Agreed.

You will never know until you try it and can always go back or use the fixed wheelset as a singlespeed or in Portland... sell it to some hipster and break even.

For Portland (and most places) riding I'd look at a mid 70's gearing for all around riding... there are lots of hills and places where you have to climb if you are heading east or west.

A 53:19 is 75 gear inches and a 21 would give a low of 67.

Riding fixed is a fad that has been going on since the dawn of cycling... it is another way to enjoy cycling.

I currently have 4 fixed gear bicycles; as our winter tends to be a little more challenging I ride a fixed mountain bike in the winter with 59 gear inches so I can crawl through the snow, the summer bicycles run gearings in the mid 70's and they get ridden alot.