slvoid

I rode 165 miles on a fixed gear in something like 9 hours. No problems there. Done the same ride on a geared road bike in something like 8 hours. Also no problems there. My first 100 miler I did through some hilly terrain with a 35lb mtb, shocks bouncing like crazy, 26x1.8" slicks, riser bars, in something like 6.5 hours.

I think you meant to say "look at some riders who lay down the serious miles and you may not see many flat bars.

Look at a lot of serious messengers around here. Flat bar, brakeless, doing 2-400 miles a week. If that's not serious mileage, what is?

slvoid

What if they're between shonts and shorts?

DataJunkie

Me me me me me! I done did that. I even was ran into by a car while riding my old fg. Do I get a medal?

Anyhow, all I said was that short flat bars look silly (or something to that effect).
I suppose I shouldn't have replied to your post. Oh well...

mike

IMO, the whole fixe thing is more of a fad fashion statement than anything. Thus, you will see a fashionable trend in the gear and look of fixe's.

I mean - it's OK. Whatever is fun and cool on two wheels is good by me. I like the idea of being able to stand at a stoplight without putting your feet down and without falling down. That is neat.

The first guys who road bicycles across the American continent did it on fixe's with single position handlebars, so mileage on them is do-able. I bet if those guys had the choice with modern equipment, though, they would gladly ride multi-geared bikes with freehubs.

anthegreat1

I switched to bull horns from some old flipped bars. Man these things are great, there's so many hand positions. Sometimes I'm using 2 different hand positions at one time.

just make sure there tilted up just a bit or they hurt your wrists.

tbannin

[QUOTE=mike;6997518]IMO, the whole fixe thing is more of a fad fashion statement than anything. Thus, you will see a fashionable trend in the gear and look of fixe's.

Not everyone is into fashion....I love to build bikes and ride them..all kinds.....my favorite is my fixie...Oh how I adore her.....For this simple reason- low maintenance and easy upkeep. no derailures to fail, no free wheels to lock up on you randomly, nothing but the road and the hum of your tires gripping the pave in a tight turn onto a major street with traffic trying to keep up with you....man I love the look on their faces...

slvoid

Last fixie I had had a sugino 75 drive train, izumi V chain, philwood cog, and it sounded like a meat grinder...

Sixty Fiver

slvoid - Would you ride on short flat bars for 100 miles straight ?

And if so, why ?

Couriers can lay down some serious mileage (I know lots of them and fix their rides) but they are also on and off their bikes a lot which gives the arms and wrists a break.

I have ridden fixed centuries but prefer my touring (drop) bars over anything else as for extended rides with fewer or even no breaks having multiple hand positions is something I consider pretty essential.

As to fixed gear bikes being a fad.. they have been around longer than any other kind of bike and if anything are experienced a renaissance.

slvoid

I was going to take my road bike but the forecast said possible thunderstorms and the carbon wheels I have don't really brake well in the wet. Plus it was going by a sandy road and I didn't want the sand chewing up the carbon rim so I took the fixie instead.

At the end of the day, I had some knee pain from a saddle that was rotated something like, a quarter degree too much to the right, something i never noticed on rides under 100 miles.

So i really wasn't planning on it but it turned out to be not so bad.

CliftonGK1

Back in the 80s they were called Jams.

surfimp

Risers are for barspinnzzzzz!

Along with 650c Arrospoks for teh front wheelz

Tarck it up, baby!

sedition

"jams"

*spits out milk*

Wow. ain't heard that word in along time.

Bekologist

chopped flat bars are flop.

that being said, if you ride your fixed gear and do mad stunts, it's function.

"I chopped them to navigate city gridlock" is blowing smoke.

if you've chopped your bars narrower than your buddies in a one-upmanship fashionista battle, yet can't spin your bars while stopped, you win the poseur prize.

Fixed gear idiocy is currently in vogue with youth.

envane

Looks even worse on frames intended for actual racing.

SS/FG is filling with these abominations.

ducksa

The reason I bought a flat-bar bike was because it was cheaper. Every road bike I looked at was a couple hundred more expensive. I bought a Specialized Sirrus. I would have preferred the base Allez but it was too expensive. I really love the Sirrus, but would love it even more if I could put drop bars on it. Can anyone tell me how doable this is? I'm not mechanically inclined! Would my thumb shifters work on drop bars? I'm assuming they would, but would be difficult to use and uncomfortable.

envane

Drop bars have a bigger diameter than flats, so the "cheap" way to convert would be to buy bar-end shifters and new brake levers. STI is awesome but expensive. If your Sirrus has V-brakes, you need to get proper brake levers that work with them.

The other option is a trekking bar, which is the same diameter as flat bar, so you can use the same gear.

sedition

Ok, taking this thread in a slightly different direction...

The word "hipster" has been thrown around a lot. What do you define as a "hipster?" What does a "hipster" look like? (I'm sure everyone will have a different concept of this)

-Is it the punk rock bike messenger who's been riding for 15 years, and thinks he is a bike god?
-Is it the rookie bike messenger who want's to to be the person above?
-Is the the weekend warrior?
-Is it any kind of noobie?
-Is it the college kid who is just going through an identity "phase?"
-Is it the fan of so-called "irony fashion?"

*WildHare*

To me it means anyone who conforms to the latest fad or fashion...

envane

Its those kids with the stupid hats and beards who listen to indie rock and think they are so cool. They need to be extincted!!!

slvoid

That's nothing. Check this thing out:

frymaster

we should stop this before this just becomes another jackass ssfg of the day thread.

patrickgh

It's headed that way, no doubt

slvoid

I think that's all the more reason to KEEP POSTING!

aMull

Uhh not really. The bike looks great.

pasopia

Yeah I don't really get why narrow flat bars have gained so much traction in the fixed gear world. Bullhorns make a lot more sense, and look cooler to me, if thats what you are going for. You can still do the colored mountain bike grip thing with bullhorns. I think people get intimidated by drops because they look uncomfortable. I prefer road drops myself.
Sometimes it irritates me when I see narrow flats because I hate how they look, and I would find them to be crappy to ride with. Then I tell myself to lighten up.