Bandera

The traditional FG club rider's bike hasn't changed much in the last century.
At least a front brake is used, proper foot retention and what ever accessories like a bottle cage, pump & flats kit that make it practical to ride further than around the block.

The declining "urban fixie" thing is another deal altogether.
When it's dissipated serious club riders and the enthusiasts of obsolete machines will continue as they always have, riding FG on the road.

Here's what they look like, can you tell which is which?

-Bandera

autoteacher

Bandera,

the one with the "Fixie" sign on it"

Phil_gretz

55 here. I ride fixed over the winter, telling myself that I'll change back to geared bikes on April 1st. Well, that date has come and gone. I ride geared bikes most of the time during the warm months, but if I want a spirited ride for a great workout, I'll pull out the fixed gear.

It's always fun to ride. I think that it's making me stronger, too, because I push just a bit harder when I ride it. Purely psychological, I know, but the enjoyment factor plus the need to add power to climb, accelerate, or decelerate make me put out just that wee bit more.

I'd highly recommend fg riding to any true enthusiast. Did I mention that it was fun?

JohnDThompson 

Fixed gear, no foot retention, and no brakes? That's got to be interesting...

bowzette

Careful autoteacher what you ask for The videos are me a year ago this past winter when I started riding fixed with groups. The info from my buddy's camera and power meter is cool. He weighs about 12 lbs more than me so my watts at any point would be a little less than his. Advance the video to around 9 minutes to begin. I'm the guy in orange and black jersey and look (not ride) just like Eddy M.
Woodlands Social Riders....Mike, Brian, George, Vickie, Big Bill and others - YouTube

Bandera

It's perfectly safe, not only does it have a flat rear tire it's zip-tied to the bike rack.
But it is Very Hip, as well as totally useless.

-Bandera

autoteacher

"Careful autoteacher what you ask for The videos are me a year ago this past winter when I started riding fixed with groups."

I'm impressed! This is on my "to do but start very slowly list". I can certainly see the benefit for a good workout.

M

bowzette

I was using too big of a gear-80gi. Later there were some nasty hills and I paid the price. I think the ride was between 55-65 miles. The following week I used 70gi. Much better. Today on that course I would use 75gi. Except for a 7-8 mile section of hills it's rather flat. 55 miles is probably only 1600-1700 feet of elevation.

Camilo

I'm turning 61 and would try a fixed gear the first chance I get. If I can do a conversion or find one to buy for cheap, I'll do it. I have a 12 mile loop I do at lunch and it's almost dead flat, and with very little traffic, so I think it would be a good candidate.

JohnDThompson 

Not a video, but here's a picture of me (age 59) finishing a century ride on my fixed gear bike a couple weeks ago:



Well, as you can see, I have both front and rear brakes.

trackhub

Most Excellent! His work area, in the basement of Harris Cyclery, was quite the place. A small bench, crammed with tools, bike parts galore, more than you might imagine, and the walls covered with various quotes and arcane mathematical formulas, all written in sharpie. Yes, he was quite the gentleman.

It's illegal and very foolish. There is only one place for a brakeless fixie, and that is a velodrome. Having said that, I think it's the Cool 20 somethings, who believe they are making a statement about how cool they are. you know, "stick it to the man", and all that. Yep, they're making a statement alright. "I'm a brainless moron!"
Others seem to feel that riding brakeless is "the complete fixed gear experience". Guess a trip to the ER should be added to that list.

A front brake is necessary, and for hilly Massachusetts, a brake on both wheels is required.

Don't forget, one of the nicest things about being over 50: You don't have to give a flying u-know-what about anyone thinks. Enjoy it!

trackhub

Is that a lugged steel frame? You rock, sir!

Dave Cutter

I saw a fixie (conversion) on CL for $20. It had a quality old school Cro-moly lugged frame. So I called figuring it had much more in parts than the $20. It turned out to be not completely finished. I bought it, fixed and finished it... and re-listed and sold it.

In the process... I learned to ride it. It was fun. A little bit of a thrill I guess.

But being in my sixties I guess I might be stuck in my ways... or maybe I just know what I like. I've also recently bought and tried mountain biking. It turns out I just really prefer road cycling.

jodphoto

I guess that's one of the nice things about being 20 also. That and the feeling of being immortal.

But seeing a kid in a wheelchair breaks my heart. At least a front brake should be mandatory on a fixie. There are plenty of cool looking ones.

JohnDThompson 

Yes, it is:

https://plus.google.com/photos/11214...593?banner=pwa

autoteacher

"At least a front brake should be mandatory on a fixie. There are plenty of cool looking ones."

Another great thing about being over 60. Looking cool doesn't mean squat! As a matter of fact older guys laugh at "cool looking" older guys! I have a good friend who's into snowmobiles. He drags his wife along. Matching suits, matching helmets, blah, blah blah..... His sleds look like they just rolled off the assembly line, spends huge amounts of time "fixing" them. Wife stopped going after he had her lead and they drove onto thin ice (NOT her fault) and sank both sleds. THAT'S Funny! BTW: it was close to shore and they were able to walk out and break into a home to keep warm. I'm laughing to myself just remembering him telling the story!

Side note: My partner at work has a sled he summer-izes and winterizes. NEVER does anything other than that but ride it. In the 11 years I've known him he's had ONE breakdown when he ran out of gas (gas guage)

Have fun!

autoteacher

I'm smiling! I just got an email from a CL seller who had a $20 fixie telling me it was sold He wrote to tell me he'd check his stash and see if he could make me another $20 bike!

That's funny!

Dave Cutter

I love bicycling... and I also enjoy wrenching on bikes in the off season or during rainy days. Cycling is a great activity and wrenching is a great hobby. I don't flip or anything even close to that. But wrenching doesn't actually cost me anything ether as I generally make a few extra bucks. And as I see it... I save some noteworthy bicycles from the landfill. This was my fixie after I finished with it.

trackhub

Folks, don't forget The Fixed Gear Gallery, a very good hangout for fixed gear
enthusiasts.

Here is a thought: I wonder what a Bianchi Pista, or Raleigh Rush hour would be like, re-built with one of the new, Sturmey Archer S3X
Hubs? Just a thought....

jodphoto

"Another great thing about being over 60. Looking cool doesn't mean squat!"

But look at Dave Cutter's bike! No matter how hard us old guys try to avoid it, we're still cool. That's just the cross we bear!

I had my fixie out for a path ride one nice day and a group of club riders passed me. I had already heard them coming and one of the leaders shouted "slow rider up". The rest shouted "on your left" or "hold your line, please" or other thoughts that entered their heads. Overall they had excellent bikes but sounded like a flock mechanical geese. There were gals who looked great in Spandex among them so I didn't mind the view from the rear. And, off they went.

I caught up with them at a Starbucks and one of the gals said."Ooh (or Ewww, can't say for sure), what kind of bike is that?". I began to answer once I realized she was talking to me. One of her club guys answered first. "That's a Fixie. They will be illegal soon. They're dangerous".

First I'd heard. I asked him if he had a bad experience on a fixie. He replied, "No, I'd never ride one of those."

"Wanna try mine?"

"Uh, no-o-o."

"Opinionated and uninformed", I thought. I transferred my venti iced dark roast to my water bottle, waved to "Ooh girl" and took off. It was only a matter of time before they would pass me again. After all, I was "slow rider".

It's like I said, old guys (and gals) on fixies are cool. We can't help ourselves.

scroca

+1
This is what I use.

autoteacher

I have a bike!

Now I need a link to information on how to determine the size gears I want. I am thinking of looking at a 48 tooth crank set. Is that a good start?

Keep in mind that I will be starting VERY slowly. Like in a large parking lot at work.

JohnDThompson 

Sure. I run 46 x 17 on my bike; if I had a 48T ring, I'd go for a larger cog in back. If you have derailleur-equipped bike, just put it in a gear ratio close to what you're considering and leave it there while you ride around. That should give you an idea at least.

chasm54

How flat is it where you live? My area is not mountainous, but there are plenty of short sharp hills. I run a 42-16 on my fixie, which allows me to climb short hills of up to about 10%. The size of the chainset doesn't matter in itself, but if you go for a ratio approaching 3:1 or higher you'd better be plenty strong if there's any climbing involved.

autoteacher

JohnD thanks for the tip, that makes sense.

Chasm, I'm going to avoid the many hills around here to start. I'll tackle that when I get better at this. Thanks

trackhub, fixedgeargallery looks very helpful. thanks