The urban singlespeed style has undergone a million bizarre changes in the last decade, it seems there are too many subsidiaries to consider these days. From oldschool steel track bikes to modern aluminum singlespeeds and beyond, one thing that miraculously sticks around is the gentleman’s quasi singlespeed:

I believe it’s supposed to epitomize the dandy’s take on singlespeeds, not much unlike a certain attire chosen by a certain clientele who digs Scandinavian design and fancies their vintage race car in ‘british racing green’. They might have attended a vintage tweed run in the past but no matter how hard they try, they usually miss the authenticity they’re aiming at by about a beer-bike’s length.

Let’s start with the front wheel, the beige tire was never retro authentic, it simply looks bad and is only topped by the front hub dynamo, absolutely not vintage friendly. The chain guard is probably meant to uplift the retro factor by at least 20% but actually lowers it to under 10% in total:

I’m sorry to say but aluminum chainbars with plastic branding are a retro no-no. And while we’re at it, it seems the front hub dynamo isn’t pseudo retro enough, lets pimp the cockpit 21st century style:

Double is better and it keeps your attention from the top tube mounted plastic u-lock holder, how many retro minus points for that? Ah, fuck it, at least the holder makes some practical sense, something that can’t be said about the handlebar setup:

Ok, so you really want it like that? A handlebar setup that makes you feel like you’re hangin from the edge of a cliff? Don’t you know riding in an urban pursuit mode like that will make your tweed jacket feel all itchy and twist out of shape, so why not lower the stem and tilt the bars to a comfy position? Maybe because then your nose wouldn’t be touching the stem screw and you’d also be missing a closeup of this:

I guess adjusting the perfect handlebar angle consumed all of dandy’s attention so missing the center of the clamp area was just coincidence. However, I’m sure the fancy extra front light will light up them dangerous urban alleys when he takes his coffee racer to the next slow-brewed filter coffee hotspot.

Now let me have my double espresso please…

• cockpit, coffee, dandy, retro, singlespeed, tweed, urban, vintage
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