fixed gear

[safetee]

Hey, more and more lately, i have been noticing people riding around downtown with fixed gear bikes. To top it off they dont even have brakes. They are solely relying on back pedalling pressure to stop i guess. What are your peoples opinion on this and does anyone here actually do it? I have been thinking about getting a track bike for the track and just riding around. It seems like it would be harder for a thief to ride away with a bike like that.

[eknomf]

I ride a fixed gear conversion for a commuter and it's a lot of fun. It does kind of shift you perception of what is easy though. Big downhills become a lot of work. It's also good for working on spinning. Lately I've been trying to learn to ride backwards but thats pretty tough. For stopping, you can skid by unweighting the back wheel and backpedaling, or just resist to slow down. A lot of fixed gear riders also just run front brake only for emergencies. I think riding brakeless is not a very smart idea if you are in traffic. You are betting your life on your equipment not failing. I have had a chain snap, causing me to almost run into a wall at full speed and I lost lost a chain going down a big hill. Both of these could have been pretty bad without a front brake. If you get a newer, fixed specific bike, you are probably way less likely to have problems, but still, all it takes is one mechanical to crash hard.

Heres some pics of my fixie:
http://thundergoat.org/bike/fixedfront.jpg
http://thundergoat.org/bike/fixedside.jpg

[smoochy]

i tried a fixie for a few months a couple of years ago, and it's fun in a novelty sort of way. i had two brakes, and wouldn't ride with anything else.

i quit the fixie because it got a bit tedious being forced to focus like that. instead of being able to space out and reach nirvana while cruising through town, it was like having a dog humping your leg all the time.

on that note, track riding is fun as hell if you get a good group of mates to hammer with but i doubt most velodromes would let street bikes in on their nice wooden surfaces.

[thebigchin]

That's quite a seat angle on that fixie. Don't have disfunction issues, do you?

[Oldtimer]

velodromes will let any track bike on their surface. As long as it's fixed gear and it is a track frame (as in the bottom bracket is sufficiently high) the velodromes are happy to have you.

[thewalrus]

velodromes will let any track bike on their surface. As long as it's fixed gear and it is a track frame (as in the bottom bracket is sufficiently high) the velodromes are happy to have you.

proper velodromes will want you to clean off your tires and rims first, if it's ridden on the street... particularly if you have a front brake. nobody wants brake dust on the boards.

also, bolt/nut mounted wheels - quick releases are banned at most velodromes I know of.

[nouseforaname]

i sold my fixed when i moved here from London. Still regret it...
As for missing the nirvana - i don't even get close to nirvana worrying about gears and braking with both hands on my carbon Norco. Fixed is Nirvana ALL the time. Just make sure you pick a good gear, not too low.

[thewalrus]

Fetish Position track frame, 120mm horizontal rear track wheel mount and very stiff. You can get them on ebay for $199 US, then add a basic track wheelset for $135 US. the rest of the parts are easy to find locally.

I think the Fetish Cycles font and logo looks silly, but it's a black frame (only comes in one colour), so you can easily paint over it or wrap it over with hockey grip tape or something.

http://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GDOB&Product_Code=TR01&Category_Code=TR

http://fetishcycles.com/images/Img332.gif

http://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/graphics/00000001/TR01%20full.jpg

[TomT]

I got to see one of those Fetish frames up close and personal. Such a sweet thing. The guy said he bought it off of ebay for like 125 bucks including shipping to Ontario.

[ito]

I converted my singlespeed Karate Monkey to a fixed gear road bike and rode it that way for about a year. I did have a front brake, but after a few months of riding I never needed it. nice to have there, but I think if I had a dedicated fixie I wouldn't run brakes. Front brake at the very most. I have ridden a number of street fixies brakeless and raced some track as well.

Ya, you can say riding brakeless in the city is dumb and I hear the mechanical thing, but it adds an element to the ride that just isn't there when you have a brake. Suicidal? Maybe, but it also teaches you to be a better rider, smarter too. I don't hammer on a brakeless bike like I would with brakes. You ride smart, never faster than you can stop, and you learn how to control a skid. I'll say that after riding fixed for a year I became a much better cyclist on the road and on the trail. I brake less and control my speed more. It is more fun than anything I've ever done, even if it is the new hipster trend.

The Ito