So I always was intrigued by fixed gear bikes but didnt get one till I was 60. I have had it for about 6 weeks.

So I am riding it today and pull up at a red light and there is a young man on a BMX about 16 years old. He looks at me, looks at the bike, looks at me again and says is that a fixie? I said yea, I am probably the oldest guy you will see on a fixie and he said yea your right about that. lol

I am 63 and ride fixed gear fairly often (but not always). Have ridden 3 centuries fixed, never a double. That's still on my list.



Rode over 1,000 feet of climbing on this recent fixed ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/97433076

Rick / OCRR

A lot of us ride fixed gear bikes, though maybe not many quite as colorful as yours. But then I'm just a youngster of 58.

Riding fixed gear on the road has been a staple of club riders for a century or so, we are not an endangered species lacking very experienced devotees with decades of FG cycling.

Children have little experience by definition so novelty is easily come by, we adults not so much.

Good on you youngster but you are far from unique.

-Bandera

56, Love my fixie. Been riding it since Oct. of 2000. I'm running a 42x15.

He probably just doesn't recognize older fixie riders because they're not doing cool skidz without helmets, etc.

Wife took me to the urologist 26 years ago after our youngest son was born and I've been riding fixed ever since...................................................................

I'm running 42x15 as well.

No, mine's not very colorful either. Burgundy paint with yellow decals, cable casing and bar tape.

Rick / OCRR

...You buy a bike like that, and you get a free bowl of soup...But it looks good on you, though [rolls eyes]."



Sorry, couldn't resist.

I went single speed last year when I found one on sale. It's a fast bike and my favorite for riding around town. It's a different type of riding for sure. The bike makes me always want to ride fast.

My commute bike is a fixie - definitely not a hipster bike, more like a Sheldon Brown fixie with fattish tires and wide handlebars for lights and accessories... 42x16 also front and rear brakes because even though I like trying to do the whole fixed gear experience, sometimes I just want to brake.

My old derailleur commute bike was always needing cleaning to get the slop out of the shifters and changers - this one requires almost no maintenance and it is really fun to ride... more like a tank than a track bike.

I love my singlespeed and evangelize SS to everyone who'll listen. It's just so elegant and pure. But I haven't gone fixie yet. Is fixie with no brakes the step after fixie?

Only if your next step is the Emergency Room.

Classic club rider's bikes like the Raleigh RRA came from the factory w/ a fixed gear and a front brake in the 1930's, a rear was an option as well.
They knew what riding fixed gear on the road was all about, nothing has fundamentally changed.

-Bandera

Got one earlier this year at 57. Took a track cycling class and got tired of the loaner bikes with toe clips so got my own to throw clip-less pedals on.

Planning a century on it over xmas break.

I will keep my front brake lol but if I was young i would take it off,,I am very impressed by those young guys without brakes,,,one other thing,,you can't do the tricks they do if you have the brake on,,you cant spin handlebars,,one of their favorite tricks. I dont do tricks cause I got no skills lol

Have converted three bikes to single speed over the years but never felt the urge to go without freewheelin'.

Funny. I ran a freewheel for a short time on the flip side of my flip-flop hub. I went back to fixed within a week. Freewheel seemed like all the work and none of the fun.

You're skinny. I want some of that!


A

Absolutely not. The only place for a brakeless fixie is the Velodrome. Riding brakeless on the road is something the 20-somethings do, with the apparent
belief that they are making some kind of political statement. Yep, they're making a statement alright: "I'm an idiot who should not be allowed to vote". (sorry, getting off topic there.) Also, it is against the law. The Cambridge and Boston MA police departments do enforce this. Yes, the officers of both departments know what to look for.

Thankfully, I've been seeing far fewer brakeless dorks on the road this past season. Guess those trips to the emergency rooms have taken their toll.

Good time wasting site for fixed gear riders: The Fixed Gear Gallery at last count, 15,000 fixed gear bikes from all over the world.

I have watched hours of young guys on fixies without brakes,,once they have it down, it seems so cool and so much fun. Doesnt seem at all to me dangerous once they have the skill down. Doesnt seem like something you could ever learn at 60 lol like myself. You cant do tricks with a front brake, for one thing.

I ride without a brake at the velodrome and on some low traffic MUP's. I've done it on the street but don't like to. I feel it is safe to do so only if you go slow and give your self lots of "decision time" when approaching traffic signals. I haven't ridden a single speed with a free wheel since I was nine years old.

The image I posted above showed a front brake I put on for the charity ride I did on it. (San Diego Bike the Bay) I treat it like an emergency brake and try not to use it.

I built myself a fixie a few years ago, but I need at least 3 speeds, so I built it around the Sturmey Archer S3X. It's a fun ride for sure,but I've tried riding it only in direct gear (46/16)to see if I could go single speed.
Nope, gotta have those two reduction gears.

Slackerprince,

You too can have some of that! But it won't be easy, at least it wasn't for me. Took me 12 years of trying to get down from 180 to my present 155 lbs. It was a painfull process (mentally at least) that required tenacity in huge amounts . . . but was it worth it?

Yes, absolutely. I esp. notice it on long climbing rides but also when picking up speed after a stop.

Rick / OCRR

73 this weekend and still riding a Bianchi Pista fixie occasionally. I began riding fixie in 1957 on my handbuilt Maclean - no Lycra then!

Here's a good trick.