Here’s a Pake “Rum Runner” single speed that I built for a friend of mine. It’s a 56cm frame with a KHS track fork, an Surly wheelset with flip-flop rear hub, front and rear brakes, and riser bars. The tires were the stock Avocet 700x32c skinwall slicks came from my RB-T, which should deliver a comfortable ride on broken urban pavement. Simple!
flickr image by FelixvonPlaten1
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about bikes, but the Ostro “Torro” track frames have me intrigued. Handmade in Poland, they are rarely seen in the USA. Their design reminds me of Koichi Yamaguchi’s gorgeous Kilo / Pursuit bike, with the distinctive “triple triangle” seatstays of the GT Gutterball and curved seat tube of the mid-90’s KHS Aero track frames.
The welds and chunky rear fork ends make the Ostro look like it would be as at home on the streets as the track, though. Bike Mielec in Poland shows a similar frame in their gallery, I’m not 100% sure that they are the manufacturer of Ostro frames, or if they merely copied one. I am considering have a copy of this frame built in the USA by Gene Spicer, as it’s probably cheaper and faster than sourcing one from Poland.
Check out the gallery of Ostro’s after the jump. Note that the geometry differs between bikes – some have the very steep angles and saddle-to-bar drop associated with a pursuit frame, while others like the one pictured above have a horizontal top tube.