I finally got the FG built up and absolutely love riding it. It has immediately taken over as my commuter.

I love the experience of riding it AND the clean look of the bike.

Problem is, I hate wearing a backpack (Texas is HOT). How lame will I be with a rack (and maybe pannier) on my fixed gear?

not at all lame.

you probably want to be extra careful about clearance though since hitting your feet on the pannier while spinning out at 200+ rpms on a descent would probably really suck. Of course depending on where you live that might not be an issue.

racks are just practical. i admit i love the look of a pure track bike, but a well used purpose-built fixed gear machine is beautiful too, imho.

Run a front brake at least. If the rack's loaded down heavy, maybe a rear brake too unless you can skip/skid w/ 40-50 lbs on the back weighing you down.

Racks are great. I don't know why people hate racks and fenders so much! I have a rack on my flite 100 track bike, and (I think) it makes everyone jealous. I carried a case of beer and a giant watermelon on it at the same time. If heel clearance is an issue get a trunk pack or something. I ride to work without my messenger bag to avoid a sweaty back and just shove everyting in the trunk pack and strap it to the top of the rack. I don't find it much harder to skid with a loaded rack, but back pedalling to stop when you have 50 pounds of groceries is alot harder.

If you can do panniers, do it. I rode with a trunk rack for the summer, and while my back stayed, dry, I didn't like the weight shifting when I was cranking. Panniers keep the weight low, so your bike stays stable.

Racks are the way to go for commuting. Not knowing your bike frame, there are a couple of potential issues: attachment points and clearances.

If your frame doesn't have an bosses on the seatstays or dropouts, it's possible you could work something out with P-clips. I wouldn't trust zipties for a rack. There are also ones that clamp to a seatpost but I think they are weight limited.

And then there's the clearance thing. If you've got short chainstays and big feet, you might have issues with heel-strike. While it's pretty annoying on a geared bike, I imagine it could be downright dangerous on a fixed gear.

if dude can spin at 200+ rpms, he's my hero...i can only get up to 160 under any conditions. TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!

steep hill and letting the pedals pull your feet around. I can get into the high 160's with a freewheel but anything over 130 or so is just a waste of energy.

Yesterday I did a ride around 100kms on my new cross bike. I had attached the computer (sigmasport BC1600 or something) and started riding and noticed the computer wasn't working. Then about 40km in I'm taking a little rest riding slowly and playing with my computer. I notice that the computer is working, its just that the speed and cadence inputs got mixed up (I guess I stuck the mount on upside down), and I didn't have the cadence sensor attached, so the computer assumed that every time the front wheel went around I was completing a crank rotation. So most of the ride it said that my cadence was between 170 and 200! I'm a spinning machine!!!!

I have ridden past 150rpm on my fixie though (doing the math). I think above 130rpm you really start to lose power alot.

that's hilarious. i ride a little gear (64 or 70 gear inches) for the purpose of getting my spin up.

Let us not forget about CETMA racks. Never used one
myself, but if I recall, they were highly recommended
here on the board.

https://www.cetmaracks.com/

except they go on the front.

Someday I want to build up a mean utility bike with a cetma rack, fenders and a drum brake. It just seems ideal for me. My experience with rear racks has been unimpressive at best. With a wide low rack, it seems like the load would be easier to stabilize.

What's your point? There was nothing in the OP that stated that
he needed a rear-rack only.

DURRRRRRR

No but for daily commuting with panniers a rear rack is superior. A cetma may be great for strapping boxes and random stuff to but any front rack and especially a cetma is not a good option for daily rides with predictable loads.

Lots of examples on this thread from the Commuting forum:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...+gear+commuter

I ride a fixie commuter with a rack. I run full brakes, too. Next semester when I go back to school, I'll be carrying much more weight in the panniers, and I'll need those brakes.

The rack is back on tonight (had one on the bike previously when it was a 6-speed, no FD)

I will learn to like the utilitarian look.

Racks are good as long as you are not off and on your bike too much, also when I use mine I do find I have to be more careful when going through traffic that I don't catch the pannier.

How about the ultamate rack setup, a fixed gear xtracycle? That would be hardcore but you could carry a big sound system and loads of beer and have proper cycling party with all your friends!

I saw an xtracycle fixed gear on FGG. I had bad enough problems dropping my chain on a touring frame conversion with long stays; theres no way in hell I'd ride a fixed gear with an extra foot or more of chainstay length bolted on.

Those do seem like a good idea for geared touring though

Can you post a link? Fixed Xtracycle would be awesome.

Edit: Nevermind, I found it https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006...dyWergedal.htm

But what if it was built on, not just bolted on?

I doubt you'd be able to flex this baby.