Juliett Bruley, inspiring through the fixie

Les routes, les chemins. Discovering the inner-city values of Paris means submerging yourself to a process of involuntary contamination, a release of cyclical routine and sensorial discoveries. Each arrondissement bathed by the Seine sucks wheels and handlebars in a sequence shot that tastes of Nouvelle Vague and metropolitan climate, architectural eclecticism and a chaotic contemporary whirlwind.

“Biking here is dangerous, it’s adrenaline-pumping. It’s difficult, it’s satisfying.” Riding her fixed-gear bike, Juliett Bruley reverberates the crisp, endless glow of the Ville Lumière. Minimalist design and bewitching chromaticism are reflected in the words of this modern bicycle artisan, in her effervescent pedaling. “In front of my eyes, some bikes become true works of art. On the fixed-gear I feel better, I feel complete, my mind gets rid of everything. The love relationship, because this is what it is all about, with these objects is something innate. My grandfather, my uncle, the whole family…. The bicycle has always been a part of me, it has always been a fixed point in my thoughts, in my imagination.”

Around Juliett stands an iron and colored frame: an everyday panorama, a natural habitat. We are inside her atelier de velós, the small workshop where bicycles of all kinds come back to life thanks to the hands of this mystical metalsmith. “I’ve always worked on bicycles, ever since I was a child. I started by watching videos and everything evolved simply, naturally. Now I’m 25 years old and I already know what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she says with her back to a tidy group of saddles, “Every day, between repairs and pedaling, I spend more than ten hours in contact with bikes. For me, this is an all-encompassing philosophy of life: I’ve even moved with my fixed-gear bike, transporting the sofa was the most fun part…”

A philosophy of life that shapes the creed for this biking community. An ideology that shapes the urban surroundings, creative minds and cosmopolitan communities. Juliett is an ambassador of a movement that has no geographical boundaries or gender differences, of a secular religion. It is the brakeless movement, capable of inspiring visual research, streetwear trends, sporting endeavors and social evolutions: “Paris, Berlin, New York, Tokyo, even Jakarta… Each city has its own fixed-gear community, and all communities relate to each other. The fixed-gear bike has allowed me to get in touch with photography and contemporary art, with precise stylistic canons. In our community it’s not only about riding, but also about how to ride: we are part of an all-round cultural and sporting current. When I started going out in a group, about ten years ago, we were just three girls. Today there are so many of us. I hope that some of them have been motivated by my presence and my actions, I hope that others will be in the future.”