So flippers could make money.

So all the fixed gear fellows can dump their Nuovo Record here.

-Kurt

Want to voice your opinion? Print and hang on bike wherever you desire:

ONE LESS (censored) FIXIE

-Kurt

Caveman see bike.
Caveman want bike.
Caveman make fixie.
Ugh, Caveman.

Amazing that they're still cycling at that age


My only reason to bemoan fixie culture at the moment is the absurd price inflation of older frames, and a crippling shortage of complete brake sets in the bike shops....

I'm young(20) and don't get it either. Luckily though, nice originals are still out there. I just picked up a 1985 Panasonic DX-4000 and it is in excellent condition with all of the original Shimano 600 components.

I understand singlespeeds, I built one love it - simple, light and it feels fast in city and park riding. Not so hot on the open road, but that isn't where I commute. I can sure see building up a fixie by process of elimination, just leaving off the parts of your bike that broke. I don't get butchering a great old bike for either.

Gears are for old people, so we youngsters take your generation's bikes and convert them so you can't ride them anymore.


ps

A lot of people want fixed geared bikes but not the track frame.

Buy Tektros -- the best deal in brakes.

Again, I'm young, but I still don't get it. I can just leave it in the same gear if I want to push myself. Then, when I want to go fast, I shift so I can.

I'm 54 and ride about 200 miles/week, with about 100 of it on SS. Riding a SS road bike, including hills, is a wonderfully aggressive activity. I am always a stronger geared rider after a long HTFU session on a SS.

Here they are:

2007 Schwinn Madison -- 48x17.

1995 Performance branded Ti -- 53x18

1985 Team Fuji -- 53x19



1980ish Lotus Elan -- 42x16 -- since sold, but a beautiful blue.

I built all but the Madison, which came as a SS/FG.

I was just joking about that, so you know.

ok, fixed gear isn't for everyone. I didn't care for them until I spent a few hours on one on the street (previously I had only borrowed friends' bikes and rode around the parking lot). Doing an actual ride with one really caught me and then it felt weird getting back on a geared bike. The bikes feel different and I think it's good to have a bit of both. You know, why not?

I know. All good fun.

I started riding fixed gear bikes at 40 and am now 43... in that three years I have ridden in excess of 15000 miles fixed on a number of fixed gear bikes as what was one bike, has now become five.

I started with a mid 70's Peugeot that is presently on hooks as an accident wrecked her fork so until I replace that fork I have been forced to ride this... a 1940 CCM that was previously a coaster bike.

Poor me...



I also ride a 1955 Raleigh Lenton that came as a fixed gear, have converted two Kuwahara mtb's into fixed and fg/ss bikes, and have a 1973 Phillip's folder that is also a fixed gear.

At least half of my riding is done fixed and I have a great time doing it and at times it is the only riding I can do because of nerve damage in my lower back which makes pedalling with my right leg difficult.

I would never corrupt a frame so that it could not be restored and warn people against this and saved a Ron Cooper from becoming a "beater" fixed gear as the potential buyer did not know any better.

people ridding junky bike boom bikes or wallmart mtn bikes with unreliable shifting, that are too lazy/cheap for basic bike maintenance develop a dislike for the "complexity" of gears...

Most of the people I build ss / fg bikes for (and I build a lot of them) have an appreciation for all bicycles, usually own more than one bicycle, and just want to ride something different.

In many places a single speed is all one needs and fixed gear riders are a different breed altogether.

This is just your own weird made up theory with zero data. The earth was created 6,000 years ago, right?

EG,

Sometimes the more gears the better!

Last month I was overhauling my SRAM Dual Drive bike (9 speed cassette, 3 speed internal geared hub, one chainring crankset), and decided since the front chainring and the BB needed to be replaced, I thought (aka inspired by Sheldon) why not add a second chainring and loose the gaurd?

Now I have a 54 speed bike. I test rode it on Nantucket last weekend, which is basically flat. It was great to have a bigger gear up front. I could really cruise along their nice bike paths.

No fixed gears for me, thank you.

Sorry, that is just a blatantly ridiculous statement.

I would love to see the gear charts for that combination.

i admit it was

The SingeDebile theory has got something going for it. There's a lot of people who have no idea how a bicycle is supposed to run. They have no experience with a drivetrain that doesn't make crunchy noises, they've never ridden a bike they can pick up easily in one hand, they think it's normal that the gears don't work.

So when they get on a fixed or a singlespeed for the first time they actually enjoy riding instead of finding it a chore and think that is the way to get this goodness.

Does that apply to the certifiable bike-geeks around here. No. But, we are a bunch of retro bike dorks and not the average schmuck who overpays for fixters on Craig's List. Those bikes are going somewhere folks.

We had one around growing up and I never felt any mystical connection to the bike gods while riding it. In fact the inability to coast was quite irritating. You are free to ride whatever you like though.

Fixed gears are cool, something different if you've never ridden one, challenging (try riding with your friends on their geared bikes and keeping up) affordable, sexy and simple. Sometimes pink even better.