Mishka’s Death Adders Road and Track cycling team, led by John “Prolly” Watson, are part of the track bike’s new climate of innovation. Blending the finesse of freestyle BMX tricks with balls-out speed, they are pushing the limits of the bicycles themselves and redefining cycling’s culture, all on a brakeless design that hasn’t changed much in over a hundred years.
How did the Death Adders Racing Team come about?
John: I guess this whole thing started about two years ago. I was always buying Mishka stuff—I’m a huge metalhead and sci-fi fan—and producing negative balances on my bank account. After a while, I got to know [Mishka co-founders] Mike and Greg a bit and they asked me to help design the new store on 350 Broadway here in Brooklyn. I also contribute to the Mishka blog, called the Bloglin, and I was always posting stuff about cycling and the NYC cycling scene on it. I knew some talented riders at the time who liked Mishka stuff and I asked Mike and Greg if we could hook them up with a discount on some of the winter gear. These guys were all over the internet, so they were like, “Just give it to them,” you know? Later, Greg and Mike asked me if I wanted to start a Mishka bike team. I already had a core group of guys that I rode with all the time and was good friends with, so I thought they would be perfect. We all have our different skills and we’re always building off each other, helping each other out and generally becoming better riders. Bikes brought us together, and since we were such good friends already, the clothing was an added bonus. I do want to clarify that we are not a traditional cycling team. We are more of a flow team. Mishka has been kind enough to get us some free gear for doing what we love. We’re not out there competing like traditional cycling teams. Simply put, we’re just a group of friends getting clothes. As of right now, the team consists of myself, Wilis Johnson, Tony Fast and Luke Stiles. We’re picking up a few more local kids in the near future as well. Eventually we’ll start to expand out of NYC, too.
Where do you see fixed gears going?
John: At this point, it’s hard to say how big it’s gonna get or where it’s gonna go. I’ve been riding fixed gears for about three years now and it’s continually changing. There’s an interesting cross-pollination within the cycling sports, too. Trials bikes are picking up moves from BMX tricks, cyclocross has evolved from mountain biking and road racing. Who knows where the fixed gear scene will go?
What tricks go down when you guys are riding?
John: A lot of the track bike tricks are re-appropriated BMX tricks. The difference is that the pedals are always in motion throughout every trick so there’s a bit of finesse involved. A BMX kid sees you do a 180, so he does one. You pop a wheelie, he pops a wheelie. You do some backwards circles to roll out and he’s like, “Whoa, how’d you do that?” I think you’ll start to see a lot of hybrid BMX and fixed gear tricks in the near future, kids realizing how to use the fixed gear bike in innovative and progressive ways.
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