Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Gallus Cycles

Gallus Cycles City Bike

This years Texas Custom Bike Show was held recently in Austin. The show featured a refreshing predominance of modern klunkers and campers, including a gorgeous mountain bike by Gallus Cycles, inspired by the forebears of the sport. Jeremy Shlachter is the man behind Gallus Cycles, based in Fort Worth, and this city bike is another of his creations.

Gallus Cycles City Bike

Jeremy’s background is just as refreshing as the frames he builds. Bikes did not play as significant a role in his life as skateboarding and soccer, but instead became enamored by them while working as a bike messenger in Glasgow, while he was studying architecture. It was also during this stage that he discovered he wasn’t enamored by a computer-centric lifestyle, but found more satisfaction crafting things by hand. The combination of his passion for design, cycling and the integrity of handicraft resulted in Gallus Cycles.

Gallus Cycles City Bike

I asked Jeremy for a brief background to the city bike and he was happy to elaborate: “So, a little about the bike then. As with all of my custom bikes, the bike is a reflection of the cyclist who will ride it. Occasionally I am given a carte blanche to build what I want, but for the most part it’s typically a very detailed collaboration between myself and the future owner. This bike was no exception. It was made for a local guy here in Fort Worth named Curtis Heath. He is a high school history teacher, songwriter and musician in the band Theater Fire, and also has his own recording studio. He only records on vintage equipment, or pieces he has made, to achieve a true, raw sound unchanged by digital effects or technology. It was that ethos that went into the overall design of the bike. He wanted a classic, relatively uncluttered bike that was suitable for commuting.

Gallus Cycles City Bike

The frame is made from Columbus SL tubing, with lugs that have some simple yet classy touches, such as the drilled pattern and custom seat cluster. A medium-size custom rack sits on the front of the bike with dual generator lights. The wiring for the lights are routed through the fork and rack, and run down to the Schmidt Son generator hub, laced to Velo Orange 650b rims. The rear hub is a Sturmey Archer 2-speed kick shift hub. Using this hub was an integral part of the design. The kick shift gives option of 2 speeds without cables, shifters, or even brake levers, as it is also a coaster brake.

Gallus Cycles City Bike

The rest of drive train consists of Sugino RD cranks and a KMC Z chain. The handlebars are the extremely comfortable Nitto Randonneur bars mounted to a Nitto Technomic stem and Campy Record head set. The saddle is a worn Brooks Swift we paired with a Velo Orange seat post. The fenders were custom made for us by Woody’s Fenders. Most importantly, the paint is candy apple green with light blue panels.

Gallus Cycles City Bike

We’ll undoubtedly be seeing more of Jeremy’s work in the future. Keep an eye on his website and blog for updates. Photos by Nick Pendergast.