Steel Single-speed

"I have some big news!", said Chris over the telephone. "I have a new, steel, pink, disk-brake single-speed frame!!"

The excitement in his voice was palpable, and infectious. While the ESL teacher in me subconsciously registered the fact that all the adjectives appeared in the right order, the biker in me had to know more, had to get at least a mental picture of the pure beauty of this steel frame.

Chris had bought it from a friend, who had in turn bought it on the Yahoo Japan auction, just for the parts. Chris had not at first planned to keep the frame for himself, as he has a veritable stable of bikes; however, when he saw that it was steel, he couldn't part with it, and said he was going to build it up that very night. There are not so many steel frames being made anymore - most bike manufacturers have made a move in favor of aluminum, which is lighter and does not rust. However, aluminum frames can wear out after time, and they are not springy, or flexy, like a good steel frame is.

Upon going outside for our pre-work morning ride, Brian and I both noticed that Chris' street single-speed Wheeler was no longer parked in the communal bike parking lot. Aha! We figured he had brought it in to strip it and to build up his new frame.