hey "i-like-to-crap-on-others-opinions" YOU GETTING ANY OF THIS???

Let see, people here ride bikes. The people writing in this specific thread ride bikes to work. They also ride bikes of the fixed gear nature. That would mean they commute on a fixed gear bike.

They ride bikes to work on fixed gears.

Fixed gear commuting.

And, George probably doesn't commute to work by bike, as he rides all day for work. (but thats just wild speculation on my part.)

I ride a nearly OCP road bike, a slow steel tourer with racks and fenders and a handlebar bag, a moutnain bike, and soon, a fixed / ss. It's all good, wether in Iowa or not. Hipsters, ahh. I doubt it.

[QUOTE=I-Like-To-Bike]Did you ever consider a single speed bike with coaster brake as an alternative? Such bikes can be found in any thrift store or garage sale with littleeffort, probably for $10 or less./QUOTE]

Well, honestly, I don't think a 10 dollar coaster brake bike is going to cut it for me. I'm riding about 200 km a week just commuting to work and back. I would destroy one of those bikes in very short order, as I have in the past.

Look, you can make a reliable bike with or without gears. I'm not going to argue that fixed is the only way, but it is simple. Over the past winter I have done next to no maintenance on my fixie, where my geared bike would have required much more.

Riding to work this morning, I don't see how having a fixed gear inconvienced me at all. I end up cruising at the same speed, and I am perfectly comfortable. It's really not any trouble once you get used to it.

Im 47 in 30 days :eek:
I wish I could find anything hipster about my old, aching,
9.99-an-item-clothing, cheeper-than-Fagen, boring self !!!!
I'd be happily flattered :roflmao:

I think those ruff tuff HD guys have it right...."If I have to explain it,
you wouldnt understand, anyway" :D

I set myself up a fixie as a lark--just to try--I am tired of doing maintenance wrenching all the damned time. I have a new geared Jamis Nova cross bike and my old trusty mtb slug as well. Set up a 1971 Raleigh SuperCourse with 42X15, eggbeaters, and on-one midge bars. (pics TK) I also rock the front brake. The mtb is out of commission and the Nova has been in the shop for the past month on a warranty issue, which left me with the fixie to commute to work everyday (14-miles there and back). My first commute day was the day after a sizeable snow dump with packed snow and ice everywhere, so I was a bit apprehensive.

Much to my surprise, not only was commuting on the fixie fun and a welcome break from monotony, but the fixie handled way better than either of my freewheel bikes in snow and ice, even with road slicks.

I don't think riding fixie after the initial adjustment period is any harder than riding freewheel bikes, actually, just different--like the difference between stick and automatic, as a friend put it.

I Lik... I am a hardcore commuter with just as much claim to being a wannabe moderator/whiner/elitist smug ***** as you--I decree that if people want to post up about commuting and bicycles in any form, be it tall bikes, unicycles, lowriders, power-assisted, their posts belongs here. The operative terms here are bikes and commuting--anything else after that applies.

Whaa, Whaa. Someone rained on the hip afficianadoes parade.

Hey maybe you and the other hip Real Serious Commuters™ can convince the Bicycle Retailers and various Style Men of the Media that fixed gear bikes are the next "10 speed racers" that can push everything else out of the marketplace. Nothing like a bike design that is promoted for use for something which it is neither properly designed nor intended.

Let the haters hate and the players play...I'm gonna go play.

The Redline is a good start.

9-2-5

9-2-5

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adult...ges/925-LG.jpg

Mine shows up this week, I hope.
A rack, stock, would be cool, but I have extras of those.

I :love: that 925 !
All it needs are the three uber-hipster, trendy,
chic-magnitizing, must-have items....
A rack, mirror and lights :roflmao:

I'll be adding a rack, and I'll swap my Schmidt dyno hub wheel from my Brevet bike to the 925. I'll mount a light on the fork, and a LED on the rack. Should be fun.

Imagine these, on the 9-2-5:



http://www.mikebeganyi.com/webimages/f-wheel.jpg

Riding clips in the city. In these conditions I find them easier to work with.
If the commute was 25 miles one way or something like that it would be clipless for sure.

I like bmike's reponse to I-Like-to-Bike... let the guy hate. Meanwhile, I'll just enjoy riding my bike.

http://www.nicomachus.net/images/canon/fixedfuji.JPG

http://www.nicomachus.net/images/canon/fuji_train.jpg

54X19 = roughly 75 gear inches of pure fun and commuting goodness for the rolling hills of the Research Triangle. 20 miles a day on this thing is an awesome workout. I now have panniers to help get the load off my back.

Re: the clipless question, I use eggbeater pedals.

Oh, and it was a ss-freewheel (though no coaster brake; just handbrake) for many months. Fixed is much more fun.

How do you like that seatpost rack? I'm thinking of adding something like that to my road bike, as I'm always carrying an extra layer, camera, etc. I wouldn't use it all the time - but the quick on and off looks cool.

I do like the upper photo, with the caution tape. Kind of funny with some of the posts in this thread - don't get too close to the fixed commuters.

I'll be starting ss, moving to fixed with some practice. (I do like the flipped wheel approach). I'm wondering how I'll handle the hills - and what gearing will work best, but as someone suggested - "If you are wishing for a lower gear on a climb, and wishing for a higher gear on a descent, you are in the right ratio..."

Like the guys on the "Hemi" commercials.... Sweeet...... :D

Here is my review of the Schmidt, with more pics.

indeed! good eye.

'tis very handy. it comes with rubber shims and the quick-release lever is on a screw bolt, so it quickly adjusts to just about any diameter seatpost. i like being able to move it to any of my bikes. very strong too... i never worry about the weight i place on it.

my only complaint is that the rubber bungee-cord things that come with the rack wear out quickly if exposed to sunlight. an actual bungee cord with the cloth-like outer layer holds up much better.

Good times.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ums/fixed1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ums/fixed2.jpg

Curious George Rocks! Where can I get a patch of him doing a wheelie w/ a taco'd front wheel?

Very, Very nice.

Portland, one of my favorite towns...

Relevant comments from Mr. Brown on the Redline sales pitch.:

"Singlespeeds and fixed-gear bikes are hot at the moment, but unfortunately most of them are not well designed for the urban jungle or for practical use. Most of the bikes in this catagory are more like pseudo-track bikes, with geometry that makes sense on the velodrome but not in the real world."

Who wudda thunk it?

Just like a unicycle; lots of fun, but requires some mental and physical gymnastics to be considered more practical for commuting than almost any other kind of bicycle design. Well maybe it is more practical than a high wheeler or a unicycle.


Anyway $500 + for a commuter with no gears, lights or rack etc.; and can't coast. Yep it's a start.

Here's the full quote from Mr. Brown's site:

My read of that is the the Redline is not one of those bikes with limited use, or track geometry.

Point me to a bike with useful lights, racks, fenders, and designed for commuting for cheaper. I'd be curious.

Riding this bike, or any bike, is really personal preference. I appreciate your cynicism of commuting on SS and Fixed, as I have a fair amount of cynicism for politics, religion, cars, the lottery, the Atkins diet, cats, the health benefits of smoking, etc.

Why not start a thread discussing the wondrous world of multi geared commuting bikes, and post pictures and recommendations, and links, and criticism, and such there. You can pedal in your world, like some folks can pedal in this world.

Remember, get a fix/fix hub. You can run a BMX freewheel on them, but also have the option of two fixed sides once you fall in love with it.

Not that different than the precip that allways starts right when I step on the pedals and stops right when I take out my lock, or the wind that always comes from whichever direction I'm facing. As for the lock, I worked until 3am on Sun after riding all day with a bunch of other fixers. I forgot the lock next to my computer, and had to go inside to get it. I locked up after the pic...

Gears aren't for everyone. They would have NO benefit on my routes to work. Fixed, however has a lot of benefits, from the traction in slick conditions to the smoothing out of my speed to a more average clip... The best part I think is never needing to thing about stopping. On bikes that coast, I have to reach for brakes as part of my reaction time. On the fix, I'm already slowing with my legs by the time I'd think to move my hand. I've missed less days due to weather this winter than anyone else at work - one. Last week when we had a foot of snow. I could have gone in, but was just like 'eff it - I want a snow day.'

And, as far as I know, they don't make stainless steel chains in 3/32. And I love having a chain that doesn't rust in the snow.

During the summer I commute on my track bike - super fun. Fast, too. Nimble. I zip around everything in the road. Squeeze through super narrow gaps in traffic. It's MY real world, and a bike specifically made for the velo does the job beautifully. I'll be doing it with loose bearing campy tubulars this summer.

Not every fix is pre-manufactured, either. The Fuji I posted pics of is an old touring model. I got it recently, so it's not completely done yet. It's going to have full fenders and racks as I get money for it. And it's going to stay fixed. Right now it's fitting a 700x42 up front. Any of your bikes fit that comfy of a tire?

Check out the 9 speed Wipperman chains. They are stainless and are supposed to last a long time.