Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Is it the weight or the gears?

I have an old steel mountain bike which weights 37 pounds with all my crap on it. I run 36x17. Today I went into a lot of 20 MPH winds and I hated it. My knee hurts, I'm tired, yuck!

So what do I need to do to make this better? I have an 18 tooth cog coming-- what do the rest of you run gearwise? How much better would my life have been if my bike weighed say 30 pounds instead of 37?

I have steel on my bike and old alloy tires would it be worth it to get new tires and get rid of all the steel but my frame/fork?

sounds like your problem is the wind. try riding on a less windy day :) 36:18 or any 2:1 ratio is average on SS MTBs. a lighter wheelset might benefit your weight problem.

Maybe I'm asking the wrong question-- I ride street and I'm thinking of either buying a Van Dessel straight up or upgrading my older steel mountain bike.

Can someone tell me what would make more sense and result in a better bike. Or tell me if in their personal experience upgrading an older bike was worth it or not as opposed to buying new?

Can someone tell me what would make more sense and result in a better bike. Or tell me if in their personal experience upgrading an older bike was worth it or not as opposed to buying new?

I've gone through similar situations, and the answer I generally come up with is that it simply makes sense just to buy a new steed, and keep the old machine. That way, you can customize your old machine for a variety of uses, and you also have a new bike. Do the math, and then you'll have your answer.

Good luck!

Figure out what you need to buy to make your current bike how you want it. Price all the parts on the internet. Make a list and check it twice.
Now compare that to the price of a new bike. The new bike WILL be more. But when you're all done you'll actually have TWO bikes.
I did this very thing a few months ago. When it came right down to it, I was going to spend $200 on wheels, $50 on a new crankset (one bent arm) $70 on a fork and about $100 in other assorted stuff to make my mountain bike a semi comfortable single speed to ride on the road the way I wanted to. So it would have cost me about $420. Instead I bought a Kogswell frame and wheelset and built up a nice fixie for a bit shy of $700. Now I have that bike which I ride as often as I can, and I still have my old mountain bike with two trashed wheels, a bent crank, and a leaking suspension fork. It's a junk mountain bike, but it's still there when I want to go play in the dirt and as a backup bike and a rain bike for my 'nice bike'. It was more expensive, but I'm very happy with the outcome.