I picked up a used but not abused all stock, orange Motobecane Messenger from craigslist for $175 over the weekend. Got home tonight, stuck a blinkie on and went for my first ride. Total blast and quite a workout. I was actually pretty surprised about how well it rode. I guess I was expected much less because of the price.

I think I'm going to like this....

$175 is a steal if it's in good condition! I was surprised at how easy making the switch to fixed gear was as well, I kept hearing horror stories about people taking a header after trying to coast around a corner.

congrats on your purchase and welcome to the fg community!

nice purchase!
we're trying to phase out the word "fixie" around here though.

For the new guys: https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/510358-fixed-gear-single-speed-start-here.html

It's nice to hear you 'got it' on the first ride out.

yeah, i was a bit surprised at the ease of transition as well

then again i picked up snowboarding on the 2nd run...

thank god for that.

no not really, just the too-cool kids & know*nothing*italls

enjoy your bike & call it what you like

Cool! Welcome. Glad you didn't do a faceplant first time out, like some people ahem-me-ahem who launched themselves off while trying to coast.

Well....the ride almost was a disaster. I had a terrible time getting getting my feet in the cheap straps that came with the bike. Not a big deal on a freewheel....but nailing a moving target with your foot while riding down a hill almost landed me on the trunk of a parked car.

Those straps need to pronto. I may just swap in my SPD pedals while waiting to get some pedals and good clips.

Just run SPDs period!

A recent thread on the subject: https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/508498-just-put-spd-my-fg.html

i remember my first ride.... was hauling serious butt when i let up to coast through a light. thank god my legs just kept going and i didn't fall off.

recently got my girl on one... it was either pink wheels or a geared bike. she wanted pink, the wheelset had a fixed/fixed hub. i didn't have a freewheel lying around in a decent ratio, so she had to go fixed. she has only fallen once, trying to ride no hands. she seems to like it. she will be learning to skid for v-day, then a ride out to the damn.

Just picked up my first fixed-gear tonight, a Fuji Track I found on CL for a hundred and eighty bucks. After riding about a mile, I'm happy to say that I successfully avoided dislocating my face-bone.

Where are all of you guys that you can still find awesome Craigslist deals? Around Philly/South Jersey/Northern DE everybody wants $450 for their POS 1980's Wal-Mart conversion with a suicide hub. Make sure you buy up all the nice bikes before the hipsters move into your town!

Patience! Seriously, I've been on the hunt for over a 2 months. I've missed a number of bikes by minutes. I'd suggest using the national craigslist search engine but with shipping, you'll end up paying too much.
On this bike, the poster listed the bike at "List $750, sale $350".....which is the new price on BikesDirect. The poster got a few flames for selling a used bike for new prices. Instead of being negative, I just offered $175 as I thought it was fair. She ended up being very nice - but was probably new to craigslist.

The first ride back from the bike shop on my Steamroller was nice until I checked behind me for traffic and stood on the pedal. 270 degrees later, I landed and skidded along the road on my back with my bike still strapped to my feet. I walked with a bad limp for a few weeks, but I rode alright after that. You only need to forget once.

Really, there are comparatively few good deals on CL up here, unless you're buying an old road frame and doing the conversion yourself. I was literally about to leave the coffee shop, go to the LBS, and buy a used Franken-bike for three hundred bucks, and then I saw the ad.

Dude was pretty cool, too, and didn't give me any crap for my fixed-gear ignorance - even going so far as to promise not to laugh when I inevitably fell and broke my face. Luckily, that hasn't actually happened...yet.

Serious question, though: I used to ride a mountain bike, and spent a lot of the time out of the saddle. Now that I'm having to sit down when riding, it's really kinda hurting my ass-bone. Any way to fix that?

Hello,
As far as your arse goes, I suspect its been awhile since you've been on a bike, if so your going to just need some saddle time and you'll get used to it. Doesn't take a ling time.

also fool around with differant saddles, I like brooks, but hey differant strokes.

Good luck and have fun!