…and that’ something.
News / OurStory
Bike won’t make things worse. October 28, 2015
A story from Taj about why Fairdale started September 29, 2015
Some months ago The Ride Journal asked me to write a little story about Fairdale. Funnily enough they had seen our momentarily viral R+D video and wanted to know more about what we were all about. Though I expect they were hoping for something as goofy as that video I gave them a much more sincere version of “our story”. This ran in their mag a few months ago which you can download from Ride Journal. I imagined myself trying to explain my motivation for the brand to someone who didn’t know anything about Fairdale. -Taj
A Change of Gear by Taj
I want to keep my bicycle innocence. I want to walk a into a bicycle store and feel amazed by all the spaceship styled machines inside. When the salesman spots me lusting over the top of the line road bike I want to still feel bewildered when he tells me the “cross-weaved carbon-fiber lay-up” makes the bike so strong it’ll win the Tour de France (but don’t let it fall over because it’ll break if it lands on anything sharp). I want to remember the discouragement I feel when the mountain bike that looks like a motorcycle with no engine somehow costs more than a motorcycle WITH an engine. I want to remember what it feels like to not know anything about bikes… to just want to go for a ride.
Bike Biz editorial: the roots of Fairdale December 6, 2013
Bike Biz asked me to write a little piece on how I transitioned from hardcore BMX dude into bikes with bigger wheels. I got slightly off subject and ended up writing more about how I managed to stay in love with bikes all these years. The whole mag is pretty awesome (aimed at the bicycle industry). Check out my story on page 11. View it online here or download a PDF version of the mag here. Thanks Bike Biz! -Taj
What Fairdale is to me (today) August 6, 2013
Taj and Monty photo by Sandy Carson
Fifteen years ago I was a BMX pro riding around Austin with a single minded focus on BMX. I’d spend all day on my bike searching the city for the next street riding spot but hardly even notice I was on a bike, thinking more about the potential of the spots I’d find than enjoying the ride there. On one ride I found a rad old 1950’s grandma cruiser hanging out of a dumpster. I dug it out and dragged it home unsure of why I’d done it. I was so completely focused on BMX at this point in my life that I was actually embarrassed to be seen riding a non-BMX bike. A few makeshift repairs later I had it rolling as my grocery getter. On my first cruise I had an epiphany; this was FUN! That old cruiser reduced cycling to it’s most simple element… just rolling. There was no desire to push myself on that bike and there was no point trying to see how fast it could go. It wasn’t a work out, it wasn’t a challenge and it wasn’t a means to any end. It was simply rolling around on a bike and that was all it needed to be.
