hey everyone. in a couple of weeks, ill be buying my first fixed gear/track bicycle. there are just a few questions i have for those of you who have been riding for a while.

first of all, since it is my first fixed gear bicycle, i was seriously considering getting a brake. is this a good idea? im trying to spend as little money as possible so if im not going to use or like the brake, then i dont want to get it.

also, what is the difference between a drop lever and a cross lever?

i pedal my bike everyday, and use it for most of my commuting. i plan on buying an IRO, is this a good choice? or are there other options out there that would better suit my purpose?

thanks in advance!

iro is a great choice-- very good bang for your buck, fantastic customer service. harbor no doubts. that said, which IRO? if you plan to use it for commuting, you may want fenders, and the mark v and angus have no room for fenders. the Redline 925 is the same price, comes with moustachebars, fr and r brakes, and full fenders.

a drop lever is the road bike kind of lever that can be reached while you're in the drops of drop handlebars. a cross lever sits on the flat part of the bars.

and yes, get a brake, since it's your first fixedgear. after a while you may find yourself able to ride without it, but do start with one.

Get a front brake, at least at first. You may not use it 95% of the time, but you'll be glad you had it there for the other 5%. And the IRO is a great choice; do a search on these forums and you'll find a**loads of praise for Tony and his bikes.

The Mark V and Angus may have no room for full-on metal screw-jobber fenders, but a plastic clip-on fender works fine, and you can take it off easily on nice days. A lot of people have Mark Vs, myself included, and love them. +1 on the brake, your like is worth spending the extra clams. Welcome aboard!

i was planning on getting the mark v. i do have another road bike that ill probably use to do most of my commuting, so i want to get a new bike that i can just have fun on. is the redline 925 an iro? i looked at the website and couldnt find it.

no, the redline 925 is a redline. it's just a similarly priced option. gets good reviews.

you probably won't regret a mark v.

I just odered a jamie roy from iro. Tony was awesome with all the questions i had and im totally excited about getting it . I even called and changed me order a few times. It should be shipping tommorow. I CANT WAIT AHHHHHHHHHHHH

track bikes will ruin your life.

whys that?

the first hit is always free...

Track bikes = Crack bikes

i'm still just trying to get as high as i did the first time i tried it.

finally a healthy alternative!

+ FREAKIN' 1. . .

+2

[sobbing] I tried to kick... but that ***** just be callin' me man, it be callin' me, man... I just got to go to it!

hey esskay!

be careful! i started with an iro. . .

just sayin'!

Thread hijacked to compare track to crack

+1

Hey joe roagan. Its called track. its gReat!

My name is Jack and I'm an addict. I took my first hit about a year ago. It was just a few pedal strokes, you know a friends bike. ''Try it once man, don't cost nothin.'' 11 months and thousands of dollars later I can't kick it. Man I just need one more fix...

Now i understand why there are so many drug related words in cycling. Crank, Speed, Fix, Bars, Dropout, Stem, tracks, lines

track marks all over my body.

get rid of the brake, it makes the lines cleaner. (note: not intended for OP)

stop, dope, that fire, chronic, dro, purple haze, strawberry cough, sour deisel, free base, crack, trees, sling, push weight, flip weight, bricks, O's, alley cats, squally!!, jakes, coppers, pigs, traffic, snake, cake, cook, blaze, fiend, strapped, steel, ride, clips, clipless [ : - ( ]

An IRO is an AWESOME frame. I doubt you'll ever want to upgrade (JMO). I would also start out with a front brake. I've been on and off fixed for 20 years and I won't ride around SF without one. Extra stoping power is never a bad thing.

It makes you repsond to "hey stupid" 10 seconds slower.

bars?