One of the things I find most inspiring about cycling these days is the creative community it seems to be fostering. Whether it’s the filmmaking of Brian Vernor, the printmaking of Rebecca J Kaye, the leatherwork of Busyman Bicycles and Patebury, or the bag making of BOGear and Bike Bag Dude, it seems everyone’s got a story to tell through their craft, dedicated to enriching our cycling experience.
Take Matt Pittman and Kyle Steed. Two guys with a passion for cycling, photography, skating and design. They started something called Folly (I’m loath to call it a brand) in 2011, which is more an expression of art than enterprise. Their infectious enthusiasm is expressed through their website, their Follycross events, a range of cycling kit, accessories and skate decks, and the FaTRoB all-road frame.
Folly teamed up with Joshua Bryant, a Portland frame builder, on a special edition FaTRoB — Fat Tired Road Bike — that Joshua has been developing. What these bikes are good at is traversing any type of trail you might find running parallel to the road. Best described as a Get Rad Machine, they are available in 26″, 650b and 700c configurations — whatever your flavour.
The FOLLY x BRYANT FaTRoB is a 700c version, painted in ‘Venom-esque’ matte black (although pink is also offered) with hand painted insignia by Kyle. Joshua recently tested the FaTRoB in the Oregon Outback ride, where it performed flawlessly, and Matt has been giving his a good workout too. Matt’s photography tells the story, shot on film with his Yashica FX-3 Super.
Head to the Folly site for more pictures and the Cycles J Bryant site for a more detailed ride report.
