Hello, I am looking to get into biking and love the clean look of the single/fixed gear bikes, however i live in the suburbs of new york and think i might benefit more from a multi-gear bike, any thoughts? paid visit to LBS and guy was no help. does anyone know of a multi-gear bike with the single gear look and feel? what size would i need (5'8" 180 lbs)? im on a budget and would like to spend around $300 if possible. thanks in advance for all your help.

you might have to spend more but look for something with an internally geared hub

What is it about the suburbs of New York that make you think a SS/Fixed is not a good idea? The size of bike depends on more than just your weight and height. The most important factor is how well your leg aligns with the crank/pedal. Assuming you can reach the bars - lol. $300 is not a good range to be buying in. If you are willing to work it out very good bikes pop up around $500-$700.

Other questions to answer are things like, do you ride now? are you in decent shape for riding? are you riding for fun or commuting?

To start I would just look for a basic and well maintained used road bike or hard tail mountain bike. Then get out and ride. As you ride more, you will get a better idea of what sort of riding you want to do and what gear you will need or want to do it.

Do you have a friend or family member who can help you pick a bike that is in good shape and will fit you? If not, keep trying shops until you find someone who is helpful. Good luck.

you could do an internal rear hub if you want gears and the clean look of fg/ss. and if you want it really clean you could do a coaster brake too.

Before moving to Philly, I rode in the suburbs constantly. There's nothing that makes them unfit for fixed except large, rolling hills, which my part of the world didn't have many of.

I live in the [extreme] suburbs of WI in the summer and winter break and I ride.. I don't see why a fixed gear wouldn't work outside of the city?

And add a derailleur, brakes, levers, cables, etc. to any SS bike and itll look like a road bike.. so its one or the other really.

Yeah I ride in the burbs on a fixed finediddlyine. Though I did get flipped over the bars stopping for a car, but that would happen in the city too right?

moved to the burbs in Queens...(close to the Nassau Cty line actually) and away from the city years ago and still ride my old track on the streets.

No difference really...just a few more slopes and hills if anything.

+1 I ride all over Westchester and some parts of Rockland fixed, no problems at all.

Monster, im in Westchester also and thought that the single gear would be tougher to manage on the various hills as opposed to the flat lands of Manhattan. Glad I asked... well now on to searching for a bike.

DAkilles, no I don’t ride now, I just recently sold my Honda 954 and miss being on two wheels without having to pay the increasing gas prices. I intend to do this for fun, exercise, and maybe sometime in the future maybe for commute.


guess i'll have to bump up my budget or maybe start a build/restore.

I live in Oklahoma City, and I have been riding fixed. If I can ride fixed here with no problems, I don't see what you cant ride fixed anywhere.

Not sure what part of Westchester you're in, but if you want to convert an old road frame here's a tip....
Check out the Salvation Army in Mount Vernon. Not sure of the exact address but it is near the Bronx/ Mount Vernon border. They usually have tons of old bikes.

Also you might want to check out the Metro Bicycles in New Rochelle... I'm usually not a fan of Metro but the guys that work at this particular location are pretty cool. Good luck!

actually I am in new ro, and that metro cycles is the LBS I mentioned before. The guy just rubbed me the wrong way. While there I noticed the Trek soho and the Giant bowery but kind of thought\hoped I could find something less expensive.

Salvation Army, really? I’ll check it out, thanks. I’ll start another thread on what I should look for in a used frame, or if you or anyone could PM me any addt'l info it would be greatly appreciated.

a friend of mine just suggested the SE Draft which fits into my budget... any feedback about this bike?

https://sebikes.com/2007/bike-detail.asp?id=19

i hear bad things about the draft, it's heavy and it has a one piece crank set...i supposed you could switch out some of the components but you might check out the SE lager instead for not much more money you would get a lighter ride with better components

There are always one or two at the LBS who will do this. Then there are the 4-5 guys who will go out of their way for you. I nearly stopped patronizing my chosen LBS because of one or two guys - glad I stuck in there because the rest of them are all decent chaps. Give the LBS another chance and maneuver yourself to a different staffer.

For a simple first bike I can continue to recommend my '07 Raleigh Rush Hour. Light, affordable, SS/FX - your choice. And the steel frame. People on these boards also seem to like the Konas. Neither of these two options will set you back more than $700 and as in the older year model example, you should get a price reduction.

get a steamroller...you won't be dissapointed

Riding in the suburbs is boring as hell, I'm back in New Jersey (From San Francisco) to visit my parents for a couple days and it's unbearable.
I've been doing long rides on the road bike and ****ting my pants over incompetent drivers in their suburbans.

you just gotta power it up 'dem hills

+1

and yeah the ****tiest thing about suburbs, imo, is areas with 35 mph speed limits and drivers who don't see a lot of bikes.

ive never rode mah fixed gear in a "city"

I wouldn't sweat it. Most fixie riders live in the suburbs.

Mount Vernon and Yonkers have some killer hills. Short but really steep. That doesn't stop me, but I have walked up a couple hills in my day. Then I get a slice and spin my legs off.

bf