Use caliper brakes, don't skid-stop, and you should have no problems.

Ohh fook, do I resemble this. It seems that everytime I miss a stupidly long ride on my bike I get irretrievably fatter and terms like 'stamina' and 'fitness' are something from some foreign language that obviously doesn't apply to me. Of course, I could stop drinking that alcohol stuff, and cut back on buns and breads and chocolate and such like (interestingly, I'm not a fried fast food junkie), and make sure I a gazillion miles on the bike every day with sessions in the gym as well.
However, I happen to like the above mentioned foods and drinks.
I also have a life outside of a leather saddle jammed up my bum.
I'm averse to physical pain so the gym doesn't even get a mention ... beside, why would any rational person trap themselves in such a stupidly artificial environment. For heaven's sake people, get out and do so real exercise and build some real muscles, not the pretend **** you get in a gym.
I've also reached an age where anything I've gained will disappear faster than I gain it ... except for fat cells. Those who were lucky enough to build the muscles and fitness needed to be slim and hyperfit in their youth will never understand what it's like for those of us who, while not being overweight or otherwise in our younger years, will struggle to become super fit and who will never maintain it.
Your fitness at 30 is the best you will ever achieve in later life. You may exceed that for short periods but as soon as the effort slacks off, the fitness and strength will desert you faster than you will ever put it on. Twelve months ago, I was fitter, stronger and faster than I've ever been, at this time, I'm just a fat old bugga because life got in the way. So this year, I have to rebuild what I've lost. Fortunately, it won't be as hard as last time but, it'll go away just as quickly ... and I'll have to start all over again.
Good thing I love the bikes because as sure as eggs, I don't like the process.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=357608[/QUOTE]Hmmmm…..scarily like my own. AND I'm 61. Do I have an doppelgänger out there? Who did the mudguards/fenders? I just hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed mine over the last two years.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=358368http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=358369

So this year, I have to rebuild what I've lost. Fortunately, it won't be as hard as last time but, it'll go away just as quickly ... and I'll have to start all over again.
Good thing I love the bikes because as sure as eggs, I don't like the process.[/QUOTE]
Due to a major life change (Quitting a school because the head only wanted hyper administratively efficient moronic robots as teachers rather than human beings) I REALLY lost my tone (HA, but sounds better than muscle). I'm committed to the 24 hour ride in September, on a SS so I can keep posting. 10 miles was enough yesterday and of course the weather in Britain is stormy and windy and that was a reasonable excuse. But it was an excuse. I know I've got to get the miles under my wheels, but it's so hard to get motivated. Perhaps the good weather coming will help. Perhaps I'll find an alternative to commuting 10 miles a day. Perhaps I'll make my cycle powered lathe sooner rather than later and combine my new work with fitness training. But sure as God made little apples, I need to do a hell of a lot of work on myself! And Europa, I too love my bike so every cloud has a silvery lining.

So I'm happy to report it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I have had the bike out a couple days now - the weather we are having is basically the opposite of what is going on in the Eastern parts - a nice mild spell. Anyway, it felt great to get on the bike again. I haven't done any distance rides but the sprint to work has been refreshing.

Hmmmm…..scarily like my own. AND I'm 61. Do I have an doppelgänger out there?http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=358368http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=358369[/QUOTE]

Oh my!!! The resemblance is remarkable!!! The big difference is Bob Jackson vs. Sears Roebuck! Actually, I did the fenders from poplar slats I had laying around. I've only had one Summer with the bike, but I enjoy it enormously. The fixed gear option has yet to be used on the road; it's currently -7 degrees F with two feet of snow (guess I'll use the bike with studded tires)
I do have to say you have fantastic taste in bicycle color schemes!! :thumb: A doppelganger, huh? First time I've heard the term...off to the web to look it up!

North Coast Joe & Ned Clive, Those both look awesome and fun!

[QUOTEThose both look awesome and fun![/QUOTE]
Absolutely, and mine was fun to build too. My fenders are from laminated blind slats curved around a wheel and fixed with meccano (a construction toy popular in Britain in my childhood). It felt like reliving my first attempts at building a bike aged 14 but with so many more skills and a lot more patience. I guess cycling is a bit like extending your childhood! Thanks @work.

MANY honed skills, it appears! Beautiful work! The bags set it off, too. I rode show hunters for many years; as we'd say then: "Properly appointed!"

SS is fun and sexy. BUT!! All of you had better start thinking about joint preservation NOW, that is if you want to stave off a TKO! And I am not talking about boxing. If you are on a track, that is different. I watched some pathetic old fart that thought he was cool blowing out his knees on a little switch back the other day. He was about 50, 170 lbs, he will not cheat physics! Geared bikes really was a smart invention.

Gyro Gearloose, age 58 still pedalling, orthosis free.

Gyro, SS or fg does NOT equate to blown knees, riding in too high a gear does and guess what, you see just as many people doing that with multi-geared bikes as you do with single geared bikes. I've also seen arguments that fg is good for your knees and legs, provided you've chosen appropriate gearing, on the grounds that you are more likely to develop a good pedaling action using fg (most freewheel riders do not have one which is why they consider a cadence of 110 a 'high' cadence) while the constant leg movement when on a downhill run keeps the blood pumping and flushing the crap out of your muscles.

It's poor gearing choice and poor technique that ruins knees, something that is common to riders of all forms of bicycle.

57 years old, 8 years riding fixed, long periods fixed only, over roads that feature a lot of climbing, some of it steep enough to stress me on the geared bike - no knee problems at all.

[QUOTEfg is good for your knees and legs, provided you've chosen appropriate gearing, on the grounds that you are more likely to develop a good pedaling action using fg .[/QUOTE]

Absolutely Europa! Thanks to a teenage gymnastics injury and the resultant meniscectomy, I now suffer from severe arthritis in my right knee (not to mention an almost fused left ankle due to a rock climbing fall!). I went fg totally about three years ago and have never had any problems at all. I use two good caliper brakes and have tried to develop as good a pedaling action as I possibly could with my body being as it is! I've done fixed centuries and daily commutes (up and down hills). DON"T BELIEVE THE DOUBTERS. Your knees won't suffer if you ride a fg or ss, and, as Europa says, the movement downhill on a fg massages and pumps blood. Get a good bike fit (even more vital on a fg) and work at your action, posture and out of the saddle climbing. Your body will thank you (and possibly your wife!).

Turning 41 this year so I stumbled on this forum and glad I found it! Been riding a road bike (Lynskey R255) for a couple years and done a couple of centuries (one metric) on them and somehow got interested in a single speed so I bought one (2011 Charge Plug City bike) and I'm loving it! Just want to upgrade the wheels as they are heavy! Here's a pic:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=359251

Welcome! Nice bike too. So glad you're enjoying fg. I flirted with a 3-speed last year but missed the sheer simplicity of fg. So that's all I ride now, apart from the family tandem!

I'm 40 (41 in April) no experience with SS/fixed. I how ever just bought my first one. Dawes SST AL. from Bike Island for $280.

I have a really quick question and need answers by morning. I totaled my 06 CAAD 8, and replaced it with a Synapse. So I am sitting on a Cannondale Premium slice carbon fork. That I could either sell, or use on the new Dawes.

See I am in Ohio but driving my grandfather to FL I didn't want to ship my road bike, 29er or giant cypress. We leave in morning, but I don't know if I want to bother taking my fork, I am taking my Shimano peals and shoes.

I guess my reason for fixed is strength training or fitness. How ever I may ride it as a SS. Don't know yet. I am a roadie first and foremost how ever I enjoy any type if cycling. I've been wanting a SS/ fixed for a while now. FL just happened to be a good excuse, especially when Grandpa was like trunk rack? No way! Fine ..... :D

So about my fork, I have it, it's a really good fork.... It would be easy enough to slip in the car. Will it make that big of a difference? I know on a moto track or windsor the hour I'd be all over it and not even asking. But the Dawes?

I see joints and blown joints as a fit issue. Just as in running. Poor form will kill the knees not the running itself.

Buy a bike the proper size, fit your self properly, gear it properly and the blown knee thing is non issue. IMO. Actually diet probably plays a bigger factor in blown joints than. If someone's bike is SS or not.

Edit : next time you climb stairs. Say 3 flights do it 2 -3 steps at a time and then report back on how your knees feel ;)

How about this guy, seen on the "50+" forum here? 102 years old and still riding fixed gear on the track!

http://www.roadbikeaction.com/imagef...ages%2f100.jpg

It would be nice to think I still have another half century or thereabouts...

42 Below Fixie
 

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=362063

I picked this bike up for $80 today. I tried to do some research on it before meeting the seller and it looks like these were promotional bikes by a Vodka company in 2009. The bike is filthy, has flat tires, the seat needs adjustment and it appears that it's been a victim of a bit of overspray from a latex paint project. I tested the paint when looking it over and the overspray paint came off with a gentle fingernail rub, so no worries there. Although it is dirty, I don't think it has been ridden much or perhaps not at all. The chain and chainring look great, the tires have zero wear, the front brake pads look unused (the brake isn't even hooked-up properly) and the front rim shows no sign of ever having brake pads applied to it. There's on small nick on the brake lever, but that's it. I'm guessing that someone got this in '09, maybe fell off it once and then it sat in storage.

Nothing special about it, but I wanted to have a cheap dedicated fixie after I switched my Soho S commuter back from fixed to a singlespeed. At 46, I discovered that riding fixed is good exercise, but flipping my wheel when I have fenders on my Soho was a hassle.

I'll get it cleaned up and take another pic.

If you get tired of the fingernail bit, naptha should take it right off and not harm the paint.

Thanks for the tip. I'm guessing that it's latex, since it came off so easy. I'll give it a try.

Ah, right... latex = water base. I change my recommendation to water :)

You actually got a helluva deal - its an IRO.

Back when they were using those bikes in promos around the country, I watched a goldsprint held on them, got interested & researched. When I found out they came from IRO, I contacted him & came very close to buying a Rob Roy.

So there you are, enjoying a descent at about 25mph on your FG and you hit an appallingly mended pothole. Chain breaks at the joining link and wraps itself around rear hub jamming the wheel and before you know it you're trying to control a 30m skid. All those childhood skills kick in and you come to an elegant (!!!!) stop at the side of the road. After wrestling with the jammed chain you realise what's happened and despair of getting to your appointment. Without much hope you retrace your steps and miraculously find the missing link!!! Three minutes later you're off again chastened and a bit shaky. BE VERY CAREFUL OF TOO SLACK CHAINS!!!!!

Ned,

I've never trusted any connecting link until forced to by the 10 speed SRAM standard and would never use one on a FG.
A chain tool applied to links will eliminate that problem permanently, and I agree that proper chain tension is essential.
May your rides be less exciting in future.

-Bandera

Got it cleaned-up, but can't ride with the ice on the roads.

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ef4cc4c.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0f144639.jpg