I had a chance to ride a Retrovelo Otto Duo while I was in Portland. It had one of those cool Schlumpf planetary cranksets and it was awesome! I asked the Retrovelo guy if the Schlumpf could be used on a fixed gear and he said they were working on a version that could handle fixed gear riding. They make Unicycle hubs that shift so I'm guessing a two speed fixed gear crankset would be reasonable. If the ASC fixed three speed ever happens you could have a six speed fixed gear touring bike! He also said that he thought the current version would handle fixed gear if you weren't skidding and stuff.

a fixed gear bike tour based on two different sets of proprietary and untested internal parts that can't be roadside fixed sounds like a good idea.

Where's your sense of adventure?

have you toured much? I've done a bit. I know for damn sure that a loaded fixed tour would be about the worst thing ever.

I agree with his sarcasm,


we must put a stop to any effort to progress cycling technology before something terrible happens, like us being able to do things we were not able to before.


What a terrible prospect.

boo

...and it only costs 575 swiss franc! which, thanks
the current dollar value ...is only 530 usd!

I love advancing technology, but I only like to answer questions that need to be asked. Maybe its just me but I don't want to shift my fixed gear bike. Maybe change a cog for different riding, but I appreciate the lack of options when I am riding fixed. So this has no interest to me.

Blah blah blah! I hate things that are fun!

ps. 'schlumpf' means 'smurf'

...smurf innovations...

Hey guys! Check it out! Something new! Let's all hate it!

good idea!

I don't hate it, I just don't see the need to spend more on a crank for my bike then the entire bike costs to give it something my road or mountain bike has for a fraction of the cost.

you guys are all sheep.

I'm not hating on the BB (not particularly loving it either). Just saying that a loaded fixed tour on parts like that is probably a really bad idea.

This isn't being built specifically for touring, Kemmer just mentioned touring in the OP. We aren't being sheep, but it's funny that you think we are.

**** breaks and you have to replace it.

Oh puke. I'm sure this setup will offer some sort of warranty if they're really planning on selling it for a billion or so dollars.

I swear, nobody in the cycling community shuns new technology more than the fixed gear market. People actually show interest in new products on other boards instead of writing them up as failures before the thread is even over.

I dont know if Id care to ride it fixed, but I like the idea. Would be cool to have a touring bike with those cranks up front and an internal hub in the back. You could have a perfect chain line and enough gears to get around. The proprietary thing is an issue, but maybe these will do well and they will be more common someday.

people like you are why hybrid cars only get 36mph and have no plug in capability

This is the forum where threadless stems are considered a "downgrade."

Anyway, that statement isn't totally true. Go check out the C&V forum or anything remotely related to Rivendell for some Grade-A, first class luddites.

I ride fixed for simplicity. I'm sure there will be a warranty that's not what I'm worried about, its any sort of long ride. If I break down on my traditional geared bikes I can turn them into single speeds in a matter of minutes. I rarely have drive train problems on my fixed gear bike and I would like to keep it that way.

No one is writing it off as a failure. I think this isn't for the fixed gear market. Fixed gear bikes have very few parts compared to other bikes. As far as someone shunning new technology you are talking to someone with a rather modern practically almost a motorcycle full suspension bike. I embrace technology, but embrace it when there is a problem I need fixing. I get on my fixed gear bike, don't think about shifting, I just spin. Spin spin spin. I have no problems to solve therefor I don't need a new product for it. I ride on the mountain, I go down rock gardens so I have a problem getting down in one piece: suspension. I go up incredibly steep hills: granny gearing, regular brakes don't fit the bill: disc brakes.

Technology for technologies sake is ******** and as someone in an industry where I see the "wheel" essentially being reinvented every two days by some wide eyed developer you gain a much more skeptical and practical eye for these things.

I still can't figure out what's so bad about the ability to coast that would make one want to bolt this thing onto their bike, just so that they can ride fixed.

Who knows, maybe it is just you.

Nah, I kinda feel the same way, too. Look at my post just above his.

This is the way I feel: If you want the ability to shift multiple gears, then why not just buy a geared bike. Derailleurs and shifters are pretty much a perfect technology – why do people feel compelled to muck things up, at high cost, just so they can't coast?