(Mortimer in New York, 2003. Photo Maria Laub)
"MORTIMER, OWNER OF TRACK BIKE-SPECIFIC STORE KEIRIN BERLIN (
www.keirinberlin.de), TELLS HOW IT WAS AND HOW IT IS:
I remember in ‘93 when I went to the first cycle messenger world championships (CMWC) in Berlin, i was not even allowed to start, as I had just started 2 months ago, and you had to be a bikemessenger for at least 6 months to compete, but to that story another time..., anyway back in ‘93 I heard some rumours about some guys riding without brakes, but I just thought yeah right...
A few years later in SF at the CMWC in ‘96, there was a trackbike only race, aaaah now I understand, those bikes that they use on the velodrome, damn it how cool is that...!???
So, in 97´ Barcelona Kevin from NYC organized the first skid competition of the CMWC, it smelt like rubber... we were all stoked, but still thought those guys must be crazy...
In ‘98 I left Berlin, first to London to messenger over there, after the ECMC in Graz I went to NYC and took my bike up to Montreal to the NACCC´s (North American Cycle Courier Champs) from there I went to Toronto, to stay with my Dutch friends Kamaal and Xander. In summer ‘98 it was a big trend to go fixed in Toronto. Keith from the courier cavern found a bunch of Coppi trackframes and started selling them to his messenger friends, some montreal connection. I had no money to get one, as I just “moved“ to North America...
After Toronto I went to Washington DC to the CMWC and also worked there a few months. I really like DC, but I had NYC on my mind...
So I jumped on the chinatown bus, got a job at velocity on east 14th and stayed with James Bolger, who told and taught me everything about trackbikes. Slacker Tim, Fast Eddie and Kevin also convinced me to get a bike...
When I went to Berlin for 3 weeks in September ‘98 I called an old friend who used to be a racer, he got me a bike for 50 German Marks (around 25 euro´s) it was a 1980´s East German Diamant trackbike with Campy cranks, Cinelli bars and stem and Renak hubs from east germany. I went back to NYC and rebuilt the hubs with clinchers. Still not 100% convinced I told james that I would just go to the park and try it on the weekend, he replied I should just go and work a day...it is easy, I will see. So I did and I was hooked, that was October 98´! I never had a frontbrake on my bike, nor did I ever think about it... NYC was cool “back in the days“ once you saw someone riding a trackbike he greeted you. It was a very cool underground scene. I remember the oldschool rastas who also worked at velocity. Timberland boots, flat pedals and big gear, and no attitude. Yeah yeah, the good ol´ days...
In 2001 I went to Tokyo to ride my Cannondale trackbike thru´ asia. In Tokyo there was only one guy who had a trackbike, but he was a dispatcher.
Nobody wanted to go to Keirin races, but I went and I loved it... I rode from Tokyo to Osaka, took a ferry to Shanghai, rode from there to Shanghai, down the coast to Hong Kong, over to Vietnam to Hanoi, down route one on the coast to Saigon, over to Cambodia to Phnom Penh, took a boat (too warm to ride) up to Siem Reap, and from there I went to Bangkok... all with around 20kg´s of luggage and no brakes, just fixed, with a flip flop hub, that i never turned around, as i had to take the whole rack off, too difficult. It was an experience that I don´t want to miss and that I want to do again... one day! So, anyone telling me that I am crazy or people are crazy who rides track bikes on the street, should try doing something like that on any bike, same same...
I went back to nyc after 9/11 worked in NYC till 2003 then opened the shop in Berlin in 2004, we were like a handful of people riding trackbikes.
We went to kyotoloco in May 2004 when the keirin frames where still available for 5000-10000 yen and almost no one was riding them on the street.
In 2005 I went to NYC for the CMWC and to work again as a bikemessenger.
The trackbike thing took off, everybody was riding fixedgear, mostly conversions or cheap complete bikes. Non-messengers started racing us to the next light and Williamsburg was full of people just walking down bedford ave with girlfriend on the left, bike on the right...when I came back to Berlin, more and more people got into it, but we never expected that it would go crazy like this.
I personally think that the fixed gear bike will stay, it is not just a trend. the bikes are so beautiful and simple, so anyone who likes bikes will get one, just to have one, or to see it as a piece of art for the wall..."
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