how we first met #9: Martin Kjellemar and his Cinelli Zydeco
Oslo-based, Swedish native Martin Kjellemar only took up cycling in March 2020 during the first COVID-lockdown in Norway. He soon caught the cycling bug and first came across Cinelli during avid online research.
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“All the coolest bikes I saw during my research,” he explains, “were fixed gears, most of them Cinelli, and I just loved the look of them but I knew that a brakeless, one-gear, was not a practical choice for hilly Oslo. So when I came across a dream build of the Cinelli Vigorelli Disc on youtube I knew this was the bike for me and I purchased one immediately!”
Attracted by the “fixed gear” aesthetic in a road bike package of the Vigorelli Disc he was even more impressed by the fact that this visual aggressiveness transferred across to the ride experience.
“Despite being a bit heavier than my previous carbon road bike, the Vigo Disc was just so quick out of corners and when you wanted to accelerate. I’m a big guy so a bike of extra weight is ok. I also love the nice aggressive position on the bike combined with the comfort of the steel.” Inspired by the way he had seen the bike built on youtube, Martin chose components that heightened the contrast between the vintage steel aspects of the bike, creating a mix of traditional and ultra-contemporary.”
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Martin’s next Cinelli purchase was our aluminium gravel bike, the Zydeco. Now a much more seasoned cyclist, with more than 20000 km pedalled since his last purchase, Martin had become a much more informed, experienced and detail-sensitive cyclist. His attraction to the Zydeco was not just the rare colourway but above all the geometry which was far more aggressive and with a much shorter wheelbase than his previous gravel bike and with a much faster overall ride. “In Oslo you need to ride for 30-40 minutes to get to gravel roads so I wanted a bike that was also fast for riding on tarmac. I compared the geometry of the Zydeco with that of the Vigo disc and it was actually quite close!”
When the bike arrived Martin stripped it of its stock parts and sold them and built it up with selected parts including Edco Carbon wheels, a “mullet-style” driven train with a mix of Sram Rival parts, a GX Eagle rear derailleur and 1x carbon crank with all decals scratched off.
“As an electrician and project leader” explains Martin regarding how cycling has taken such a strong hold over him “I work a lot of really long days, and after a long day in the office, riding two hours outside in the fresh air is relaxing and just clears your mind.”
“Here in Oslo the weather is both the best and the worst thing about riding. Everybody knows about our winters… but at the same time I try to ride outside as much as possible during winter as well because when I ride outside in winter I can feel my body doing everything differently to the summer. I am convinced that the variety of temperatures is good for your health and just feels nice for my body. In fact I haven’t once been sick since I started cycling!”
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Bike setup Zydeco 2023
Frame: Zydeco size 59
Fork: Columbus Futura Gravel
Wheels: Edco maloja 50mm
Bars: Pro vibe aero pursuit 38mm (42mm in drops)
Stem: Enve aero 100mm -12 degree angle
Tape: Pro logo black
Seatpost: Enve mtb 31,6
Seat: Pro stealth 152mm
Groupset: SRAM rival AXS 1x mullet setup.
GX eagle derailleur. Oversized pulley wheels from garbaruk 16-16T.
48T aero chainring from garbaruk.
SRAM rival 175mm carbon crank arms (no stickers, filed down to bare carbon)
11-50t cassette Sunrace mtb
Brakes: SRAM rival
Tires: Maxxis rambler/WTB byway 40mm
Pedals: Shimano XT-PD-M8100/Favero Assioma UNO
Bike setup Vigorelli disc 2021
Frame: Vigorelli disc size 59
Fork: Columbus Futura
Wheels: Edco Six-4 64mm
Bars: Enve SES aero 38mm (42mm in drops)
Stem: Enve road 130mm -6 angle
Tape: Lizard skins black
Seatpost: Enve mtb 31.6
Seat: Pro stealth 152mm
Groupset: SRAM rival AXS 1x mullet setup.
SRAM rival derailleur with garbaruk long cage and oversized pulley wheels 12-16T
52T chainring from garbaruk.
SRAM rival 175mm carbon crank arms. (no stickers, filed down to bare carbon)
10-44 sram rival explr cassette
Brakes: Sram rival
