Wee's City Neutrino

I live in Bangkok, a city notorious for its bad traffic. Bicycles has been my transport of choice and my serious hobby for more than a decade. Cycling is the fastest way for me to get around the area where I live and work. The bike I use most often is a Brompton for its portability. I can fold it up to get on trains and continue riding where I get off.

I got interested in the Neutrino since the first version came out, but never liked the rather neutral paint. The 2nd gen pistachio was more fun but still not my thing. The Slammin’ Salmon announced in early 2023 totally got me! I visited Bok Bok Bike, the best touring bike specialist in Bangkok, to try a Neutrino along with two other similar mini velos with different setups and I was hooked! I wanted something bigger and more stable than a Brompton but smaller than a road bike for maneuverability when slipping between cars on the street. (This thought process might be just me trying to justify having one more bike… LOL) The goal was to build a cute and fun commuter.

I started with gathering images of different builds, checking the build lists, and even reaching out to some Neutrino owners on Instagram (who were all very helpful 😊). I painted on some of the reference images to help with the decision on color scheme. I ended up with black and orange, partly because I already have quite a few orange items like Brooks C17, Day Tripper saddle bag and Restrap Bar Pack from my other bikes.

Hunting for parts was a great fun! I looked up anything in orange and lay them out on Freeform app. I got to know some brands I didn’t know along the way and visited some shops to see some items.

For the drivetrain, I wanted Shimano Alfine 8 but couldn’t find a black one anywhere locally. So I opted for single speed because I miss one that I sold during COVID. The gearing of 42/13 was chosen to be between the 2 speed of my trusty Brompton. I was quite lucky to get the last pair of tan wall Maxxis Grifters from a BMX shop and also the last set of black VO Smooth Fenders from the local distributor (at pre-COVID price! 😉)

I checked out many BMX-styled handlebars before ending up with the Klunker for its comfortable 45º back sweep. It’s reasonably priced and looks the part. For a bit of a surprise, I used an old Zipp Service Course SL stem in 'beyond black' (matte black graphics on polished black) from my parts bin and bought a matching seatpost from a friend who used to have it on his fixed gear to complete the look.

After 8 months since the launch of the new color, I finally got the bike built up in December ’23. My "Sweet Child o' Mine" was born! (Being an avid Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fan, all my bikes are named with musical references.) I have tried different combinations of bags including a rear rack and panniers. But the best ride quality was achieved with the front load, so I got the Obento rack from Sim Works, a Wald 137 basket, and an Alakazam basket bag by Wizard Works. I am still in the process of getting more orange bits, like crank bolts, and a stem cap, ...etc.

All my bikes always get compliments for their looks. But this is the only one that got so many people smiling and telling me how cute she is. A friend of mine rode it in the park and said the bike made her feel like being the main character in a music video! 🤣

The simplicity of single-speed and the chubby tires make it extra fun to ride and power through some smaller bumps and ignore poor road conditions. Knowing how versatile the frame is, I also hope to explore different setups for different use cases in the future. Let's see how she evolves.

I’d like to thank the guys at Bok Bok Bike who helped me with parts recommendations and their top-notch services. My good friends who helped with getting some items from overseas. This is a bike built with loads of passion and friendship. My long journey with her has only just begun.

Build List