The Bikes We Keep: David Hong’s Low Collection
By Ryan Kim
Hello everyone, and welcome to part two of David’s wild collection. For this chapter, Kim stepped behind the camera to capture not one, but all three of David’s LOWs—gravel, track, and road—together in one place. If you’d like to submit your guest articles, don't hesitate to use the contact page to get in touch!
Enjoy the read!
The long-awaited LOW collection review is finally here! I met up with David (@afe_hdy1016) back in October, and although this story had to be split into two parts, I’m excited to share what is very likely the one and only fully matching LOW// collection.
Like many of us, David’s first encounter with Low Bicycles came through Massan’s Low Track and his unmistakable orange and black colorway, paired with his iconic riding style. It, of course, left a lasting impression on all of us, but for David, that moment planted the seed and eventually led him to build a LOW of his own, then another, and another, each one carefully considered and deeply personal.
Low LK Gravel Disc 21’
When David finally saved enough money, he placed an order for a LOW MK SS Crit in 2021. But not long after, his plans shifted. Drawn deeper into tracklocross and gravel riding at the time, he changed his order to the LK Gravel Disc instead. While the iconic orange and black of Massan’s Low remained a clear reference, David added his own twist, resulting in a build that felt personal rather than referential.
After numerous iterations, the Gravel has settled into its current life as a commuter. The inspiration came from George (@milktea_rider) and his own gravel setup. With a dedicated road bike already in the stable, David chose flat bars to get more everyday use out of this machine, turning it into something practical without losing its character.
Rooted in his fixed-gear background and aggressive riding style, the bike is full of thoughtful, fun details. One standout choice is the Deda Pista stem. With its -20° angle and 130mm length, it helps the bike feel smaller and more tossable, giving the build a distinctly sharp and assertive personality.
The crankset choice revolved entirely around the AARN chainring. David went back and forth between a few options before landing on Rotor Flow cranks. He spotted them at a shop he frequented and immediately knew they were the right match—echoing the now-iconic pairing of Rotor cranks and AARN chainrings in the fixed-gear world.
David says this bike will always be one of his favorites. This LOW LK Gravel Disc has been his companion on a backpacking trip to Yosemite, as well as during long days cruising the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. “To put it simply, this build delivers comfy rides with a fixed-gear spirit wrapped in a gravel bike package,” he says.
And honestly, it feels spot on. The bike captures a moment we’re seeing more and more fixed-gear riders drifting toward gravel, bringing their sensibilities, habits, and aesthetics with them, and reshaping what a modern gravel bike can be.
There’s also a fun backstory tied to his trip to San Francisco. When David ordered his LK Gravel Disc, it was part of a batch order of five frames placed through the shop he was working at at the time. When the shipment finally arrived, only four boxes showed up. After getting in touch with Low, he learned that his frame had a small imperfection during the paint stage and needed to be repainted.
This all happened just before his trip to San Francisco, so David decided to visit the Low workshop in person. Traveling solo across the Pacific as a teenager, he was warmly welcomed by Andrew, who opened the doors to the workshop without hesitation. Unfortunately, the timing didn’t quite line up. With only a week between David’s visit and his departure, the frame wasn’t ready yet, and he wasn’t able to pick it up himself.
Looking back, David jokes that he was probably one of the last Koreans to ever set foot in the Low workshop before it closed in 2022, a small, personal footnote in the history of a now-closed chapter of the brand.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
2021 Low Key Disc Gravel with Enve fork
Groupset
Sram GX
Crank and Chainring Rotor 3D aero, AARN X King kog brooklyn 38T
Seatpost and Saddle
Thomson, Selle italia SLR
Stem and Handlebar
Deda Pista, Rental Down Hill Bars Carbon 720mm
Wheels
Zipp 303 NSW, Maxxis Rambler 42mm tires
Low LK Track Standard 21’
As mentioned earlier, Spellbound needed to meet a five-frame minimum to qualify as a distributor. To complete the order, the shop owner brought in a LOW LK Track Standard in a size 56, finished in the same colorway as David’s LK Gravel Disc.
After spending six months on display as a showroom bike, the frame eventually found its way to David. He decided to buy it as a companion to his LK Gravel, completing what would later become his matching LOW collection.
“This is my masterpiece,” David says. This build took him a full five years to finally give it his stamp of approval. And for a good reason! This bike is the result of more than a decade spent riding fixed gear, where every detail had to be right. As I once wrote on his blog, this is the one bike he would keep if he had to choose just one. So with that in mind, let’s take a deeper look.
The bike is filled with rare parts David collected during trips overseas, but the real centerpiece is the crankset. You might be thinking, Wait! Dura-Ace never made a black track crankset. And you’d be right. During a visit to Brotures Osaka, David spotted a custom black-anodized set on display and was immediately hooked, like any of us would be.
Short on time, he left the shop without it but couldn’t stop thinking about those cranks for the rest of the trip. So the night before his flight home, the regret finally caught up with him, and he jumped on the subway, raced across the city, and bought the crankset just minutes before the shop closed.
The top cap comes from Tracklab, picked up in person during his 2023 visit to San Francisco. On the same trip, he also secured a Phil Wood rear hub for a future wheel build, even if at the time, he hadn’t yet decided which wheels would end up on this bike, but that hub more or less sealed the deal.
For a build he considers his masterpiece, anything less than endgame wheels wasn’t an option. The result is a Zipp 30 rim laced to Phil Wood hubs, a wheelset chosen with intent rather than convenience. In true David fashion, the attention to detail didn’t stop there. Chasing perfection, he even went all in with Phil Wood spokes and a matching Phil Wood cog.
The fork might catch your eye, if you know what you’re looking at. And yes, you’re right: it’s from a Cinelli Histogram. When David first bought the frame, it came paired with a Whisky fork with a 45mm rake. Given the bike’s purpose-built track geometry and stretched-out feel, he wanted something with a tighter front end.
After experimenting with forks offering 28mm, 30mm, and 35mm of rake, he ultimately settled on this one. Visually, it’s one of my favorite details on the bike: a smooth, glossy exterior that quietly hides a refreshing pop of color on the inside.
Next up is the saddle. A NOS Mash x Selle Italia SLR, which David managed to score on eBay before prices went through the roof. After years of riding, it now carries a beautiful natural patina, the kind that only comes from time, use, and commitment to a single bike.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
2021 Low Key Track STD, Cinelli X Mash SF 2015 Histogram Fork
Crank Shimano Dura-Ace 7710
Chainring and Cog
AARN 49T, Philwood 17T
Seatpost and Saddle
Zipp Speed SL, Selle italia x Mash SLR
Steam and Handlebar
Zipp Service course SL 150mm, Zipp service course SL 40cm
Wheels
Zipp 30 course, with Phil Wood hubs and Continental 4 season 25mm Front, Gator Hardshell 25mm rear
Low LK Road Disc 22’
About a year after ordering his first two LOW frames, David began looking for a road bike. He says his mom played a big role in the decision to go with the LOW LK Road Disc. Growing up in a family that takes their hobbies seriously, she agreed to help him with the purchase on one condition: this had to be a bike he would keep forever. For David, that was an easy yes. With that commitment, he completed what he calls his holy trinity of LOW bikes.
This build really reflects David’s taste. He wanted something far removed from the copy-and-paste carbon bikes that dominate most group rides, something with character and soul. Choosing LOW felt like the right balance: modern, yet rooted in heritage; comfortable, but never ordinary.
Staying true to that mindset, he opted for an all-alloy setup, prioritizing durability above all else. And after experiencing a carbon handlebar crack mid-ride, he decided he was done with carbon altogether. For this bike, bulletproof mattered more than weight savings.
The true highlight of this build is the custom Weis seatpost and stem. During a trip to Osaka last winter for an alleycat race, David came across a Weis booth at the event. Their special pricing was too good to pass up, and they even offered custom engraving along with a made-to-order stem length—135mm, exactly as he wanted.
For the wheels, he laced a set of Zipp 30 rims he already had lying around to Chris King R45D hubs. “It’s an absolutely nonsensical decision, but why not? Nobody’s done it, so I’ll do it,” David says.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
2022 Low Key Disc Road, Enve Fork
Groupset
Sram Red E1 /D1 Mix
Seatpost and Saddle
Weis Mfg Ti, Selle italia SLR
Stem and Handlebar Weis Mfg Ti stem, 0nstag3 custom, Zipp service course SL 40cm
Wheels
Zipp 30 course, Chris King R45D Orange, Pirelli P-Zero Velo Race 28C
“Why?” you might ask? Why owning so many LOWs.
After his initial attraction to the brand, David shared a few reasons why he chose to keep and build this collection. With San Francisco being his home away from home, these bikes became a physical anchor to his childhood memories tied to the city. On top of that, the fact that Low Bicycles no longer produces new frames adds a layer of rarity, something that, unsurprisingly, pulled him in even deeper.
It was a real pleasure spending time with David, listening to his story and photographing his collection. I hope you, as readers, enjoy exploring this LOW trinity as much as I did experiencing it through my lens.
✍️: @ryanleokim
📸: @ryanleokim
🎞: Fuji Color 400 / Lisbon 500D
📷: Nikon F3
📍: Seoul