I started riding fixies in 2004 when a friend of mine built his first conversion and let me take it for a spin. On my maiden voyage, a car pulled out in front of me and, novice as I was, I slammed full speed into the driver’s side door.  At that moment, I knew I was in love. 

Nurse Betsy is an 80s model Univega free hub conversion.  On the way to the dump, she was salvaged from my neighbors’ trash pile after a spring cleaning frenzy. She still has all of her original components, including her 27” wheels.  She’s my first and only fixie and I wouldn’t trade her for all the steel in China.   

Her saddle is a rescue from my adopt-a-seat program, “Tap That.”  A few years ago, I started saving unloved saddles from junk piles at thrift stores and garage sales and dressing ‘em up with other salvaged materials. The result:  landfill diversion and seats that even the hottest asses would be proud to straddle. 

Photo credit: tylergreenphoto.com

Tags: Photos