Rock 'N' Raw

Finally finished (sort of) the Asong Asero project. Ave took his time in building this frame set but it's worth every minute of the wait.

As most of you know already, the geometry of this bike was inspired by the ASKAL. For the unfamiliar, askal is slang for asong kalye which means street dog or stray dog. And indeed it is snappy, agile and always ready to pounce. Just like a real askal.

Even on temporary set-up and raw finish, it never fails to slap a smile on my face whenever i ride this iron dog. I suspect the cantilevered one-off-made-to-measure track ends and the off-set seattube/BB/downtube junction -which results to a slammed rear wheel, are the reason for the very responsive "feel" of the ride. Plus the 77º HTA with the 20mm fork rake.

More after the break.

Arf!

\m/

Looks Familiar

photos by Michael Torio


\m/

Fixum X85 Track: Custom Ave Maldea

This is the… nth build of Marvi from Singapore. The most recent Maldea custom frame set from his "Fixum Machina" series, it is built from a mix of Columbus and Dedacciai steel with the Cannondale '93 track as his peg look-wise. Neat.

Specs and more photos after the jump.

Prototyping

Jzn's Nishiki

Very nice example of a roadie/fixed gear conversion. Jzn bought this Nishiki 10-speed-frame and had Ave -our favorite local builder- change the drop outs into track ends. I like the yellow-on-metallic green colorway and the fact that Jzn decided to keep the relaxed angles on this track bike.

Specs and more photos after the break.

Tik's "Green Minded" Pista Build

A speed freak, and one of the most aggressive and impatient riders i know, Tik went the opposite way and took his time -about one year- in building up this beautiful custom Maldea track bike. From the angles of the frame to the choices of components, his build is definitely worth the wait!

Check out the specs and more images after the jump.

Off The Wall

Rekta Lagalag na Hindi pa Tapos

This is one of my earlier experiments with Ave. We extended the seat stays up until just beneath the saddle for a stiffer upward pedal stroke. Covered a decent amount of kilometers with this frame prior to it going into "rehab" as I had the head tube changed from oversized to standard sized diameter as well as the down tube from ø38 to it's current 31.8mm diameter. The paint job also went thru a make-over from it's previous powder coated matte black to the present DIY colourway. All for a cleaner look.

As the title suggests, this build is still a work in progress. Pretty as it is, the current fork on this bike is just a temporary replacement. Ave is still working on the real fork, which hopefully, he can finish soon.

Check more images and the component list after the jump.

Marty's Mellow Yellow Track

Don't let the title deceive you. This custom Maldea frame might be mellow in color but it's geometry is far from it. With 76º angles for both head tube and seat tube, this bike gives you little option to ride in slow mode. Still a work in progress, Marty's plan is to make this build "all Japanes". But for now, I can clearly imagine him zipping thru traffic and bombing flats and hills on this bike, Japanese or not. "It's all speed and maneuverability" according to him. No doubt about it.

Check out more picks and the specs after the jump.

Czar Jay's Astronaut

Look at the proportions of this bike. Look at the angles. This is custom at it's most practical application. It's made of high tensile tubing but it's got a proper geometry. Maldea custom at it's most basic but it still stands out in the crowd. Ain't that sweet as fuck?

Lagarista Re-edit

Due to a reader's request, I'm inserting a very short story of how this frame came to be.

"Lagarista" is a term used to describe movie house couriers whose only job is to pick up and deliver rolls of films all over the metro's countless cinema houses in strict adherence to each cinema's showing schedule. They have to deliver rain or shine thru traffic and sludge just so the show can go on.

Now, I've no aspirations of being a "lagarista" even if i think it's a cool job, but I was inspired by the practicality of their process. Weaving thru bad traffic and leaving everybody behind sounds like very good idea to me. Hence the REKTA Lagarista. With an aggressive geometry and twitchy enough handling, it gets you to your destination thru what little space our congested streets will allow. And it gets you there fast. This is the inspiration behind the Lagarista.

This particular build have some rare and nasty NJS components on it but you can tell from the images that this bike was built to be ridden and lovingly abused. It is one of my favorite framesets. One of my best collaborations with Ave.

More pics and the specs after the jump.

3Renzo

It seems like we're not running out of pursuit builds lately. Here's Renzo's take on the classic aggressive frame. I like the way he appropriated the 3Rensho logo to say "ave" in place of the three number 1s on the original. As a whole, this is quite a decent build considering there's not so much NJS or other "bling" parts here. Once again, we can see Ave's prowess shining through in a simple and basic frame. No bullshit and clean as fuck! The white/yellow/blue colorway is also a bonus.

Check out more images after the jump.

The Suspect Device

Kenneth has been riding this build through various towns and cities around Laguna (San Pablo, Calauan, Bay, Los Banos, Calamba, Santa Cruz/Pagsanjan boundary…), as well as through different parts of the Metro Manila. He also joined the Tagaytay Hill Bombing 2 Ride on this bike. So far, so good he says. I say I love it! A solid custom Maldea frameset and a conflagration of yummy Japanese parts.

He shot this photoset during his last visit to Sampaloc Lake in San Pablo Laguna. Please check more images and the specs after the jump.

Manila Animal

Image by Wham.

Mean Green Riding Machine

Villy the "Hulk". Rides around with his mask to scare the city smog away as well as the street cretins, i suppose. very nicely coordinated army green theme here. The olive green Brooks Colt saddle has a nice faded patina on it. Can't wait 'til the leather bar tape fades too. Nice job Villy.

More images and specs after the jump.

Marc's Work In Progress

I saw this bike recently and i liked the simplicity of it. Although still an "unfinished business", as Marc had warned me, this bike is definitely ridable because he rode it to the last Tagaytay Hill Bomb ride. I cannot help but appreciate the fact that sometimes we don't need expensive components to come up with a decent build.

More images after the jump.

Fixum Esque Aura

Marvi from Singapore got another custom Maldea pursuit frame. As usual it was a product of long distance collaboration. I like it that he used simple components on this build. Gives it that simple but elegant touch.

Check out more photos and the specs after the jump.

Gio's Custom Maldea Q Pursuit

Look at those lines. The glimmering finish. That color! Man, this isn't just a bike. This is Gio's pursuit of happiness. Literally. What else can i say? It's just beautiful.

Check out more happiness after the jump.

Lance Manuel's Custom Maldea Equanimity

The man in a black bike. I have lost my taste for black builds for quite some time now. But this one rekindles some of the dark shadows lurking inside my head. Oh wait... right,  it's supposed to be a bike check. What i'm saying is, Lance was able to utilize black in a very aesthetically pleasing manner in this custom Maldea pursuit set up. And that badge is just rocking!

Check more pics and the specs after the jump.