Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Targeted Fixie poll - desperately need input

Me: 5'11, 280lbs, Want Fixie, NEED a front and a rear brake

The 3 choices are:

Specialized Langster
KHS Flite 100
Jamie Roy

Which would you suggest for me, and also, once purchased, if I had $500 left over how should I spend it in upgrades?

Note: Killed the Fuji since nobody liked it, Pista doesn't have rear brakes...

What about a Surly, a Soma or my personal favorite, a DeBernardi?

What about a Surly, a Soma or my personal favorite, a DeBernardi?

I'd rather have a bike already built and just needs a few parts upgraded then start from scratch...

damn...

I'm just going to yojimbos...

I wish I lived in Chicago

Kogswell with 135mm rear.

Go with the surly. granted I have never ridden one, but they look to be the beefier frame.

Yeah,,,no pain pushing out on this statement, but at that cize, get something meant to stand up to stress (I speak from experience). Surly is a good choice, as would something like a AL Fuji...a bit stiffer than steel, but not as smoooooooth - my heartfelt recommendation: tell Marcus at YoJimbo's your stats. He is a pro and will take a lot of things into consideration that most "Bike" shop completely overlook just to get a quick sale. Yojimbo EARNS goldstars everyday with good deeds and righteous focus. Get the body on the bike, get the body happy and then lobo can be healthier. Bikes save me everyday from something bigger than I could ever be.

Off topic sure, but do any of you just make up funny little bike games when you ride?

Does Yojimbos carry Surly Streamroller?

Strong wheels, friend. I am 205 and I still worry about mine.

Strong wheels, friend. I am 205 and I still worry about mine.

Think I might need tandem wheels?

Im not sure, i've never replaced mine, nor had experience with tandem wheels, but i can just tell that my wheels won't survive too many more potholes and train tracks. If you are going mostly for smooth riding, no biggie, but with your weight, might want to look at a stronger wheelset.

yo, i'm big and fat and huge, but my cheeeeep alex rims have withstood over a year of lardass lumps on camden's deepest potholes, philly's bumpy spots, and nu jersey's worst railroad xing's and the like. i weigh something like 210, and i ride without caution, usually going pretty fast, too. i hit a very deep pothole going 20, and it pinchflatted both my tires, and put a little notch in the front rim. that was 8 months ago, and i ride often. i also once flatted while drunk and grumpy, and rode on the flat rear tire for a block and a half before i got off and walked it home (no spare tube). i guess i'm just trying to say that ppl worry overmuch about their wheels. of course, i got some 36 spoke mavic t519's(double-walled) for my next project, so maybe i worry, too.

but i prolly don;t need to.

as for what bike too build, you're list seems to indicate that you want a complete bike, rahter'n just a frame. (of course, the jamie roy is the exception, but the other 4 bikes you were originally considering are typically sold complete.) if that's not the case, i'd consider the surly. or, get yerself an elderly roadbike with some deep horizontal dropouts and dress it up with some serious components with all the lood-ow you'll save. seriously, i wouldnt rock the jamie roy or the langster because, big guy or not, i'm a steel fan. but if you dig aluminum, go for it. they seem like good frames, in both cases, if you like aluminum.

hth
-rob

I own a langster and I do not really like aluminium. I like this frame but you really should get steel. If you want complete steel fixed gear bike think about IRO MARK V.

I talked to him and he was willing to sell the mark v w/o wheels for less money. Take the money you save from that and buy some strong wheels. Try to find some Bullseye or some other sealed 36 hole hub and build it up with a good set of rims. Now that sounds like it would make me happy.

Him as in who ever it is that runs IRO.

Him as in who ever it is that runs IRO.
That's Tony. He's a rockstar and a really nice guy.

Off topic sure, but do any of you just make up funny little bike games when you ride?
I enjoy a good game of "RUN YUPPIE" on my way home. And the occasional pick-up match of "Dumbass on Rollerblades."

Off topic sure, but do any of you just make up funny little bike games when you ride?
I like track standing at a light, and then baiting cars to drag race... It's funny when they get all excited about beating me, but even funnier when they get pissed off that they can't.

My personal favorite is a hearty game of "People Slalom". It is just as it sounds. Also, darting through traffic on fridays is fun, because everyone is eager to go home, so the main drag in town is all backed up.

i like getting as close to hitting pedestrians as possible in order to hopefully traumatize them into watching out for bicyclists when they step out into the road.

and racing macho dumb****s in their white mitsubishi 3000gt who yell at me to 'get on the sidewalk' and then beating them by blowing thorugh redlights is great fun too.

"my cheeeeep alex rims have withstood over a year of lardass lumps on camden's deepest potholes, philly's bumpy spots, and nu jersey's worst railroad xing's and the like."

Surreal, where r u at man? you just described my saturday loop. There's Nothing like a jaunt down Haddon ave to get to phillys finest cobblestones on a road bike. Bonejarring.

I would seriously throw the IRO Mark V, Kogswell Fixie (though I think they're out of 54's and I bet that's what you need) and the Surly Steamroller in there. Even an old steel road frame. What you learn when building the bike nobody will ever be able to take from you. You will care for your bike better and be more aware or nuances that lead to component failure. You will be a better man for it.
Oh, and the options I suggested are steel and I'm a man of steel. At least my bikes are.

']I enjoy a good game of "RUN YUPPIE" on my way home. And the occasional pick-up match of "Dumbass on Rollerblades."

Sometimes "getty up horsey!"

The game of slamming the palm of my hand on the rental cars of wanderlust tourist who can't drive in a lane and go slower than I do (let's say 15 mph on cruise mode). That combined with a yell gives them that oh - so strong memory. Then yell "getty up horsey!". Points: Run for your life drag race 3. Car swerves or skids to a stop 4. Car pulls over and HUGE MF gets out to kick my ass 5. Car pulls over and really nice looking lady gets out to yell 6 (especially if she's an animated yeller). Loose all points if passenger leans over and asks directions, or neither of them respond at all. 3 bajillion bonus points if they aplogize for driving link idiots. (somehow, I never get the bonus)

']Bikes save me everyday from something bigger than I could ever be.

I agree. I only wish bikes would grow back hair.

Off topic sure, but do any of you just make up funny little bike games when you ride?

a number of them, but the most common lately has been cyclo-cross on the bike path margins to avoid daft pedestrians, wobbly rollerbladers, dogs on too-long retractable leads, and fat ladies walking two across with trekking poles.

You're not the only one who needs input......
http://www.fastrewind.co.uk/shortcircuit1.jpg


(wondering how many will get this joke)

"my cheeeeep alex rims have withstood over a year of lardass lumps on camden's deepest potholes, philly's bumpy spots, and nu jersey's worst railroad xing's and the like."

Surreal, where r u at man? you just described my saturday loop. There's Nothing like a jaunt down Haddon ave to get to phillys finest cobblestones on a road bike. Bonejarring.

yipee, more camden/philly folk. I work on the camden waterfront and live over in philly and I try to ride into work as much as I can.

You're not the only one who needs input......


(wondering how many will get this joke)

No disassemble Johnny 5!

You're not the only one who needs input......
http://www.fastrewind.co.uk/shortcircuit1.jpg


(wondering how many will get this joke)
God dammit, the 80s sucked ass.
Who's Johnny? And who saw the need for a Short Circuit 2?
Now this was a movie...

Mmmm... Steve Guttenberg... I MEAN ALLY SHEEDY! That whiny...

Burned in my memory is that scene where he rolls up to the old gas station and recites "Wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?" Actually, most of that movie seems oddly burned in my memory. Now the 2nd one... that was azzzzztastic.

']God dammit, the 80s sucked ass.
Who's Johnny? And who saw the need for a Short Circuit 2?


I don't know about SC2, but there is no denying Breakin' needed a sequel. Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo? Now that was a movie. C'mon a rag tag crew of poppers, lockers and B-Boys join together to stop a developer from razing the local community center? Paid for the whole seat...only needed the edge.

What's that watermellon doing there?

What's that watermellon doing there?
Huh???

']Huh???

Waiting to see who catches it.

Buckaroo Banzai

John Lithgow was sooo EEEEVVIL in that movie. It was only 15 years before he got his next gig on 3rd Rock. Whoda thunk it?

and who could forget Christopher Loyd as John Bigbootie. Truly one of the more memorable cinematic experiences of the century.

"my cheeeeep alex rims have withstood over a year of lardass lumps on camden's deepest potholes, philly's bumpy spots, and nu jersey's worst railroad xing's and the like."

Surreal, where r u at man? you just described my saturday loop. There's Nothing like a jaunt down Haddon ave to get to phillys finest cobblestones on a road bike. Bonejarring.


i live in bartown, aka barrington. camden county. wedged in between haddonfield, haddon heights, and lawnside, the town seems to exist mostly as a place for people of the neighboring dry towns to get drunk, as we have bars. (they don't.) i go to school at rutgers camden, so a ride down haddon avenue (i tend to pick up haddon ave in haddon twp) is basically something i do three days a week, unless i opt to ride my motorbike. i like to hit philly by bike on weekends/days off, but it sucks that they close the ben franklin bridge to cyclists after 7, so a train ride home is a must after quaffing some brew at the standard tap or similar. which is ok by me, b/c i live less than 2 miles from the haddonfield patco station, and i'm usually not into the idea of a long bikeride home at that point, anyway.

about a year back, they were doing heavy construction on haddon ave right near where it intersects with mt ephraim blvd, so i had to detour down the backstreets. now, those were some potholes! i hate concrete streets, when it comes to cycling.

-rob

and fat ladies walking two across with trekking poles.

i hate those poles!!!!!!!

'] Now this was a movie...

you meant to post this:

i hate those poles!!!!!!!

Uh, oh. Hate speech against Poles...and with all of these Chicagoans running around the forum, no less.

[edit: removed smiley. Don't like the green]

I had a blast the other night on a joy-ride chasing a motorcycle through downtown. I kept passing him at reds, then he would catch up to me again. Eventually, he realized that I was sort of chasing him and he started splitting lanes behind and in front of me to get to the front of the line. He lost me when I followed him onto lower wacker. Not enough lights down there to slow him down.

Chris