I don't get it... Cut finger pics on page 2
 

So I just finished building my first Fixed Gear and I am really unsure of this thing, at times it feels like I am going to get flung off the bike, haven't figured out the whole skidding thing yet (I can't skid on dry pavement), and it feels really unnatural. Granted I took it on a very short first ride.

I was just wondering did you guys instantly love it, or did you warm up to it after a while?

Here is the bike critique as you see fit. I'm keeping the bell, white chain is temporary.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/...6278971e_b.jpg

took me a couple rides to really get into it. might just be getting used to not coasting. take a couple more rides and see how it goes

too much drag from the usps stickers.

remove the usps stickers. lance doesn't ride for them anymore. and seatpost is reversed. why do so many people think it's supposed to be that way?

I liked it pretty much from the start but I had been reading sheldon's articles and lurking here for a while getting excited about it before I purchased one. My first couple rides were kind of awkward until I got smoother with applying backpressure and whatnot but I think I always enjoyed riding fixed.

I know it's shocking that Sheldon Brown was correct about something bike related?! [That everyone should at least _try_ riding fixed gear at least once.]

You didn't feel the zen from the start? The magical connection, the ability to predict and react with an almost omnipotent quality?

One can't feel the zen unless riding brakeless in heavy traffic. :eek:

OP: keep the brake.

It's a whole new skill set ... which is the attraction for me, or was until I'd done a bit of riding when I simply realised that I love riding this way.

You comment that you feel like you're going to be flung off. This suggests that you're trying to ride it like you would a geared bike - the 'flung off' feeling is usually associated with trying to coast and yes, we all cop that from time to time. The funny thing is, after you've spent some time riding fixed, the first time you try to ride something with a freewheel, it feels like it's broken. The true beauty of fixed is the flow of power from your legs to the wheels, in both directions and it's that feeling that becomes intoxicating.

Just give it some more rides. It is different so don't try to compare it with what you've done before. It's also far more intense than any riding you've done before and that can be off putting. Take it quietly and make your decision in 500 miles time, at least then you'll know for sure why you don't like it.

Richard

Loved it from the first try, even though like you i almost got flung off the bike when i relaxed my legs. Happened once though and after that i don't even think about coasting, i just pedal.

i will admit I did not like it the first time. I was used to riding a road bike and when I got on this i felt like i had never ridden a bike before, i almost got tossed when standing up for the first time to get over a big bump at a moderate speed.

after a bit, I love it, i actually ride my fixed more than my super comfy (expensive as hell) road bike. You will learn to love it!

The latter part of this quote describes it perfectly. And the first sentence is SO true, whenever my bro gets me to get MTBing with him on a borrowed geared MTB I have to ride it around on the street for half on hour just to get used to it again, it feels like something is wrong with the bike and I want to hop off and pull out my tools and fix it, haha.

I fell off my buddy's mountain bike about 15 times and got exhausted; it was for sure broken.

i loved it from the very first time i hopped on. even after i fell off and landed on the same knee 3 times that first day. ended up with a bone bruise, but that wasn't keepin me off the bike.

^ Ouch, i was so close to eating asphalt too but somehow saved it. Actually the clips and straps saved me now that i think about it. Took it easy that day and it was all good.

The first time I rode mine it was sort of weird, and like you I felt like i was getting thrown off when I relaxed my legs. You'll get used to it though, and then a freewheel will feel weird. You'll feel faster (and indeed be faster) once you go back to a geared bike because you won't feel the need to coast as much.

the first time i rode a fixed gear bicycle. it was a conversion ive been working on and my road bike needed a new tire. so i road the conversion to my friends. first time i tried to coast i thought i was gonna get thrown. but didnt half way to my friends house (about a mile and a half in) i was in love with it. i went down this mild hill that you have to take and it was scary and fun all at the same time. it was forever until i fixed my road bike because i was riding my conversion all the time. now my road bike is the loaner bike for friends. im gonna use it for races and stuff or group rides but my fixed gear is my main bike.

I am guessing that the OP wanted the seat more forward and this was the way to compensate for the relaxed angle of the seat tube. It puts the seat closer to where it would be on a modern road bike.

To the OP:
Try turning your handlebars down just a little bit so they are more parallel with the ground. That will give you a little more distance out over the wheel. With older bike like this, it's tougher to get your weight out over the front wheel because of the relaxed geometry. Having the bars parallel to the ground might also give you a better platform to rest your hand on when all your weight is on them.

It took me a long time to figure out the whole skidding thing. You have to use a particular set of muscles in a way that is foreign to them. The more you can lean out over the front wheel, the less resistance you have to provide to the pedals. Make sure that you are both pushing down with the back leg and pulling up with the front leg. Having each side of your body applying opposite forces will tend to make it want to twist, and you have to resist this with your core.

Hey thanks for all the advice, but some of yall make it seem like you can only have it one way. I mountain bike primarily, I'm hopping that they can both feel natural.

But enough typing I'm going to go ride around campus until I love or hate this thing.

I instantly loved it but I know a lot of people take a while to warm up before they love it.

I rode one (fixed gear) at a bike shop when I had a road bike & HAD to have one

had you ever tried one before deciding to put one together?

give it time, if you don't like it, sell it or flip the wheel & get a freewheel for it (add the back brake if you do that)

youre probably doing it wrong.

why did you spend the time/money to build a fixed gear before riding one?

Yeah I built a few single speeds then sold those, and with the money I built this bike. Plus every one I spoke to said it was really fun.

However after riding the bike for a while, I don't hate it or love it. I guess I was hopping for the same sensation I got when I first hit a really nice long trail. Although one thing that I love is the silence and how solid it feels. But that leads to another problem for me when you have to hit a bump how do you deal with it, I can't bunny hop at speed, can't stand, do I just have to tough it out on the saddle?

youll learn to try to avoid bumps and plan your route better. if you do come across a bump that you cant avoid, just pop your front wheel over it and come off your saddle when the back wheel goes over it let your legs absorb the bump.

You can stand just fine, you just have to keep your legs moving. After a while you get used to it enough that you can just pop off the saddle a couple inches for the split second it takes to hit the bump and be sitting back down fast enough that someome watching you would never even notice you came off the saddle.

You learn to just pedal all the time. It'll happen.

And then you'll tend to pedal all the time on all your bikes.

Don't worry about skids until you're comfortable on fixed.

Riding fixed on medium-length (20-30 mile) rides with rolling hills has significantly improved both my road and mountain bike riding. I've learned how to more efficiently pedal while out of the saddle and my pedal stroke is more even.

At least where I'm mountain biking, knowing when/where to coast is just as important as pedalling like a crazed weasel.

With the fixed gear, there is no coast, only pedal.

Riding around town or messing about campus is perfect for a fixed gear bike because you can control your speed so well it's possible to ride next to someone walking and have a conversation. Then, when she rejects your advances, you can sprint away lickety split. Head over to the liquor store, pick up a couple of 40's, then head over to the all-night pizza shack and score some grub. All the while, you're stylin' the schizzle on your fixed gear bi-sizzle.

Or something like that.

Relaxed is shallower angles, aggressive is steeper angles. Cruiser is to relaxed as Track is to aggressive.

This concerns the angles of the seat tube and head tube. Aggressive, in track bikes, would be angles of 75/74. Relaxed, as in road bikes, would be like 73/72.

Most bike descriptions include a geometry chart showing the various lengths and angles for the bike frame. Study these and you'll see differences between track bikes, road bikes, touring bikes, cruisers, cafe bikes, time trial bikes, criterium bikes, etc.

A degree change here, centimeter there, can make a big difference in how a bike handles.