The Fasted500

If you wanted just one bike, one, really nice, bike, what might you get? Zahir knew exactly what he was looking for, which is always a pleasure as a builder. It’s great to work with someone who is open, collaborative and yet confident in their needs like Zahir was. He was looking to replace a mass produced steel frame in order to have a bike he really loved, and get better lights, mudguards and carrying capacity. He wanted something livelier and more responsive, and he wanted something that was altered here and there to fit him just so.

With a wheel set from RyanBuildsWheels making use of the SON SL connector-less dynamo hub, I built a nice springy fork with stainless dropouts. As there’s no connector, the electricity from the dynamo is carried straight through the fork. The cable runs internally to the fork crown.

I used a standard diameter tube set, giving a really responsive, comfortable ride. The custom stem lifts Zahir’s bars to a comfortable height without the ugly spacer stack of his old bike. We didn’t use cowled dropouts like I use on a lot of my bikes in order to easily allow for the hitch for the trailer Zahir uses to tow his children in. Finally, for long rides and commuting, I made up a rack to support his Wizard Works Mini Shazam, complete with a brass dial operated quick release to make fitting and removing the bag easy.

And that copper egg, on the top tube is just a little personal memento of his children’s favourite story. I love the little personal touches like that. In true environmentally conscious/pandemic pragmatic style, all the components were taken off his old bike.

Zahir started an initiative called Fasted500 this year. Created to provide a resource to encourage Muslim people to continue safely exercising while fasting during Ramadan, it’s Zahir’s gentle riff off of Rapha’s Festive500. Zahir just exudes this stoke for cycling. I’m honoured that he’ll be pedalling around on this bike for years to come.

Check out the Fasted500 here.