BnC x Cyclingo x Alien – sweet colab

Yep, finally finished it.

I’ve been hustling like crazy for the last few months, hoarding parts for the bike to replace the Ken Self. There’s been a vision in my head that’s slowly emerged into real life, and a growing pile of parts on the corner of my workbench that has been holding a lot of promise. To be honest, the bike’s conception started becoming a reality way back at the start of last year. Neil came to stay for the SS Nats, shared a mattress (and god knows what else) with Dan, then waltzed his way back over the Melbourne. A few weeks later a mysterious package arrived, which was torn open to reveal small and innocent Chris King headset. I’ve yet to figure out what Neil did to make him feel guilty enough to send such a gift, but I wasn’t keen to get involved in any kind of equine dentistry with that little number, so the headset went into the parts bin and the brain began to tick over (slowly, of course). Fast forward to the demise of Ken and it was time to kick things into gear (oh, pun).

I posted up some ranting and raving about Alien bikes a while back, completely without any kind of proof of their quality or ability to back up whatever crap I was spouting. However, I did have faith in my own (usually misguided) judgement and the frames really did look the business, so the credit card came out and the order went through. All seemed well founded when it arrived a couple of weeks later.

From there, things went a little crazy. Phil came along for the ride, in a potentially controversial colour. Nic and Ben have always maintained that those who spend too much time concerned with aesthetics will end up matching their hubs to their panties. Fortunately, I’m yet to own any underwear that matches this pair, although the rest of the bike follows a theme that is frequently echoed on the coathangers. Either way, fixed gear bikes are sexy, and so are pink hubs.

The end result is the first bike I’ve built up from new parts. Not a bad start, if I do say so myself. It’s been a little odd not jumping onto the Ken Self the last couple of mornings, but the new bike is truly holding its own. Alien came through with the goods, and the frame is a great ride. The geometry is exactly what I was after, and the frame’s a little larger, which is a good thing for my legs. The hubs are beyond a dream, and everything has that new feeling, which means it’s running smooth as hell. There’s no holding back or babying happening with this one, so it won’t be long before I find out how it holds up to a bit of Tassie winter grit and grime. So here we go, time to thrash and burn. Now I can finally lock my bike to poles without fretting about scratching the paint.

Throw a wave or a skid if you see it out and about.

Gotta say thanks to Baden for hooking up the paint job, Russell for the machining, Tim for the tooling and Dan for the anodising (dutch rudder instead of a wristy?). Huzzah!

For a spec list,
Frame: Alien Track Frame
Wheels: Phil Wood low flange (single sided) track hubs laced to Mavic CXP33s with black DT Revolution spokes (and black alloy nipples), Continental Gatorskin tyres
Cockpit: Nitto stem (got it ano’d black), Easton EA30 bars, Chris King GripNut headset, ODI Subliminal grips
Drivetrain: Sugino 75 cranks, Miche Supertype bottom bracket, Cycle Underground custom 44T chainring (1/8th), Izumi Black chain, Phil Wood 18T cog, Phil Wood lock ring
Other bits: Time ATAC XS pedals, Selle SMP Glider saddle, Thomson Elite seat post, Shimano 105 Black brake calliper (not pictured), Odyssey Monolever (ergo one)