GREEN SHEET

This Fyxation custom bike featuring the new ‘people’s flag’ is the most Milwaukee thing

Michael Meidenbauer

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Fyxation graphic designer Tim Reddington (left) and co-founder Nick Ginster pose with the Milwaukee flag bike at the company's Riverwest headquarters.

Take a trip through the city and you’ll see the “People’s Flag of Milwaukee” flying above homes and businesses, each a show of support for the proposed new design for the city’s official standard.

Milwaukee bike builder Fyxation Bicycle Co. is registering its support for the new flag on two wheels.

Enter the Riverwest company's custom Milwaukee flag bike, a version of the company's Quiver road model with a paint-job homage to Robert Lenz’s “Sunrise Over the Lake,” the flag concept that won last year’s citywide contest and is the unofficial “People’s Flag” of the city.

Lenz's design, winner of the third popular contest since the original flag was adopted in 1954, would need to be approved by the city to become the official Milwaukee flag. The team behind the flag is gathering support for the design to make a push for official adoption.

It all started with the 2015 TED talk heard ’round the city, when host Roman Mars famously called Milwaukee’s city banner a “kitchen sink flag” and a “hot mess.”

"Sunrise Over the Lake" by Robert Lenz was selected as the city of Milwaukees new, but still unofficial, flag, after a four-month-long contest.

As the city’s creative types, led by graphic designer Steve Kodis, went to work prototyping, submitting, vetting and voting on new designs, the crew at Fyxation, 2943 N. Humboldt Blvd., figured that maybe a custom bike would be the way to register their vote.

"We believe in it. We think it’s a good step forward for the city," Fyxation co-founder Nick Ginster said. "Instead of just liking it on Facebook, we made it a reality, in our own way.”

The Milwaukee flag bike created by Fyxation has a miniature version of Robert Lenz's "Sunrise Over the Lake" on its seat tube.

Tim Reddington, a 22-year-old Waukesha native and graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, is Fyxation's in-house graphic designer. He's also a bona fide bike nut, as the 15 bicycles in his east side apartment attest.

Reddington saw “Sunrise” as a natural extension of existing two-tone designs he had used on Fyxation’s Eastside fixed-gear bikes.

“The flag colors would transfer into the design we already had pretty seamlessly,” Reddington said.

The Milwaukee flag bike reads "Designed for Milwaukee" on its chainstay, instead of the usual "Designed in Milwaukee" found on other Fyxation-designed bikes.

He finished the look with brown leather on the handlebars and saddle and silver parts throughout for a "classy look." A miniature "Sunrise" flies on the flag bike's seat tube and, instead of the "Designed in Milwaukee" found on all other bikes designed by Fyxation, its chainstay reads "Designed for Milwaukee."

"We love our city. This is our home," Ginster said. "This is where we design our bikes, and we want some great symbol to represent that city.”

Fyxation debuted the finished bike in late January, drawing chatter from customers in their storefront and interest across social media.

Will the flag bike make it into production?

“We are actively pursuing it," Ginster said.

"We keep getting super positive feedback. If we reach a tipping point, we will do it.”

In the meantime, the one-of-a-kind bike will remain a showpiece at Fyxation through March before moving to Cafe Benelux. Fyxation plans to post updates on the location of the bike on a blog on the company's website, fyxation.com.