Year with a tried and true staple of our Readers’ Rides segment, a single speed! Read on below as Marty talks about how career struggles led him to build up a 2017 All-City Cycles Nature Boy single-speed.

It’s the last Friday of the year, and that means it’s time for our annual Top Ten Readers’ Rides list! Started in 2011, Readers’ Rides showcases the unique bikes owned by the readership of The Radavist. Like our Top Ten Bike Reviews list we posted yesterday, we compiled data from views and comments to distill down ten prime examples. This year’s list has some wild ones, so let’s get to it!