Heroux Cycles

Because sunset at 22.07. Had to check if the ti beast really rides that differently from the little steel one, or if I just had not ridden it for so long that I forgot how it feels. But a different thing it is indeed. And most bikes are great fun. It’s the trails that make it worthwhile. That’s what’s important.

I have a period where I prefer riding this little steel prototype Heroux frame with oldish parts, over the nice and more modern and brutally built titanium big brother Zen. I think it is because this feels like bikes used to be in my more formative years! Longer stem, shorter bar, steeper angle, lighter wheels, rounder tire profile (narrower rims), comfier saddle, and my favorite grips making any bike feel like home. Or maybe it is just the midnight long long evening and two hours on the trails far away that provides the magic. Any bike would have done it this evening.

After three weeks, no sun, just all wet and dark and work. Finally there is sun, crispy fresh snow, and holiday. Life is good. Winter has many sounds and silences to it that are unique. As Knausgård writes, nothing is as silent as the forest when it snows. The silence of the winter is the acoustic version of its whiteness. And you know the sound of that new thin puddle ice cracking when you roll through it. The sharp cracks and the tingling of shatters spreading on the ice that remains.

The steel, red, pure, basic trail fixie. A BMX for the wilderness. While I love the titanium rides, this is the idea that started it all. The ruggedness, simpleness, slim tubes, accessible price point, total absence of high tech. Not even a through axle in sight. I wish I hade some more of it, to sell to the few people sharing my wicked ideas about biking! I have not ridden this bike in the entire 2025 I think and man what I liked doing it today! I don’t know why. Made the titanium Zen feel like a tank in comparison. Maybe it was the narrow rims; lighter wheels, rounder tire profiles. Or the chopped old handlebar, 10 cm less to turn. Sports car instead of bus driver. Or the old mega long Cult Rasta grips, simply the best ever. Or maybe it was just the beautiful autumn evening. That’s really what it’s all about.

Visit Västerås with bike! This was a pleasant surprise. When visiting town for a day I was able to shoehorn the fixie into the little car boot and explore some local trails while the older kids were doing other things. Trails turned out to be super nice, burly, demanding and naturally technical, small ups and downs and also super easy to navigate even for a first time visitor like me. Well done everyone involved in Västerås. I could do this again!

Back on trails after two months due to pneumonia and life in general. Shape may all time low but riding a bike is always ATH. For Heroux Cycles, all stock frames sold out and a new project has begun, slowly. It will happen in 2925, promise.

This old trail fixie picture from 2010 popped up. Those old enough can relate to the evolution of light hardware since! And this fixie MTB I set up already in 2008. So as far as real trail riding goes, I just realized I’m soon approaching MORE than half that time being on the fixed, than on other kinds of bikes although I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. Did not see that coming. Time flies you know. This curious fixie offroad experiment I did somewhere back in 2006-2007 or so almost as a joke just never ended.

If the magic opportunity to actually ride bikes for fun appears, no weather or trail condition is a valid reason to decline. While the trails were surprisingly awesome, the gravel approach was DEADLY with every little pebble wrapped in wet ice. Vigilante 2.8 is the perfect rear companion for sloppy sketchy days like these. Crunchy ice, muddy mud, wet water, moist fog.

“Now go away or I’ll taunt you a second time!” I have always loved the French way, don’t we all honestly. The proud creation of - - went through one corporate cathartis after another but I always wanted one of those skinny beautiful steel hardtails in the nineties. Now as things happened, a crazy-looking Sunn Shamann became my new laboratory for the dreams of going full suspension true single speed. Because it’s not healthy to try to keep up with the downcountry friends on a rigid brakeless fixie. Lots of hack putting old and new stuff together and going SS on a full system frame but so far it feels kind of awesome.