Originally Posted by
LarrySellerz
I like having fast guys to chase, something to work towards you know. This is the fastest group in my part of the bay area
I understand this. I started riding with a road club in 1989 when I was over 220 pounds and pretty lean. I rode with the fast group for years, some years I rode 12,000 miles. I could not do long climbs with fast riders who were 50 or 70 pounds lighter, ever.
I love climbing and I loved the long, fast rides so I did what I could to enjoy it. I had good endurance and if one of those climbers was having a bad day they got to see me and if I could drop them I made sure to say something (in fun).
I also did well on the flats and I could make some of them hurt a bit if they lost the draft. I made a lot of friends and when I got older it sucked even more to not be able to keep up.
Some people use a fixed gear bike as a training tool and a few actually ride a fixed gear everywhere, but it's not an advantage over a road bike. I would highly recommend a road bike with the right gearing. You (or I ) can't go for the extreme lightweight stuff because of durability. Just get a comfortable, reasonably light bike with a low enough gear for your hardest climbs. And chase fast people, it's fun and it will make you faster.