Whoa there psirue, someone grab that stick up your as$ and wrench it free. I wondered if you're just being a little pissy or you're always that hardass who enjoys e-thuggin on the intrawebs - I would give you the benefit of the doubt from a bad day at the office, but from your last couple posts on the forum it seems like you're just always kind of a dickk.

"approach an upgrade and have to dismount"? - How does my gear ratio give you the slightest inclination that I cannot tackle a hill on this bike, notwithstanding my physical fitness. A 60 degree incline? Sure, there'd be problems, but I never planned to hit the Tour de France with it.

This is a fixed gear bike. With two gear ratios. Instead of going home before hitting the trails to change both cog and chainring, they're already on the bike. This is NOT and was NEVER meant to be a do-everything, go-everywhere super bike - I have a fully capable mt bike with 24 wondrous gear combinations. With a negligible weight increase and no change to maintenance costs or complexity of use, I'd say this is a much better option than adding derailleurs or storing those extra pieces in my under-seat bag.

This is posted in the ssfg subforum for a reason - I fully comprehend the drawbacks to a fg setup, as well as the advantages. You might as well attack every fg rider for "trying to cut down a tree with a butter knife," and you'd have a huge debate on yours hands at that point. I champion the beauty of fixed gear riding only as enjoyable in and of itself, not to be technically compared to every other possible bike component combination. Did someone steal your blankie when you were a kid, or do you just enjoy trying to crush dreams?

Good talk buddy, I welcome the debate.