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Last Saturday was the first time I took out the newly built Sette Reken out for a ride. We rode on a trail called Turnbull Canyon in Whittier, Ca. This is a super fun trail, not as friendly to single speed bikes, but still wicked fun!

The ride starts off with a 2 mile climb to the top. I’m not sure the elevation is but its pretty high. Once you’re up there, you can see downtown LA and the Hollywood sign.

I ended up using the Yess Pro Full Suspension tensioner because the first tensioner I installed wasn’t wrapping around the rear cog enough,which caused my chain to skip. After swapping it out, the bike rode fine. This was also a perfect opportunity to try out the new Ergon Grips I just got. I really like those things because it has the bar end features with out it looking goofy with 6″ ends…

Basically, the Sette Reken did REALLY well for its first ride. The frame was light, flickable and I was able to take it on jumps, singletrack and some other technical parts of the trail. I’ll keep riding this baby and report back how it performs.

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This morning I got up around 5:30am just so I can put on the finishing touches on the Sette Reken frame. Magally of Pricepoint.com sent me this frame so we can show our readers that you can easily build a single speed bike for allot less than what people think. First of all this frame only cost $69 from Pricepoint.com…not bad if you ask me! The single speed kit that I have on there was only $12…also from Pricepoint.com. I’ll get into the cost of the other stuff later. But for now I’ve built it so I can ride this weekend. I’ll probably do a test run on it just to make sure nothing snaps.

Those tires are the Rubena Harpie set that I recently reviewed.

Single speed kit from Pricepoint.com includes spacers, a 16t and an 18t cog. They also have tensioners for as low as $20. I happen to have this one laying around, I figure I’d use it.

These are Avid 5 Single Digit V brakes, courtesy of Priscilla’s old bike. I recently converted her over to Avid BB5 (Disc)

Marzocchi Bomber with ETA. I forget the actual model, its either a EXR or MX Pro or something like that.

I really dig how the bike is basically all black. Those are Tektro brake levers, but they’ll soon be replaced with some Avid levers. Uno handle bar and a 90mm WTB stem.

I weighed the Reken…about 24lbs…eh not too bad. But a huge improvement from my full suspension single speed that weighed close to 30lbs. I figure the fork and low end Alex wheels are the culprit of the chunkiness of the bike. But then again I wasn’t trying to build a super light bike. I was building this with a budget conscience mindset.

All in all, I’m happy with the build. I’ll be trying this baby out soon enough and I’ll come back with a full report and the cost breakdown of the build.

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This evening when I got home from work, a sweet package was winking at me…it was the Sette Reken Frame! Pricepoint.com shipped it Friday afternoon and I got it today…and it was supposed to be UPS Ground…that’s wicked fast!

I was impressed on the care packaging that went on with the frame. It was bubbled wrapped at least 5 layers thick. The frame arrived flawless.

I really dig the matte black finish…

This thing is sooo sexy that it looks good enough to be part of anyone’s home decor. Heck when Priscilla saw the frame she let out a…”oooohhhh” and said…”mmm is that the new frame?”

There’s big plans for this frame and I’m going to keep you guy updated as I make some progress on the build.

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Nirve Bicycles recently introduced a new bike in their line up called the Night Owl. It’s basically a beach cruiser frame with a BMX handle bars and some knobby tires…kinda reminds me of the Klunkerz bikes that mountain biking was bred from.

I think the Night Owl would be a good contender to go against some of the rigid single speed mountain bikes out there. You get V-brakes, a sturdy frame and a kickstand!

Here’s the Specs:
# Nirve proprietary Galaxie™ Alloy frameSingle speed
# Linear Pull Brakes
# Nirve Classic double spring saddle
# Quick-Adjust seat clamp
# Aluminum wheels w/stainless steel spokes
# Alloy crank
# Nirve grips in soft Kraton rubber
# Nirve 26�? Enduro tread tires
# Welded Cartridge Kickstand

We’re actually going to test this baby out for both uses, bike commuting and for single speed mountain biking next month. I’m really excited about it because you get the best of both worlds with this bike.

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