Seller of the Week: Kristina Ehlers

Welcome back to another edition of Seller of the Week: the blog series where we ask our favorite sellers five easy questions!

Kristina Ehlers (AKA kzombified on BikeList) is a bike mechanic living in Des Moines, Iowa. We love her cool custom bicycle component clocks (I already bought one for my office). And this Liv Beliv low step road bike is super cool, too!

How did you get into bikes? I started commuting to work by bike about a decade ago to save money. It slowly turned into working on my own bikes, friends' bikes, getting a job at a bike shop, and eventually getting a full time gig there. My interest only grew from there, getting into mountain biking, cyclocross, and finding out what fixed gears are all about. I even tried out a 100k gravel race, and survived. I now ride more days than not, for business and pleasure around town. Each biking style has their own perks and qualities, I love a bit of all of it.

What bike do you ride the most? I rotate through each as equally as possible. Recently, I find myself grabbing my fixed Trek most often for most commutes. It was an old hybrid curb find that I threw a fixie wheelset on, along with some sick bull horns. It was supposed to be a toss-around bike, but I cherish every bike too much to be throwing it just anywhere.

What is your favorite bike ride? I have the most fun on single-track on my hardtail. Any trail just gets better as I improve my skills. The miles don't matter, it's great exercise, and my confidence gets a huge boost when I can clear a tough technical spot. Getting air is also very satisfying. I've only been on a mountain bike for a couple of years now, and have a long way to go yet to gain skills, and a lot of places to explore, but that is the beauty and thrill of it.

Campy or Shimano? I like whatever components are available, and cost-effective. Shimano ticks a lot more boxes for me than Campagnolo.

Any big plans for the next year? The plans I have are loose, but I know I would like to create some art bikes. I have had success with spray can paint jobs on some old frames, building them up, and giving them new life. I enjoy making art, and love having a way to include my passion for bikes in with it.