Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - MOVED: Singlespeeds spotted in NYC?

I've been noticing a lot of cyclists, messengers and others, on singlespeed rather than fixed bikes on my way to work lately. I gawk at so many great fixies everyday that it's routine for me to do a quick 'derailleur check' (I'm sure I'm not the only one) whenever I see a pair of bullhorns in the distance.
But lately I've been surprised as people suddenly start to coast, and as I get closer I realize that guy who looks like a hardcore fixer is on an SS bike. Just curious if anybody's noticed a lot of this lately-- especially since the rapidly crappening weather seems to suggest fixing more than ever.
:)

i'm becoming more and more of a singlespeed fan myself lately to tell you the truth. maybe there is just something in the air?

maybe there is just something in the air?

like the fkn COLD?!

i'm sometimes disappointed to see someone i thought was fixed coast around a corner..
not hatin' just statin'

SS is the new fixed as people who bought fixies to be cool realize that not coasting isn't as fun as they thought it would be, and it didn't make them better lovers?

Turd-- that's exactly the feeling I'm describing. :)

The way I see it is, if you go SS you'll need brakes, if you've got brakes why not just run fixed w/ brakes.

it's funny, i've have been noticing this a lot lately as well. i think people like the look of a fixed gear, but no the extra effort in learning how to ride one. whatever floats your boat. the more people on bikes the better. and damn it's cold out.

agreed; that smooth looking taut chainline is appetizing no matter how you run your cog.
however... I really, really enjoy being able to control my stopping without levers.

for city use, and short rides i love a FG. problem is, i tend to ride in the 40-60 mile range at one time, so an SS would probably work well for me as a back up bike. I'm really interested, lately, in finding an SS that is an overweight old steel mountain bike with huge fat tires and fenders. kinda like an urban assualt machine complete with chipping paint, scratches, and a lot of 'what the f are you looking at?' 'tude. i really feel like i need something meaty and crude for the winter.

I'm all for single speeds. Fixed is fun, but clearly for more of the enthusiast. The ability to coast was a great advance in bicycle technology that's only, oh, 100+ years old. :p I think most bike riders would be much better served by a single speed than the typical 21+ gear wonder commonly ridden.

I suppose the look of a smooth taut chainline is nice, but there are some great practicalities over derailers, or even sprung tensioners, which I consider a kludge. The single speed chainline is much less likely to get thrown, will last longer and generally needs no adjustment once set.

Coaster brake is my preferred SS ride, simple, cheap, all the negatives of SS and fixed gear combined. ;)

and damn it's cold out.


really cold. It'd gettin' tougher to get them riding legs going in the morning...



I'm really interested, lately, in finding an SS that is an overweight old steel mountain bike with huge fat tires and fenders. kinda like an urban assualt machine complete with chipping paint, scratches, and a lot of 'what the f are you looking at?' 'tude. i really feel like i need something meaty and crude for the winter.

Been thinking about that for a while. Got an old MB frame just laying around, and with so many parts being advertised on places like CL it's really tempting. The dropouts are semi-horizontal. Parts are kinda cheap.

But....I'm lazy :)

timmhaan, I think that's called a "cruiser."

i'm sometimes disappointed to see someone i thought was fixed coast around a corner..
not hatin' just statin'

exactly. and it seems that SS:FG = 5:1 where i live. ...sigh...

kinda like an urban assualt machine complete with chipping paint, scratches, and a lot of 'what the f are you looking at?' 'tude. i really feel like i need something meaty and crude for the winter.

Redline MonoCog.

I couldn't imagine not coasting here in West Virginia---JJ
www.vailcycleworks.com

No, Timmy boy wants the grimy, crusty, bar crawling mountain bike that also hauls your studiously indifferent ass to work.

an old army bike like this would suit me well, i think:

now that is a bomb-proof bike!

SS is the in, in the Borough of Brooklyn.

Basically someone said it already. Many of the people tried fixed, don't really like it, like the look, so they go SS.

-Matt

I consider S/S as a segway into fixed. Since I find my old Schwinn to be enjoyable as a single speeder, I may now consider building a fixie from another old road bike.

I consider S/S as a segway into fixed. Since I find my old Schwinn to be enjoyable as a single speeder, I may now consider building a fixie from another old road bike.

I'd have to agree. My bud gave me his wheel (with fixed/free hub) when he stripped the fixed side, and I used the freewheel side on a rescued roadie frame for a couple of months. I'd gotten the frame for $20, and got the wheel for free. It was a great introduction to the one gear philosophy, until my front wheel got nicked. I suffered withdrawal and when I decided to upgrade my wheels, I decided to go fixed.

I'm into my fixie, got to ride it home in the first snow the other day. I'm a little sketched about road salt corroding my nice Phils, so it might be the geared MTB for commuting. I've been playing with the idea of converting her to a singlespeed, but haven't pulled the trigger. I really really want to make her a fixed as well, but the spacing means more work than the road bike conversion.

I've heard that Phils hold up to corrosion better than most hubs. Haven't had the opportunity to try... yet.

I have no idea how these Old Skool dudes do it. It's cool riding fixed and all, but NYC traffic is f-ing brutal! And inevitably, you'll have to do some riding on in alleys, sidewalks, down stairs, etc. I'd rather be riding NYC with a fixed mountain bike style with brakes, but hats off to those cats riding their track bikes out there.

i noticed that in brooklyn too, but right now i'm in portland visiting my brother...ss and fixed riders are rampant here (props to whoever has the purple italian track with the pink saddle locked up in front of the yarn store on hawthorne), but there are definitely more ssers. many more...still though, it seems like every other bike i see is ss/fixed. rock on, stumptown.

, but NYC traffic is f-ing brutal! And inevitably, you'll have to do some riding on in alleys, sidewalks, down stairs, etc. .

It's not that brutal if that's all you know;)