at age 45 !!! after a few cold ones to really make it a real test ride ! to all you guys and gals that do this on a daily basis ,i give you a BIG this was one wild ride after being on my S/S coaster, i've been checking on converting mine to a fix,so low and behold one of the guys on the tuesday nite pub crawl showed up on a RedLine 925 fixie,i felt like a kid trying to learn to ride a bike for the first time! i parked it and walked away SCARED,but deep down something keeps me wanting one! so how long did it take you to learn and not be intimadated by "THE FIXIED BEAST"?

3 days not to feel really awkward on it.

A week to feel comfortable but still kinda unsure in traffic.

2 weeks to be completely comfortable on it going through stopped traffic or whatever.


It's not that hard, just different. Twice in my first week I tried to coast at the bottom of a hill spinning really hard and tweaked my knee, but otherwise it wasn't bad at all

nice! beer always helps

Did you feel the "Zen?"

Just take it slow.

Same as most other skills, really. Learn how to do it right, THEN learn how to do it fast.

take it slow/careful.
i took a lot of rides through prospect park at night when there was no one around in order to get used to it.

after riding a bmx for 10+ years (6 of those being brakeless in the city...) i felt like such a pansy not blasting through traffic/etc.... but it's gotten easier now that i'm getting comfortable on my fixed.

Zen ? another name for the nothing but gear feel ? and yes beer does help

Time to adjustment will vary from person to person. Just stay seated and relax your legs. When your tendency to coast diminishes, then you can experiment by standing while pedaling, etc. Just stay relaxed. It took me 5 minutes to get used to it, but I took it easy for several days.

Speaking of coaster bikes: My friend went on a vacation with her family and they rented bikes, which were coasters. The husband, being used to freewheel road bikes, stood up and absent-mindedly pedaled backwards, and instantly went over the handlebar and shattered a portion of his front teeth, broke his elbow and shattered his right knee cap. I'd say that, for an experienced regular road-biker, the fixed-gear bike is safer to learn on than a coaster bike.

Good luck. The pub crawl sounds fun.

The zen dude. You've never heard of the "zen"? Talk to any fixed n00b and they'll say "I do it for the zen. I'm one with the road." Which is n00b speak for "I do it cos I'm a hipster."

Seriously, enjoy it man. You will learn to love it so much. And it totally gives you a different outlook on bicycling in general, not just on a fixed or tarck bike.

Hey Tex,

Now that you've tried it, what's your opinion on riding brakeless?

Wait, not everybody does it for the zen? Madness! =P I can relate, I just got a fixie road bike after 2 years of single speed mountain biking. I love it! But after a week I still find myself trying to coast, it just doesn't startle me as much as it did a week ago. The fear is gone though, now it's just all fun.

my first time was with a front brake, so it wasn't difficult at all. rode about three miles through traffic to work. loved it.

the first thing i noticed/loved was my ability to control speed and balance at low speeds. instead of having to tap-tap-tap a brake to go slowly between/around stopped cars, you just pedal slowly, then a little faster, then slower, etc. It was great-- and fun.
there's no replacing a road bike (being able to go from a 42-17 to zip up a climb, then switch to 53-14 to attack hard on the flat is irreplaceable), but i enjoy fixed lots more.
i ride my track bike 99.99999% of the time, even when a road bike makes more sense. they're fun, fast, make you work, are ninja silent... love it.
my gf and i have 4 between both of us, and i'm building a 5th on friday.

Tex,

You'll find in time that you can sort of coast on a fixed gear by just letting your legs go loose and let the cranks take them for a ride.

Just got a fixed gear two weeks ago, so excited to ride it that it's silly, I go out for a spin at least once a day, it could just be the speed compared to my clunky mountain bike, but also that different feeling I think it's going to take a while to be comfortable riding in traffic and going down long hills even with a front brake (I would rather not have to change hand positions just to brake)

Haha, I was just making fun of fixie newbs. Zen is a Buddhist term describing "englightenment through mediation" and some people on here describe their experience when riding "fixed gears" as "achieving zen."

In any case, enjoy your ride!

Three words: Don't. Stop. Pedaling.

Other than that, it's just a bike. Enjoy!

it doesn't take long at all to feel comfortable especially with a front brake...the first time i stood up on one i got knocked forward a bit because for an instant i forgot about not coasting other than that it was easy...

i DID NOT have time to think about or look for a brake ! i was too worried what my legs were doing ! WHAT A FREEKY FEELING THEY WERE GOING THRU!

its not that freaky...its a bike

Hahaha, man, I remember feeling the exact same way.

The funniest part was, I'd never even ridden fixed before I built up my IRO, and for the first few minutes I was like "I've made a huge mistake." A huge, $,1000+++ mistake. I didn't think I'd be able to ride the damn thing. After a couple of days though, I was in heaven.

That is awesome. I am 37 and ventured into the fixed world a few months ago. I love and all honestly it was like second nature to me. I did a skid with 5 minutes on the bike and pretty much could trackstand instantly. Kind of wierd, I always pick things up pretty easily though.

Hey off topic but when I was a youngster in the 70's all my bikes were fixed gears actually. I think that is why.

Anyways its fun as all heck.

and you are the guy asking about chain noise? huh

Nice story. I started rather 'old' too.

But had no real issue learning. Never ridden one before. Had a shop here build it up. I picked it up, mounted it and rode 10 miles home. Had a few moments of 'this is kind of weird' but pretty much 'got it' quickly. (Not new to bikes though... had been putting in thousands of miles per year on a road bike and MTB).

When you decide to master track-standing make sure you practice with your toes outside of the clips for a while first.

THANKS,my balance is good i can ride a unicycle ,hey i guess i have rode a fixie !