Framebuilder and owner of King Fabrications, Li King, believes the relationship between a cyclist and their bike is something very special and unique.
“I started building bicycle frames out of an absolute love for bicycles, and I think this is how bike frames should be made,” King told Bicycling. “I think there is something really special about assembling all these parts and tubes into what is really a kinetic sculpture that someone will cherish and love for years to come.”
So, we asked King about their life as a rider with our usual “This or That” questions.
You can read Li's answers in yellow, then let us know where you land on the subject. You’ll see the overall percentage results from our community once you select your answer.
This or That:
Waxed Chain → Chain Lube
White Shoes → Black Shoes
Classic → Grand Tours
Water ← Drink Mix
LI EXPLAINS: “I usually do both: one bottle full of Skratch and one of water.”
Wout ← MVDP
LI EXPLAINS: “Gotta go with Wout. I feel like we both look like we are in serious pain when we race. MVDP looks too relaxed.”
Morning Ride → Afternoon Ride
Tubes → Tubeless
Junk Food ← Gels
LI EXPLAINS: “Gas! Station! Food!”
Mechanical ← Electric
LI EXPLAINS: “Mechanical, 100 percent. I used to own a Di2 bike, and the amount of rides that thing died on was pretty silly.”
Short, Hard Efforts ← Long, Steady Efforts
Saddle Bag ← Pockets
LI EXPLAINS: “Both! Saddle bag for the tools, pockets for all my snacks.”
GPS ← Wing It
Training → Racing
LI EXPLAINS: “I am always racing myself into shape. Local cutty cyclocross is the best way to train.”
Gels ← Bars
Retro → Modern
LI EXPLAINS: “I love old steel lugged frames, but nothing beats a nicely tig-welded modern frame, in my mind.”
Haribo← Snickers
Dogs → Cats
Mountains ← Crosswinds
LI EXPLAINS: “You already know it’s climb time! We get some pretty bad wind coming off the San Francisco Bay, so anytime I can avoid it, I do. The velodrome I race on is outdoors and has a nasty tendency to swirl the wind, so you get headwinds on both straightaways.”
Torque to Spec ← Tighten by Feel
Fix It Yourself ← Take It To the Shop
Now You Explain
Shocked at any of the takes? Defend your answer in the comments below.
Natascha Grief is Bicycling’s Health & Fitness Editor. She started in the cycling industry as a bike mechanic a couple of decades ago, earning a couple pro-mechanic certifications and her USA Cycling Race Mechanic license. She went on to apprentice for framebuilder Brent Steelman in her hometown of Redwood City, California before spending several years working for both large and not-so-large cycling brands. She then switched gears and industries to earn multiple personal training certifications while honing her skills as a trainer and coach, specializing in functional training, corrective exercise, and body positive personal training. She began contributing regularly to Runner’s World and Bicycling as a freelance writer in 2020, and joined the editorial staff of Bicycling in 2022.
