Greetings.. I've been reading about fixed-gear bikes for a bit, and I like the idea of rugged, simple, and ideally cheap. Besides, it sounds like fun.

My current ride is an old beater mountain bike, but most of my riding is paved and gravel roads around Oakbank, with the occasional commute to downtown Winnipeg. A lighter road bike (but able to withstand some washboard) is basically what I'm looking for.

I haven't actually tried riding a fixie yet though, and suspect I should before I invest too much time & effort. Any suggestions? I did check the sticky thread for LBS recommendations, nothing local there yet.

Thanks,
Tim

You should test ride a Bianchi San Jose, I've only test ridden one but I've heard great things about them, but I don't know if they have dealers in Canada.

this is an interesting post.. I've never seen a fixed at a bike shop for ppl to ride; they seem to always be on the freewheel side. Have you guys noticed the same?

I am in Saskatoon, not Winnipeg, but from what I have heard there is a pretty big fixed scene there. I am sure a local shop has a fixed gear bike or two to try out. How much are you wanting to spend?

do you guys have any cities that don't have goofy names?

Yeah like cities being named after presidents yeah?

Natural Cycle in the Peg should have something you could try...give em a call.

you are telling me that you don't chuckle at a name like Saskatoon?

your just mad that your country isn't freeing the world

yup, north bay, thats pretty unimaginative, its on a bay up north hmmmm........
you should be able to find a bianchi or KHS dealer, that would be able to set you up with a fixie test ride, and all the shops in toronto like you test ride on the fix

Dude, we've got fun names like Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Or King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Or Dallas, Texas.

Winnipeg and Saskatoon are tame by comparison.

I wonder if NYC is still considering changing it's name to Bushy-Bushy? I hope the voters there reject that outright.

Joe, Montana
Truth or Consequences, NM
Gary, IN - they named the town after the most boring dude around. Gary.

To the op: Come check out Olympia Cycle, 1813 Portage ave. We've got the Redline 9-2-5, Cannondale capo, and giant bowery in stock. About half the guys who work here ride fixed, so if you have any questions we will take care of you.

and yeah, for such a small city winnipeg does have a fairly big fixed gear scene.

https://www.olympiacycle.com/
link:

Well... I'd like to keep things modest where I can. I'm guessing that pretty much anything will be an improvement on the beater. Definitely under $1k, closer to half that if I can get away with it.

Actually, I did fire them off an e-mail, thanks. I had recalled seeing a bike upstairs at MEC with the cycling accessories, so wandered over for a look. It's still there, and from Natural Cycle (and a fixie).

Saskatoons are very tasty berries, and the city seems pretty nice from what I recall. It's the province which is hard to spell, though I think I've got it down pat.

As for the "freeing the world" part, well... there's only one country within reasonable cycling distance, and they've apparently voted for their brand of leadership. *cough*.

Cool, thanks. I'll have to drop in sometime soon. (Oh, and thanks to everyone for the responses.)