Coco's Variety x Jose Bicycle Colab

Though primarily engaged in the sale of used bicycles, Coco's does sell a few new bikes. Admittedly, I am a bit conflicted about more shipping containers of more bicycles arriving on our shores, but it was a considered decision that got me to this point.

Not enough bikes - I want more people on bikes. Los Angeles is better when more people are pedaling. It is easy to rhapsodize about car-free highways turned over to be smooth, direct bike paths sprinkled with park benches and bike racks at the farmer's market. Before this becomes a hippie urban planning discussion, I will get back to my original point that we can't find, buy and refurbish enough bikes to keep Coco's customers satisfied.

Good bike - When considering what bicycle to carry, I looked at it from a durability/serviceability function. When buying a multispeed bicycle from a big box retailer, you are explicitly accepting the idea of a disposable bicycle. Do they sell parts for it? Will you be able to buy a new derailleur in three years? Will they assist you with fitting or change the tube for you?

Now there are multispeed bicycles of great quality, but they quickly eclipse the budget of an individual who "wants to start riding a bike again." To deal with this issue, we decided to carry a single speed bike that is sturdy, attractive and, most of all, serviceable. An upgradeable platform, if you will. A bicycle that you can ride and enjoy immediately, but is standardized such that you can swap on higher end components as money allows. Maybe a buddy will upgrade their cranks and you can get their hand me downs for a song. Maybe a Raceface seatpost from a mountain bike that has fallen from favor with the downhill racers but looks sinister on a single speed.

Price - $350 - A reasonable cost is an issue. It is difficult to spend a ton of money if you are not sure you are going to actually ride. At $350, these bicycles are cheaper than we are able to build single speeds from parts. When we build single speed bicycles from vintage horizontal drop-out frames, we can't build them for the cost of these new bikes. Out of the box, the new bikes have aluminum cranks, aluminum Alex wheels, a threadless stem, Tektro caliper brakes and handles, nice aluminum pedals and a pretty great frame.

Fixed/Single Speed - The rear wheel has a single speed/fixed flip flop. When you buy it, it is set-up as a single speed, meaning you can stop pedaling to coast. However, you can buy a fixed cog and lock ring to make it fixed pedaling, meaning you can't stop rotating your legs. As the bicycle was set up from the outset as a single speed, the chain line is dead straight and it has track style rear drop outs. Even if you are riding fixed, I would leave the brakes on the bicycle.

Frame Geometry/Weight - Before Coco's started carrying these bikes, I bought one just so we could check it out, hammer on it a bit, ride it around and determine if it was a bicycle that we would be proud to ride. Proud to ride, proud to sell. I love how it rides. It feels like a big BMX bike that actually fits. Rides like Elliot rode in ET. Feels very light and responsive.

Size - This is critical. It is very, very difficult to find road bikes in the sub-50CM sizes. Every day, I see somebody riding a bicycle that is too tall for them. The rider always looks uncomfortable, unsure of themselves and every red light stop is a near tip over. The Coco's bicycle offering is available in sizes from 44 to 63cm.

Of course, we continue to sell used bicycles. We continue to buy used bicycles. The $180 clunky ten speed road bikes that we refurb sell before we can get them done. Sure, it is heavy, mid-grade, 70's, mostly steel bicycle but, since they are often neglected and rusty, it frequently takes us longer to get them going than refurbing an Italian racing bike.

The Coco's x Jose Colab

Our buddy Jose was a union sign painter at Disney and has worked with me on a ton of projects. He painted the Hooptyrides station wagon, the 'Don't Chisel Me!' sign that hangs over our front counter, our Coco's parking signs and, most notably, the facade of Coco's Variety store. From Jose's garage, I scribble my hopes for a project and leave him with a very malleable plan to do what he wants.

Upgrading the original platform, I used chopped down BMX grips, a carbon fiber mountain bike flat bar, the original Tektro brake handles and calipers, NOS Michellin tires from the 1980s and the original Alex aluminum wheels that came with the bike.


Here is a good example of how Jose and I work together. Naturally, I wanted the bike to say Coco's Variety and gave Jose some latitude on what else to should be on the bike. Live, Love, Laugh - well, that is not something that I would have necessarily picked, but it is difficult to disagree with the sentiment.



I told Jose I wanted the bike to say Hot Chicks with a figural representation of a chick, though I never mentioned a desire to have a tableau of aged bricks and river rocks. Clearly, it is different than what I had in mind, but that's what you get. All that aforementioned latitude means you end up with some head scratching incongruities like Dura-Ace over river rock.
I wanted a dollar sign. And got one. Coop had told me about a Laurel and Hardy movie in which one of the fellas shows up in the hospital with hard boiled eggs and nuts.

And, as we are primarily engaged in the sale of faded champions reborn for another chance at glory, I wanted to make sure that was mentioned. Jose asked me if I liked cats, so there is a cat. And a skull. And a spider. And Albert Einstein makes an appearance.

Jose swears that I said, "Nice people don't need to prove it." I don't remember saying it, though it does sound like something I would say in a Hallmark moment. Generally, I am a little more punk rock than laying out "nice people" platitudes, but there it is. Right there on the bike. Clearly, you need to be careful what you say around Jose.

Those are not Campagnolo track pedals, but rather Campy quills that somebody chopped down to look like a track pedal. I think they look pretty cool.


Swap meet and garage sale finds. Parts from other bikes. Odds and ends that were for sale in the shop but hadn't sold. They all found their way onto the Colab bike.

A recap. Coco's sells new bikes. I have been careful in their selection and believe that they represent an excellent value. Besides a reasonable initial cost, they are a stable, serviceable, customizable platform onto which you can build your dreams.

Is the Coco's x Jose bike for sale? Well, that is difficult. I love having it in the store for people to geek out over Jose's work, but it would be hard for me to give up. And I hate it when stores have stuff that is not for sale.

I asked Jose, "How much to do this again? What if we wanted to do another?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. He has 50 hours into this frame. I pressed, "How much? $1000?"

He looked ill. A thousand would not be enough. To sell the Coco's x Jose bike would have to be for enough money to have Jose paint another one. What's it worth? You can look at the parts and it is probably $1000. But the paint, how do you start on that? If I price it at $3000 people will be insulted. If I say not for sale, they will be insulted in a different way.

The answer, clearly, is you need to paint your own frame. For an extra $75, we will strip your new bicycle to the frame and fork, store the components for a week and then reassemble and tune it when you bring it back.

Coco's Variety New Single Speed Bicycle $350
Strip and reassemble service $75
Coco's x Jose Custom $3000