CODY SHIMIZU

A look into my life, a journal to look back on, a blog for others to see.

So since early last year Ive been commuting with my fixed gear bike, a State Bike with The Hundreds design on the frame. Otherwise it was just the bottom of the barrel components with Pure Fix Wheels, and cheap aluminium bars. I was enjoying the simplicity of the fixed gear, just my legs spinning in silence, no freehub, no grinding gears, just the tires rolling along the ground. Although I tried riding brakeless for a bit, but it was just too stressful looking far ahead inspecting every little movement in the corner's of your eyes predicting the movement of every single car, and the risks; it just wasnt worth it.

Since then, over the summer getting a track bike built up has been on the back of my mind since. Then I heard that Redbike was carrying Cinelli and I had to check it out. As I walked into the store there it was, just hanging from the ceiling as I walked in. It was a Cinelli Vigorelli, a beautiful frame made from Columbus airplane tubing, named after the famous velodrome in Milan. I had seen it between the legs of Team Cinelli in the Red Hook Crit Races all over instagram. The dream frame.

After seeing that frame in class, before bed, in the morning, all I could think about was what components to put onto the Vigorelli frame. Sugino cranks? Dura ace? Sram Omniums? Wheels? Bars? Gear ratio?

So after a few weeks of looking at my bike account and looking at components I decided to buy the frame, still not 100% sure what I wanted to put on to the frame. It was a long and painful process, still late September hoping to have it built before the snow hits. I got it built up with components from my State bicycle, but it just wasnt the same, the chainring was off so the chain tension would be too tight or too loose every half revolution, the wheels were heavy.

After months of slowly collecting parts and ordering some from across the world my bike is finally complete, and now all I have to wait is for the snow to melt to hit the roads with it!

At first I built the bike with the ambition to do a fixed gear crit, I was looking at the Mission Crit in San Francisco but unfortunately with school that dosent seem like its going to happen this year, but the goal is to do something like the Red Hook Crit in the next few years.

The Spec Sheet
Frame: Cinelli Vigorelli
Handle Bar: Easton EC 90 Aero
Stem: Thompson Mountain Stem
Front Wheel: Velocity Deep V Rim, Laced to White Industries T11 hub
Seatpost: Thompson Elite Seatpost
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Team Edition Flow Saddle
Crankset: Shimano Dura ace Track
Chainring: Factory Five Lattice
Rear Wheel: Velocity Deep V Rim, Laced to Surly Track Hub