The Porsche is 80's-ish so it kinda works.

Yup. Its fun being terrified in traffic. I'm too young to be worried about self-preservation.

More pedaling, less worrying.

Also, you feel silent like a ninja.

The 80s: truly a decade of understated simplicity and elegance.

For me it's about the simplicity... less is more!

I'm thinking something more like this on the car front. This still has a two-speed transmission, no clutch though. Trying to think of single speed cars but all I can come up with is go-carts and golf carts.

http://image.circletrack.com/f/30908...t-race-car.jpg

80s 911, 40s beetle, whats the difference?

Because chicks dig it. Any other reason provided is a damn lie.

I picked up a SS a few weeks back from a sales event, 2010 Gary Fisher Triton. While looking at the bike, one of the staff goes to me, "you know it has no gears". Yup I replied. I have a hybrid, and a carbon road bike. The idea was to have something for just booting about, and if I did dump it on a slick surface (ice or other) it would be too bad of a financial hit. Turns out, this bike is a ton of fun to just ride. With a 48T to a 20T it's 65 gear inches which ain't that hard to climb with. Passed a few roadies on the weekend on a climb. It does make you work a bit more, at 30km/h I spin out, but I'm not looking to race it either. I tried the 28's from my hybrid, but they weren't nearly as fun as the 23's it came with.

I think that's 63 gear inches.

How long was the climb and what % grade is the hill?

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3...sivew12616.jpg

Refined dashes ftl. I want graphic equalizers for every channel of my stereo.

Wow! Why even go anywhere? :D

OK, so, if you get to any steep hills you walk it up? And, going down hill, you use your legs to keep the bike from going to fast?

Do they have ones with a rear drum that disengages to coast and also acts as a brake on the rear wheel like the old bikes did, like the Schwinn I grew up with, or is that considered cheating? :)

BTW.. my 15 speed commuter makes no noise at all either...except when actually shifting. But I'll have to try one of those out.. not sure I would want to have no brakes though.. that seems a bit suicidal.

2 km, avg 4%. parts to 8%. It was one of many for the 117km ride, the gps track showed 800m of overall climbing. for the gear inch bit, I forgot to change the wheel size in the calculator :eek:

If there is absolutely no way for me to climb because of loss of momentum and the grade, I'll get off and walk, shamefully. Going downhill, I spin as fast as possible to go as fast as possible.

You're thinking of coaster brakes. I think they are kind of silly and wouldn't trust one brakeless, but plenty of people seem to enjoy them.

It's very common for fixed riders to ride a front brake, the only brake that really matters.

Why? Freewheels tend to stop working around -10F... That and I get a better workout and don't have to do much in terms of maint.

I tried SSMTBing with 34x15 and found a few hills I had to walk. Rollin' 34x18 now and don't think I've hit a hike-a-bike yet.

Only have SS ATM so use cantilever brakes to slow on the downhills.

Yeah, coaster brakes are still being manufactured.
Coaster video for you:

The limiting factor for hills (at least for me) on FG is the downhill, not the climb.

This is true for me too, I can pretty much climb everything, but the descend is what is slow going.

There are a few hills that require herculean effort to ride up in my area. There are a few hills that require me to use the bailout gear to get up (leftfoot/rightfoot).

It's generally not a big deal. Any hill that you can't ride up on a reasonably geared fixed gear is going to be a monster hill to a geared bike too. So you're either walking your fixed gear up the hill like it's a dog, or you're spinning your super-low gears like a gerbil.

that makes a FG ride safer... or you can still pedal the hell of it on the down hill, high cadence fast riding is fun.

I spin out at about 180. I'm not a fan of the feeling of going 40mph with no control of the bike. So yeah, safer it is. For me at least.

wow, that's extreme to me I don't think I have ever been faster than 32mph on a descend... I use a front brake and some back pressure to keep her under control...

Big, long, straight hills + road bike = even faster lol.

You really have to trust your bike at that point.

30 on a descent is hardly a descent, at least after I experienced 50mph. dats exhilarating

road bikes
can stop
don't want to

I don't only ride a fixie, since it isn't the best for heavy loads or pulling a trailer, but it is fun. A lot of fun. Sheldon Brown's web pages convinced me to give it a try, and after my first fixie was stolen, I built a second. It might be nice to have another for winter riding, but I don't have a spare frame that would fit the tires I want with fenders.

45mph on fully loaded bike is certainly a thrill. My scariest moments on the bike that weren't traffic induced have not come while on my fixed gear.

Well said!! :)

Why does no one mention the mechanics of fixed, which, for me, is the real pleasure. Maybe it's because it is difficult to describe. The first time I realized that I could change my speed/bearing with a very slight turn combined with a half-rotation partial shift of my weight onto the rising pedal, I was hooked. The same move with a freewheel and brakes is far less immediate, and not especially fun.

I know that all bikes can bring out a rider's "style" but fixed seems to give a few more vectors of expression that make riding a little deeper.

I look forward to buying a road bike and learning of all the aspects which I am missing, but I know for a fact that the first time I don't feel the unrelenting forward pressure of the drive train, I'm going to be bummed.

I've broken 50 a couple of times, and yeah. I'm pretty much fully exhilerated by the time I hit 45, anything beyond that is just icing but I'd probably poo if I hit 60.