Any clydes on fixies?
 

I just got a sweet new Motobecane Messenger fixed gear bike. I am still getting it set up so I have only ridden little circles in the driveway but it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

The frame is 4130 cromoly with an orange pearl paint that you have to see in real life to get the full effect. I'm in the process of swapping out the drops for pursuit style handlebars and I am swapping the 48/16 gearing for 48/18 giving me about 70 gear inches which should be comfortable around here.

I know a lot of folks in this forum are interested in weight loss through cycling; I can already tell that riding a fixed gear bike will be a better workout than my mtb or my greenway bike since I'll have to pedal allllllllll the time.

I'll get some pictures of the new bike as soon as I get the new parts installed.

Any other Clydes riding fixed gear bikes?

Calling Tom...

As a matter of fact......me. ;) I ride among other bikes, a 1971 Nishiki Custom Sport set up with a fixed set up.

HandsomeRyan, does that bike take fatter tires? I have been thinking about either converting my (too small) trek to fixed or getting another bike altogether for winter riding. I want to go Fixed/SS because of all the crap that they put on the roads... a simple set up like that would be easy to clean daily, or every other day.

I notice it doesn't have fender mounts, but I "fortunately" have a pair of the PB "EZ" fenders that mount with O-bands. Just wounder if I could get a decent sized winter tire on that thing. It's a good price, and I like the orange as well.

I've got a 1991 PDG Series-5 which I converted from 14spd 105sc to fixed gear. Stripped the derailleurs and 53t chainring, got a shorter BB spindle, and rebuilt the rear wheel around an IRO fixed/fixed hub. I run 39/15 (a bit under 70 gear inches), and I'm also considering a fixed gear MTB build for a snow commuter this winter.

I believe it would take bigger tires. I'll try to get a picture of the clearances but there is plenty of room between the stock 23mm tires and the fork/frame.

The pictures don't do the orange paint justice, the color is striking when you see it in person.

For the money I don't think you would regret picking one up. The fit-n-finish is not quite as nice as an eight or nine hundred dollar track bike but the frame feels sturdy and all the other components can be easily replaced if they break or wear out.

As much as I love the orange color on the Mess', I'd look pretty seriously at the BD PhantomCross Uno as a winter beater/commuter bike. I may eventually pick one of these up as a SS so I can keep the Messenger as a fixie. It has brake levers on the flats and canti brakes. I don't remember off-hand but I think it may have fender mounts and ridiculous tire clearances as well.

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Nice to see so many other big guys on fixies. I really think I'll enjoy this and I believe what Sheldon says about riding fixed making us better at riding our freewheel and multispeed bikes too.

Yup.

42x16 for several years now. This past spring i sold off my geared bikes.

I almost bought the Redline 925 for commuting. I couldn't find one in stock and I know this year's model is more expensive and I thought it would be the ugly Women's White version. It looks like it's a drab green, but not as bad as the white.

I will probably see what winter is like out here commuting on 28 or 32 mm wide tires and go from there. This bike comes with 700x28 tires and fenders, as well as fairly low gearing.

My Bianchi has a flip-flop hub, but I usually run it on the freewheel side.

-DR

Redline 925 is my commuter. I'm running it fixed.

Wow, It looks like there are enough of us to petition for a "Clydes on Fixies" subforum. :)

This would be great if we could get the friendly/supportive/helpful nature of the Clyde forum (the best on BF.net IMHO) imparted to a fixed gear forum on BF.

If you've ever hung out in the SS/FG subforum you understand what I mean.

I dropped 20lbs commuting 100 miles a week last year on my Fuji Track, nearly made it out of the clyde class before my wife got knocked up and I put on 30 lbs of baby (sympathy) weight.

I agree the fixed crowd is a little too cool for their own good, especially in the urban areas.

Well, I'll jump in and introduce myself to the clyde forum here.

As my name might suggest I love singlespeeds. I have a Monocog 29'er and and old converted Schwinn for the road.

I just bought a Surly Steamroller a couple of weeks ago and I'm absolutely loving riding fixed! I can amuse myself with the most simple things on it, liking trying to skid and ride backwards, neither of which I've been too awful successful at, but fun none the less!

Hoping this bike will become my commuter when I finally move down into the city. Guess I'll have to go buy some knickers and a white belt before I move though... ;)

I weigh 200 and thought skips and skids were beyond my capabilities... that is until I switched from my natty bargain SPDs to Time ATACs. Some amazing pedals there. My fixie is also broken awaiting repair as a result of cracked dropout. D'oh.

I'll braze in some new ones eventually. Nothing like being seen fat on a fixed gear to ruin it for all the vile hipsters, which is precisely as it should be, and gawd, couldn't come a day too soon. I even run moustache bars!

http://www.bikeforums.net/group.php?groupid=9

Fixed Gear Clyde's Group. :D

I sent out invites, but SSMojo beat me to it and became the first member. :D I made the group public, so anyone can join. :D

Can you join even if the last time you rode fixed you were 12, and that was when bell bottoms and white belts were really popular, even the bald guys had afros, the Bay City Rollers had a top ten hit, and John Travolta could dance?

Even thinking of riding fixed makes my knees hurt....

I bought a 73 Raleigh Grand Sports frame off Craigs List a few years ago and built a flip flop and run the fixed with 39 x 15 with 170 cranks (~70 gear inches). I ride my road bike more often but the fixie is fun to mix it up. It sure gets my attention when I forget I'm riding fixed :) The SS side (which I have never used) is 17. The idea is if I am out and having problems I can flip to 60 gear inches SS to get up hills and will be able to coast down the other side. (I also carry the wrench to do so since it does not have quick release).

i ride a cannondale capo. been riding for near 2.5 years now. 47x16. somewhere around 79 g.i. fun stuff.

I ride an 80's Shogun that I "recycled" into a fixie, and an old Specialized Rockhopper rigid MTB that I converted to SS for mountain biking and for my winter bike. I usually ride the Shogun for fun and exercise, but occasionally use it for commuting to work. It is a much nicer ride with a Brooks B-17 -- I found that being clipped into a fixed gear with an uncomfortable saddle to be toturous -- the Brooks is well-worth it.

Other bikes include a Nishiki that I turned into a utility bike for groceries and stuff, and an 80's Alsop Softride road bike that I use for longer rides. All the bikes are recyled bikes -- I recsued them from dumpsters or thrift stored and rebuilt them.

My primary commuting bike is a folding fixed gear. 54x13 sounds obsene until I mention that the wheels are 406s....