The Swiss Army knife of bikes

One of the biggest issues in my life is that I live in a small flat, way too small for all the gear I need for my outdoor activities, my art supplies and all the books I keep close to me. And bikes take space. A lot of space. And you most likely need more than one bike: one for commuting, one for weekend adventures, one to go on trails, one to show off, etc. I realized I had a bike problem when I was living with six bikes in my apartment. As a bikoholic, I needed help and I decided to act. This is when I got this Santa Fixie bike sent to me for a review.

What if you can only have one bike?
That’s an ideal situation, then you can freely move around in your apartment without hurting yourself on steel pedals, your apartment can look tidy and nice and you don’t feel like you like in a bike shop.
It’s good to assess how you use your bikes the most. For me commuting comes first, then bikepacking, gravel rides and lastly single track rides.
I started riding fixed gears back in 2007 and to this day they’re my favorite bikes to ride, they’re stylish and fun. So the big question is: could I do everything with a track bike?

What is this bike?

The Santa Fixie Wild is based on a tracklocross frame which is something between a track bike, a CX bike and in this case a gravel bike. Possibilities are endless if you want to play a bit with your bike setup. It’s a steel frame which makes it a bit heavier than aluminum frames but much more durable, this one is absolutely bombproof and I always thought that it I would hit a wall with it, I would probably go through it without a scratch.

A commuting beast

I’ve been testing this bike almost every day for about 5 months now and I used it through a Swedish winter on icy roads, in snow, then through a wet and cold spring until now when summer is just around the corner. This bike was a bliss in all weather conditions. The very generous tire clearance allows the frame to take studded tires for the ice and wide gravel tires for countryside trips. I always like to ride this bike with the fixed cog, but the flip-flop wheel allows for single speed riding too.

Tracklocross

This is the intended purpose of the bike, and again, it works extremely well. I’ve made a few changes on the bike but mostly because I had nice bike parts lying around at home and I personally prefer a riser bar rather than the flat bar that comes with the bike. I also changed the seat post to a Thomson post and added some pedal straps, mandatory when you ride fixed and breakless.

A fixed gravel bike?

I also wanted to try a gravel setup with a drop bar and brakes. I kept riding the bike with the fixed cog in this setup but I really wanted to see if the position with a drop bar would work and the answer is : it absolutely works!

Bikepacking

I found that the Wild could also work for longer trips, overnight rides or even long distance trips. It works well with bags, balance is not compromised and the fork has plenty of mounts. The lack of mounts next to the horizontal dropouts is to be noted but overall the bike would be a great bikepacking rig too.

Verdict

The Wild is a good option for various reasons: the frame itself is great. I liked the compact geometry of the bike, it’s extremely fun to ride and it looks amazing. I found it to be extremely versatile, I will keep on playing with different setups and will keep exploring the possibilities of this bike.
The different parts of the complete bike are not premium and are a bit on the heavy side but they worked perfectly well for me. I’ve been riding this bike for about 5 months and have had zero issue with the bike. I was at first a bit skeptical about the tires but in the end they’re great and have still a ton of rubber after months of skids and breakless riding.

Who is this bike for?

As said above, if you can have only one bike, this could be for you. Riding single speed or fixed is not for everyone though. I personally love the simplicity of this bike. It has all the features I need. I can absolutely see bike messengers using this bike as a workhorse, it’s bombproof and would last many seasons. It’s also important to note that the price tag is very attractive, it costs less than 700€ for the complete bike which is very cheap on today’s market.

Disclaimer: Santa Fixie sent me a bike free of charge, this review is based on my personal experience and opinion and is not biased.

Use the code INJURINGETERNITY at checkout when you shop at Santa Fixie. Happy trails!