Sierra in Love

Here's a video of some members of the Manila Fixed Gear and WeFXD, collectively known as TheDirtyDozen.

Shot in the mountain roads of Sierra Madre.

Feature: Marvi's Fixum Machina

Marvi Gatus sent me pictures of his Ave Maldea bike in Singapore four weeks ago and, guess what, I'm only posting it now. Ha.

He spent his vacation home here in the Philippines three weeks ago, joined the Pusakalye 7 Master Class two weeks ago, then joined us for the 70 kilometer Jala-Jala loop last Saturday. Now that's a two-week vacation well spent.

Still, Marvi should have brought this home with him. I would love to see this build in person.

Check out more pictures and complete bike check after the jump.

Portrait: Mickie's Ave Maldea Build

Portrait: Kalki and the Ultraman Tags

Here's Kalki wearing the Ultraman Tags, right before the 2nd Ultraman Challenge held last June 5.

Come out on July 3, win the challenge, strip the tags from Sok, and wear it proud for a month. We know you want it.

Feature Friday: Orville's Mean Green

You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

At first glance, it looks like your run-of-the-mill built bike you get from your local dealer. But if you look at it closely you'd really appreciate how every part of this bike complements each other, not just by looks, but also of quality.

The stealthy military green paint on this really does its job, hiding a gold mine in plain sight.

This is definitely in my list of my favorite Ave Maldea frames built-up.

More pictures and details after the jump.

Portrait: Wham and his Tora

Feature Friday: Denver's Dodici Gara

It's been over a month since our friend Denver has gone back to Korea, and this post was supposed to be up right after he boarded the plane (I know, I'm busy. Don't judge me.)

A couple of points why I like this build:

• It's super light
• Great parts
• It's a daily commuter
• Geometry's just right
• That color

Denver actually focused more on function over form. It just happened to look good.

More pictures and details after the jump.

Feature Friday: Jerik Platon's Grime Goat

It has been around 2 months since Jerik let go of his Mistress to get his hands on this FGFS build, and I can personally say that it was worth it. I just get so stoked whenever I think about this build. If only I can trade one of my bikes to have the same build, I would.

If you're wondering if you should get a FGFS build, you can probably ask him after Wednesday Rides and try his bike out. You will never miss the goat because 1) It's fluorescent yellow, 2) It has smaller 26-inch wheels, 3) The tires are SO fat, and 4) Everything just looks so different compared to a regular fixed-gear bike.

More pictures and bike details after the jump.

Araw ng Kagitingan Ride: Makati to Bugarin

I never imagined riding to Bugarin on a fixed-gear. Ever. I hated it when I used to go there on a mountain bike. Though it is one of the go-to places for cyclists training for endurance and one of the steepest climbs in the East, riding it with a fixed gear is insane. The last thing you need on this ride, is a brakeless bike. And a sprinting gear ratio. And no coasting.

And since yesterday was a non-working holiday here in the Philippines, we decided to go ride to Tanay (which is 13kms short of Bugarin). But when we got there everyone was just hyped, we rode the 13 km incline to the best view of Laguna de Bay anyway.

That 130 km ride is still worth the pain, though.

As for the pictures, I only used my phone's camera. I apologize for the quality. And the selfies.

More pictures after the jump.

Feature Friday: Kalki Salvacion's Mr. Pink

I know, I know. It has been 2 weeks since the last entry.  I'm supposed to put this up last week, but I was out of town for the holidays and silly me forgot to bring the material for this post.

I have personally seen how this guy started out with a heavy white fixie almost a year ago, with brakes and all. And now, riding an aggressive Ave Maldea frame with excellent parts, you know it's gotten serious.

I guess you'll really need performance parts if you like riding hard.

And even if it's a week late, it's still a Good Friday.

More pictures and details after the jump.

Feature Friday: Lance Manuel's Equanimity

I have seen a couple frames like this handcrafted by Ave Maldea, and I have seen more all-black bikes in my lifetime. But this build seems to bring something clean, mean, and simple in one package. Old trick, but still fresh.

Still, nothing beats a blacked-out build.

More pictures and details after the jump..