BruceMetras

About the same age and converted to two speed a few years back .. having the extra gear offsets the weight penalty for me .. here's what I ride frequently .. geared 55/75 g/i

siclmn

Yes, I don't know if I would like the auto shift or the one where you back pedal to shift. That is the decision I need to make.

BruceMetras

If you go with a coaster brake, then I would highly recommend the automatic .. much less confusion about what gear you are in as you brake for stops signs or traffic ... plus you have to kill your pedal momentum to shift back to another gear .. I adjust my automatic hubs to shift at around 14 mph @90rpm .. one thing with the automatic, if you are attacking a hill in high gear at say 16 mph and your speed drops below automatic shift point, as long as you maintain pressure on the pedals, it won't shift down.. so in my instance, I could climb a hill at 11 mph in high gear even if I was below the shift point as long as I maintained pressure on the pedals .. and as soon as pressure is released, then it would drop to low.. if you are running a non-coaster 2 speed hub then you wouldn't have to deal with shifting when you backpedal to brake..

postprimepedal 

Your bike, your buddies, your choice. If I go out with roadies I can keep up with on the FG, I ride the FG. With a stronger group, I take a road bike. I don't want to hold anyone up because I choose to be "different." To me, gears and freewheels cut against my sense being one with the bike, though I admit to riding with brakes.

FWM

I'm 46 and having been riding fixed for a few months. I love it and don't expect to go back to a geared bike any time soon.

I started feeling a few aches and pains in my knees, so I've just dropped the gearing to 42/19. So much fun! I can finally skid about like a 12 year old. And no more pain!

Here's my Wabi Lightning basking in the rays of our UK sunshine, what little is left of it...

Xgecko

agree with Bruce I own both a kickshift freewheel and an automatic coaster (I have also tried the other offerings from both companies the kickshift coaster sucks)....the autoshift coaster is much more convenient and in general feels better though I have yet to do the 14mph mod so I have to plan my hill attacks when returning home with +30lbs of groceries

bikeman68

If anybody here still races, you can also use your drop bars, with higher gearing in season and push for a higher avge speed . In years past Id use up to 53/16 and ride by shoreline where I had very limited hills and could get a higher pace on flats than with my geared bike, thanks to the momentum of a fixed gear that reduces the dead spot in pedaling. This comes in handy if you race on the track.For now Im riding 49-16 and looking for a 50 t chainring, on my old Italian road frameset with old style dropouts. The vintage road frames make great fixed gear trainer bikes, more forgiving on road than a track frame

bikeman68

Dont you have significant hills in any direction from home in WA?

bikeman68

Siclmn, Dont you have significant hills in any direction from home in WA?

thehammerdog

AS an older fella late 40's I just came to the SS thing after getting a free old steel beast on CL. I replaced the old beat fork and went with a 34 X 18 set up for our mountain region in NWNJ. I like it so far cannot go fast but I can clear most things and climb most hills...the steel is just great very light responsive luv it

thehammerdog

Not sure I get the SS/FS road bike only idea....I luv to go fast and climb like a goat you really cannot do that in my area with out gears....

postprimepedal 

It's SS/FG only because it's The Age 40+ Singlespeed & Fixed Gear Thread. Also, I've surprised myself at the hills one can climb with one gear.

caloso

I'm not really much of a TT'er but for fun I did one where I set up my FG with aerobars and 52x15 gearing. 10 mile out and back TT with rollers. Turned out to be my best TT ever.

siclmn

Yes we have many hills everywhere I go but I can do 99% of them without getting off the bike. I just pedal slowly and sometimes zig zag up them. 42 x 17 gear.

NedClive

I love it and don't expect to go back to a geared bike any time soon.

Ditto! I flirted with a 3-speed and did the Norwich 100 + 50 commute but precious few giggles. Swopped the wheel more or less straight away and I got the fun back immediately and wondered why I ever changed.

TejanoTrackie 

Bumping this thread since nobody has posted in 2 weeks and it's dropped off page 1. My latest addition to my bike collection is a Windsor Clockwork singlespeed that I picked up on closeout for $169.95 + 6.25% state sales tax. It's a very nice bike for its normal $299.95 price and a screamin' deal for the price I paid. Although it is very similar to the Motobecane Messenger that I bought over 3 years ago and no doubt built in the very same Chinese factory, the quality is much better. The wheels required only minimal truing and the frame welding was much nicer. I plan on leaving this bike basically stock, unlike the Moto where I replaced virtually everything and tripled the overall cost. The only changes I've made are to the pedals, brake blocks and freewheel, using items from my parts bin, so I've not spent anything beyond the initial cost.

europa

Just to keep this thread bumped, I remembered I owned bikes today and patted the Hillbrick's saddle in passing.

In my defense, max. temps are around the 40C (100+F) at the moment and to be honest, I'm happier driving my MGB than riding a sodding pushbike up that sodding hill to get home

catonec 

its ok to let threads die...

Sixty Fiver

Bah.

I had been thinking that the one thing I was missing here was having a fixed gear bike that was suitable for winter riding and do have some cross tyres I could toss on the Peugeot and had another set of fixed road wheels and a pair of mtb wheels with a fixed hub as well.

Down at the co-op there was an older Raleigh ATB and for $20.00 I got the frame and fork and swapped in my mtb wheels and tyres, Nitto bullmoose bars, and a nicer lever and brake. After I took this pic I swapped the rubber to some Specialized Team folding tyres which are a little better in the snow as they can be run at lower psi and are more supple than the Kendas.

-VELOCITY-

42 years old and just recently got into Fixies.

iTripped

Okay, so I don't know about you guys, but I find if I take a couple weeks off from biking, I really notice a loss in stamina, strength and overall ability. It's like my legs atrophy so much faster now. For the holiday we went on vacation to see family and that meant 8 days out of the saddle. Then on the flight back I picked up a nasty cold or flu or whatever from some flight attendant who figured it was ok to work while sick. I am not looking forward to the day when I eventually do get back on the bike, only to learn just how far back I slipped.

Bandera

Here' a pic of the conversion I've been riding FG on the road since '92, it works just fine.
Did yeoman service as a road bike since '77 w/ derail or not.
Others since the early '70's including Velodrome use.

-Bandera

sisddwg

I ride a 1957 Macleans Featherweight Road/Track bike that I purchased from Hilary Stone in the U.K. I use a 51t up front and a 22t in the rear for approx. a 63 inch gear. Before I retired nine years i road a fixed to work everyday in New Orleans (read flat). I ride it now at least once a week. I have other bikes. It's a little tough for me in the San Francisco Bay area so I have to avoid steep hills as much as possible. It's an enjoyable ride as long as I avoid the hills. I am 74 years-old.

TejanoTrackie 

We'd all love to see some photos of your truly vintage bike. Congrats in keeping the pedals turning into your 70s.

North Coast Joe

This is my first FG post! An old (61) guy who's been riding for a little over a year.

Have a nice geared MTB/commuter, but have been reincarnating a 70's dept store 3 speed. This Winter's project was to build alloy wheels, F&R, with a FG hub in back. Just finishing up. Couldn't fit 700's on the frame/fork without spreading both, so stayed with ISO 590's. Both hub OLD's make replacements tough to find! 90mm in front,
100 in back. Found a CHEAP rear and laced it up....is this one of those "suicide" hubs? Got lots of red Locktite, hope it works!

Here's a few pics of the evolution of this thing. It rides nicely, but I'm guessing it'd be a little "slack" for most folks here: