Marc Kitteringham
We deal a lot with objects in the bike world. As much as we'd like to think otherwise, it really is a gear driven industry. The options are nearly limitless and the scene is innovating at a staggering rate. All this innovation is great for the evolution of the sport. Things that could never have been dreamed of ten years ago are reality, and "mountain biking" is so multi-faceted that the word doesn't really mean much anymore.
It is really an exciting time to be into riding a bike.
However, with all of the major bike manufacturers making a big deal out of their complete bike line-ups, it is getting harder to find avenues for expression in the bike world. To me, a bike is an extension of the rider. I like to plan my builds so that it ends up being the perfect tool for its intended use. I want to use it to explore a certain avenue of my creativity as a builder, rider and designer.
As with any creative medium, rules exist by which we can define what we see. Without the rules, you end up getting a big blundering mess that tries to be too much at once. The rules define the paramaters within which we can be creative. Creativity, to me, is defined by the limitations that are set, and what we are able to do within those limits. The harsher the limits, the more creative one can be.
I like to use Jack White as an example of this. When he was in the White Stripes, he made sure that he had strict limits put on himself and Meg. They often only booked a week in the studio, had songs written on the fly and didn't have a set list. They played with two instruments, and everything but what they actually did on stage was planned out in advance. They created something within some strict set parameters, often to very good results.
Axl Rose is the opposite of this. His album Chinese Democracy took twenty years to make. He had almost unlimited creative control, twenty years in the studio and all of the Guns 'n' Roses fortune with which to make his album. I don't recall a single song off of that album. Rose had too much freedom, and it became a big muddy mess that was trying to be too much at once.
“Without the rules, you end up getting a big blundering mess that tries to be too much at once.”
I am starting a build that I think will fit my paramaters of what it means to be creative. Using an old Norco Mountaineer SL frame from the 80's, I am going to build up a single speed shred sled that will be burly, reliable and simple. To accomplish this, it has to do five things.
- It must be a bicycle
- This goes without saying, but I am not going to put any extra wheels, motors or anything superfluous on it.
- It must be able to coast
- I am not building a track bike, this thing is going to go off road and must be able to ride like a trail bike.
- It must be off road ready
- Like I said above, I want to be able to take this thing off road and rip some fireroads on it. It is going to skid like crazy
- It must look good
- I like a bike that looks good, if I don't like to look at it, chances are that I won't ride it.
- It must be simple
- I'm going for the simplest of parts and very limited accessories. I want this to feel like the bike I had as a kid. I want to ride it like a kid and have a hell of a time doing it.
With these rules, I think it should be fairly simple to build something that rips, while keeping a simple and functional aesthetic. We all got into bikes because they are simple, effective and a hell of a lot of fun. That's what this bike is going to be. Why not try to make the most of that?