News / Author Archive

West coast field tripDay 0 Over the next couple weeks Fairdale will be on our first official Team Field Trip. Sandy Carson and I (along with a few friends I’ll introduce you to later) are riding bikes down the West Coast to San Francisco. Sandy has already started the journey leaving Seattle a couple days ago.

Home again, for a dayAnd… finally I’m home from my trip around the Eastern half of the country. Whew… what a drive… put almost 6000 miles on my new car. Got a day here in Austin and then its off to the Northwest for the big tour down the west coast.

Check out some sweet new bikes!Take a look at our new bikes. Our full line will be in stock by the end of the month!

Driving out eastGot on the road from Michigan (after Fed Ex brought me a new credit card to replace my stolen one) and started working my way east.

Fairdale Road Trip Day 2 thru 4Day 2 was a pretty uneventful 7AM to 2AM drive. Shouldn’t really have taken that long but Monty and I stopped a lot. At one point I got bored and just decided to get lost off the highway and wander around some small town on the Illinois-Indiana border. All in all it was one of […]

Road Trip Day 1I’m freestyling a route around the country something like this. Today I loaded up my new car and hit the road to do a loop of the eastern half of the country. I’m going to visit bike shops and show them the new Fairdales we have coming in. Thanks to a late start I only covered […]

ESPN talks FairdaleESPN wrote a really nice piece about Fairdale and me that I’m very honored by. I guess it sort of chronicles my riding career and leads into the creation of Fairdale. Thanks guys -Taj “Over 25 years ago, a BMXer by the name of Taj Mihelich started a path through BMX that few had ever […]

Fairdale x Roger / CoasterWe're really pleased to "officially" announce the Fairdale Roger bike. This collector's edition is only available in super limited quantities.

Real Ride 2012This is by far the largest collection of Fairdale kits every assembled and I’m not even in the picture! Texas summer bike rides requires a thorough group sunscreen coverage session. Here the Full Factory/ OTX office and Sandy Carson prepare for the 85 miler.

Big Bicycle RidesI’ve got a few big rides coming up so I started modifying my Weekender prototype bike to see how flexible a platform it is.

Fairdale People: Parser Frame Build from up northAnother interesting application for our single speed Parser frame. This time from Canada.

Shiner RideThe Shiner G.A.S.P. Ride is an annual 100 mile long ride from Austin to Shiner, Tx. It’s a fun ride that raises thousands for the United Way and it ends at the Shiner Brewery for a big party. Sandy Carson went out on the ride this year and sent back this report…

fairdalebikes

Summer Bike Launch continues with the Dark Metalli

Summer Bike Launch continues with the Dark Metallic Silver Weekender Nomad. We are extra pleased with how this color came out–it has a soft glow to it without being too loud. We all know the color of a bike doesn’t technically matter, but we also know that the bike that looks the coolest is the one you’ll want to ride. This Nomad model dresses our versatile Weekender frame with crispy 1x11 mechanical shifting, 700c wheels, and shallow drop bars.

Check out our whole Summer Bike Launch on the ‘net.

Summer Bike Launch continues with new Hareraisers!

Summer Bike Launch continues with new Hareraisers! The Classic White Hareraiser with a rigid fork is shown at the bottom. The steel fork gives the bike a more BMX feel thanks to its non-squishy-ness, and a slightly shorter axle to crown (which steepens the head angle of the bike). Odyssey lever and a mechanical brake without a liquid inside the cable will also make sense to a BMX brain.

The Hareraiser FX (top), uses the same frame and comes with upgraded cranks, a hydraulic brake, and a tough Manitou DJ fork.

Check them out and the rest of our summer launch out there on the internet.

Summer Bike Launch. New Ridgemont in Cool Mint.

Summer Bike Launch. New Ridgemont in Cool Mint.

You won’t find any wind tunnel tested electronics here, just a simple and practical bike. 8 speeds, MTB tires, and a comfy/ casual riding position that will put a smile on your face. Ride a Ridgemont through the city and out to some bike trails.

Summer Bike Launch: Our versatile and much-loved W

Summer Bike Launch: Our versatile and much-loved Weekender platform shows the quality of its stripes again. The touring-inspired Weekender was designed with the idea that a bike that you can ride on epic adventures would also be comfortable for daily rides. Weekenders have quite literally ridden around the world, and are also happy to enjoy everyday rides (even on the weekdays). This Weekender Nomad MX build loves to monster truck its way over a wide variety of terrain. 2.1” wide Maxxis tires, 4” tall BMX bars, and crisp SRAM 11-speed shifting all married to the stout Weekender frame is a simple recipe for fun riding!

The Weekender Nomad MX in Gloss White is available now as part of our Summer Bike Launch.

We just launched a bunch of new bikes! Scroll arou

We just launched a bunch of new bikes! Scroll around our site (on the internet) to check them out, or stay glued to this feed as we post about the new models this week.

We’re out here at @nwtuneup. Come say hello if y

We’re out here at @nwtuneup. Come say hello if you’re around.

#fairdalebikes

Our Lookfar Step-thru is finally back in stock and

Our Lookfar Step-thru is finally back in stock and shipping! It’s a simple bike, and also a smile machine.

Our 27.5” Taj bike is a BMX cruiser is always re

Our 27.5” Taj bike is a BMX cruiser is always ready for a little BMX action. All the simplicity and durability of a BMX bike in a size that is comfortable to ride for anyone. The Translucent Winter Blue versions are beautys!

The Fairdale rear cargo Adjust-A-Rack pivots, slid

The Fairdale rear cargo Adjust-A-Rack pivots, slides, and adjusts to fit your bike.

This isn’t technically Fairdale content but I dr

This isn’t technically Fairdale content but I drew it during a long sales meeting. -Taj

My Weekender has turned into a jumbled mix of part

My Weekender has turned into a jumbled mix of parts over the last couple of years, but I love it. It makes me happy every time I ride it. I’m aware that reading a post proclaiming love for a product on the same feed that makes the product isn’t worth much. Still, it is sincere. This collection of mismatched parts, things I wanted to try out, see if they would fit, bought on a whim, or reinstalled after an experiment gone wrong, has landed on a rig I see no way to improve. Of course, there are more expensive and fancier components I could put on the bike, and our new Rockitship is just around the corner, but my Weekender will keep going.

The Oldman Mountain front rack is so handy for grabbing a bag of groceries or ferrying my laptop, U-lock, and sketchbook to work at a coffee shop (and a parking spot for my helmet while I run inside). The rear rack is handy when it rains to hold my waterproof laptop bag. The MX-4 bars and BMX stem make the bike match the riding position of my mountain bike, which I’m most used to. The Schwalbe Super Moto X 2.4 tire is absurdly big on the bike, making cornering on this commuter a lot of fun. There’s even enough grip to pedal the bike out on the occasional mountain bike trail. I switched out the drivetrain for the GX Eagle one that comes on our Elevator for big hills. Odyssey levers on the bars feel like a reminder of my BMX home.

Weekenders are fun bikes to mod, add accessories to, and, most importantly, ride on any occasion. Mine brings a smile to my face on every ride and I hope one can do the same for you.
-Taj

Prototype testing….

Prototype testing….