BF is almost entirely to blame for my journey into SS/FG. With BF help, I converted an old CX bike to SS. After that, I got a SS mtn bike. More recently, I have made the jump to FG commuter. I have ~13 potential stops on my commute, plus two hills that allow me to coast easily to 50 km/h - it's a challenge.

how much did bf influence my fixie obsession? 100% or well maybe 99% because this guy I worked with in college had one (steamroller... that's all I remmeber) and I thought it was just so cool and very light! So I started by building myself a fixie, then I started commuting while building it, then used it for commuting, then bought a bike better suited for commuting, then converted that to fixie, now I'm looking at a cyclocross bike... to keep geared! (really, I promise to keep it geared this time!)

and not all of are crazy (holy sh*t buelito... that's quite a ride) my commute is 24 mi rt down the Mt. Vernon trail (mostly flat) but there's a half-mile long humongous hill up to my house in DC. (community named hillcrest... go figure)

I blame Sheldon for about half, and BF for about half. I have a terminal case now. Even my 10 year old rides one. Have mercy on my soul.

jim

+1

Sweet!

I first heard about fixed gear about 4 years ago in an off topic post on a vintage scooter forum. I thought it sounded really fun and decided I'd like to have one some day. I hung around SSFG for quite a while before I finally got around to converting an old Peugeot and loved it from the start. I have a second bike to convert and got in on the SSFG group buy too. Looks like I'm hooked!

When I used to hit 30, slam it to near 0, 30 again, 0... my garmin showed a chart of my commute that ended up looking more like a seismic chart during an earth quake. Now with my fixie, I get to work in just about the same amount of time but it feels easier on my body and since I'm afraid to use my front brake, I end up using my legs to slow myself down. I'd skip or skid when I need to slow down really fast but to preserve my joints and tires, I end up just taking it easy from light to light. It's only 2-3 minutes slower than my road bike on my commute.

Okay, I gave it a try when I got home. No go. Maybe I was too tired. Or just too weak. Or reflex action to not ever do that. But it got me thinking. Is that why moustache bars are shaped that way? It seems like it's a perfect wrap around the forward leg.

I blame caloso and his nofooted commute! I was not evil before going fixed!

I first heard about it on Sheldon's site and thought that it sounded completely stupid; I thought that you'd have to be masochistic to ride fixed. Then I started checking out SS/FG as a curiosity to see just how crazy those guys had to be and eventually decided that it seemed like a lot of fun. I almost never ride my geared bike anymore; it's not nearly as fun.

Interesting comment. Yes, it currently is a craze/fad for a lot of people. There is also a portion of riders who want nothing to do with the "culture" of the fixie, and just enjoy riding it.

OT, but back in the day I was into modifying honda/acura cars - but for performance reasons, spending much of my time at the road courses. The big wing crowd annoyed me, and the japan-worship of the "JDM" fanatics bothered me even more. I never dreamed that I would run into the same sort of parts worship (NJS stuff) in a bicycle forum. I mean, I understand collecting things as a hobby, and know that there is an appeal there, but that side of the fixed-gear world really turns me off. In that sense, BF provides me a reason not to ride fixed... because it leads me to read the FG forum, and sites like FGG which tend to drive me insane.

[edit] BTW, my preferred commuter is fixed now, but my commute is relatively flat. If I had to negotiate the kinds of hills some of you see, it just wouldn't be enjoyable.

"There is also a portion of riders who want nothing to do with the "culture" of the fixie, and just enjoy riding it."

Er, that might describe me. The hybrid (Raleigh C40) I made into a fixie floats my boat. So, too, my 26" fg -- a very old mtn bike -- that's kitted out with Wald bars and BMX grips. I think a front basket would look nice, too.

I bought a mtb with rock shox on ebay and wanted tol earn how to tune the shocks.I googled bike forums and this one popped up first. I saw the fixed/ss page and remembered seeing a cannodale 1fg at the lbs the previous week and had thought to myself why would anyone ever want 1 gear.

Now I ride my fix so much I have a pang of guilt everytime I see my geared bike. I still love you poor geared bike.

Shucks. I'm just too lazy to unclip.

fixed + hills make Mongo strong like bull.