Originally Posted by
furiousbob
Test riding a fixed gear with no fixed gear experience raises a question or two. First, how do I push off of it? It's got cages and straps so here's how I'd think I'd do it: put your left foot in the left cage and then push off and flip the right pedal right-side-up and stick your right foot in the pedal all in one motion.
If I can figure out a way to test-ride that Flite and not make an ass out of myself or fall on my ass, I'd take it for a test and probably end up buying it followed by a SS gear installation so I can learn the bike before I learn fixed gear.
Oh and the LBS with the Kona's didn't seem to want to get me another Wagon. Either they don't think I'm serious or they're lazy. Either way I'm going back there on my next day off to see what's up.
Yeah, I don't think it's as hard as you might think, although I had a hard time with the toe-clips and straps...I would have gotten used to it eventually, but I had a pair of egg beaters available, so I put those on and it was much easier for me. Granted, I can't really do any cool mounts or dismounts with clipless, but.
Doesn't sound like the LBS you're dealing with is all that helpful...perhaps your money would be better spent elsewhere
If you have a few basic tools, have you looked into anything from BikesDirect?
The Windsor The Hour ($299),
Mercier Kilo TT ($349), and the
Motobecane Messenger ($349) are all pretty popular here.
Some people give them crap because of the famous brand names they use despite being the same Taiwanese frames most other manufacturers use. However, if you are on a budget, don't mind doing a little work (took me all of 15 minutes to get mine setup), and don't mind buying a bike sight-unseen, then you can't really beat it. I went with the Motobecane because it comes with both front and back brakes. It also comes with a freewheel that you can put on.
Just throwing that out there...I was in the same boat as you, and considering the same models as you (Paddy Wagon, Flite 100, and 925), but eventually settled with the BikesDirect, mainly because of price because it is my first fixed gear and I wasn't sure I was going to stick with it, and didn't want to sink $600+ into it. Plus, if you like it, you'll have money left over in your budget to replace things like the saddle, handlebar, pedals if you want, tools, whatever...