Fyxation Quiver
I’m going to start this review out with a pretty bold statement: I’ve never felt so immedietly comfortable on a road bike before. And for serious commuters, comfort is absolutely key, not necessarily because you’re riding long miles but because you’re riding every day, several times per day.
The Quiver is Fyxation’s do-it-all chromoly commuter bike. The name comes from the fact that this one frame can potentially be any number of bikes—single speed, fixed gear, internally geared or fully geared road bike. This flexibility comes via horizontal dropouts (track fork ends), 132.5mm spacing, and a proprietary CNC-machined removable derailleur hanger.
This might be a good point to address the comment that I heard over and over again: Isn’t Fyxation a fixed gear company? Obviously, they’re not willing to be pigeonholed. And that’s a good thing, because while fixed gears are cool, so are geared bikes. In fact, all bikes are cool. But I digress...
Should you indeed want to run the Quiver as a fixed gear, you’ll be happy to know that the cable stops are all removable for a clean look. Fyxation was sure to include dual eyelets in the rear for a rack and fenders, though, as well as eyelets on the matching straight blade 4130 fork.
In my humble opinion, the Quiver is one good looking frame. It features clean TIG welds and a smooth gloss black paint job. What you don’t see, however, is that the frame features an electro-deposited undercoat. This means the tubing is protected from the elements inside and out. So bring on the rain!
Speaking of rain, the Quiver has massive clearance that allows you to still run 35s with fenders. Without fenders you can run up to 47s. Want to go play in the woods? Slap some cross tires on and have a ball.
Of course no bike is absolutely perfect, and I do have a few nits to pick with the Quiver. I’ve got a 28” inseam and the standover on the 49cm frame measures just under 30”. This is to be expected from a bike without a sloping top tube, though, and I’m perfectly capable of dealing with it, but other short riders might want to take note.
The removable derailleur hanger worked a lot better than I expected. In fact, it was virtually flawless. But roadside tire changes are not exactly facilitated by the derailleur coming off when the quick release skewer is removed.
Of course, most people will pretty much shrug off my complaints when they learn that the Quiver frame retails for under $300.
My test bike represents a fairly typical build, but it is a custom component group so I won’t harp on too much about the parts. The frame and fork weigh 5 pounds, and of course your complete build will vary. Still, there are several things that deserve a mention.
The SRAM Apex drivetrain was absolutely awesome. Nothing but crisp, positive shifting, day after day. The stuff looks great and seems like it’s built to last a lifetime.
The A-Class ALX 220 wheelset is a smart choice for a commuter who rides well enough to avoid potholes, but knows better than to spend too much on a commuting wheelset. Watch for a separate A-Class review in the near future.
The Tektro R559 73mm long-reach caliper brakes did a great job in all conditions. You know I couldn’t help but take the Quiver off-road (even with slick tires) and I never felt at a loss for braking power.
Fyxation makes handlebars, but for now they’ve yet to enter the road bar category. As such, they’ve deferred to Salsa for my test bike, and I couldn’t be happier because they know a thing or two about bike components.
Finally, Fyxation rounded out the build with several of their own house brand components including pedals, straps, stem, seatpost, saddle, bar tape, bar plugs, and of course tires. Everything worked as expected, and I can never really say enough about their tires. They’re simply hard to beat.