Kona Dream Builds: Brandon’s Paddy Wagon Keeps It Simple

The folks at Sellwood Cycle Repair in Portland have a long relationship with Kona. Erik Tonkin (Sellwood cycles owner), Barry Wicks and Spencer Paxson all raced for the shop before moving to our pro ranks and their S&M cross team win races across North America on Kona Jake’s, and very occasionally (today) we steal content from their blog! On Friday last week they posted up Brandon’s Paddy Wagon under their Bikes We Ride tag and it would be just rude of us not to share this super classy single speed with you.

There’s a lot to be said for the visual simplicity of a singlespeed bike, but the nuance of this Paddy Wagon build puts it in a category of its own. Brandon has put a lot of time and care into this build rivaled only by the miles he’s put in riding it. Like most of our employee builds it gets deeper the closer you look. We’ll let him explain some of its history in his own words:

This was my first Kona from seven years ago, when I first started at the shop. I’ve done many century’s on this bike, a lot of gravel rides, several ultralight, multi-day bikepacking rides, and one monster of a ride circumventing Mt. Hood, in winter, at night, in 20 degree temps. (yes, seriously. Click the link!), including up and over Lolo Pass, at a grand total of 185 miles. Started a little before sunset, got home in time to watch the sunrise on my front porch. So, I have some memories with this bike.