Fixie Bikes

Ride a brakeless fixed gear through richmond daily. only a few big hills but I try to avoid them if I can. despite all the hate riding fixed is ridiculously fun, especially brakeless.
 
so all skis are created equally, twin tip, directional, chambered, rockered etc etc.

so with that logic bikes would be bikes, so really if I don't want to be a "fixie" gapper I need to call it a bike.

and you, when explaining to people you ski, can't add in the fact you ski park, because skiing is skiing.

got it
 
I wouldn't mind a single speed for an around town bike. Where I live is fairly flat and half the time I go out I don't switch gears anyway so the simplicity would be nice.

Fixed gears though ,I'm not so into. Last time I was on one, I decided to ride it down a small set of stairs and crashed when I forgot I had to keep pedaling for the key section. Alcohol was involved.
 
took my xc I've out for the first time today. damn it feels weird to be on a freewheel after a month or so riding only fixed. legs twitch every time I stop peddling
 
Just finished up converting an old 10 speed.

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fuck yeah, proud fixie rider here. ive ridden fixed for 3 or 4 years now i guess, its awesome for getting around town. I didnt read the thread at all but i use only a front brake and a 44:16 gear ratio. hills are not that bad, you just gotta go fast into em and power all the way up depending on how high your gear is. obviously really steep hills are hard but i dont have to deal with that too often.

i have heard people worrying about riding with just a front brake because they worry about going over the bars - but think of it this way. I used to ride with no brakes for about two years, but i was more cautious because i knew i couldnt stop as quickly. I knew how to skid but its still slower at decelerating than a front brake. If you can skid though, thats basically all of the power of a back brake so when you combine skidding/backpedalling, its more or less the same as having both brakes. I still brake mostly with my legs and just use the front brake when i really need to slow down (or on hills so i dont explode my knees)

thats a lot of words
 
It's all about that weight shift and a reasonable gear. 46-17 here, thinking about going 46-19 but cruising at 22+mph is just so damn fun. Would go 46-18 but fuck only 4-6 or whatever skid patches
 
have been riding that for a while now, people always think your nuts. Its hard at first but I can pretty much time everything out well, I foot brake when I need to but that eats up shoes. bombing hills is just a mental thing to get over, I just bombed a hill w/brakes a few times. just didn't use them, and pretty much got over it, I never ride it down town though because stoplights and lots of cars...
 
I ride 46-16, 8 skid patches. looking to swap up my drive line to something else, my chaining is out of wack from skid stopping. can't keep my chain tight for a whole pedal rotation, so maybe it would be wise to rotate your chaining to avoid it.
 
yeah it's a sugino. I've Ben meaning to go to some higher gearing for a bit. I live in a flat place, I have a buddy who even runs 52-14
 
sugino is pretty good quality, unless its a bargain one from years ago.

52-14 is nuts, that's like a 30mph at regular cadence. Idiotic unless its for racing at the track
 
he doesn't own a car, bikes year round, has massive legs.

and the chain ring is maybe 4 years old, only ridden two seasons.

what are you guys using for tires? I've just been running old road tires from my racing days, they skid out in around 2 months or less.
 
definitely. my brother had some sort of joint fluid leak out of his knee and create a big cyst-like thing, then he had surgery to try to remove it, but that was unsuccessful so now he has a huge permanent lumpy growth on the right side of ihs right shin, just below the knee, and a wicked scar from the operation.

also, for anyone who rides brakeless and is looking for gear ratio / skid patch information. BOOM.

http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/rabbit.applet.html

(use the "skid patch analysis" tab at the bottom)
 
times?

they aren't. much less rolling resistance than other tires in the "city" category. I mean, they aren't a 60$ race level tire, but they'll also hold up more to skidding and shit in the roads than a 60$ race tire. again, if you have $40/tire, get gatorskins. but as far as damn good tires for the price, the tourguards are hard to beat. im not really a fan of skidding through a $40 tire anyway.
 
i think fixies are sick. seems not as standard and therefore more fun as opposed to a normal bike. how do you brake though?
 
haha okay man fine, your chart is great too. didnt think you were taking this seriously.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I actually ended up getting a bike as a grad present! Its has a fixed gear and a single speed cog, and yes it has a front and back brake. I don't care that it isnt a 'pure' fixie or whatever you want to call it because of the brakes, im just more comfortable with brakes for safety and such.

My dad picked out the ride for me, and I think its sick! The colors are rad and I also have another set of blue tires as well a white 3 spoke rear wheel that my dad got from his triathlon sponsor. Sooo stoked about that. I might change it up a bit, but right now I love it

Ive been riding it on the fixed gear for a few weeks now, and its really a fun ride! It gets me where I need to go, and hills are honestly not that bad. You just need to get out of the seat and suck it up. At first it was weird getting used the fixed feel and not being able to coast, but I think im gonna stick to it through the summer and at school this fall.

As for this whole 'hipster' thing you guys are freaking out about, I just wanted a bike. I heard from friends that fixed gear was fun and challenging, plus it made you think more about how you ride. I didnt really care what people thought or how I looked riding around. So chill out.

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You do know that track bikes are all made in fixed gear right? They also have no brakes so if by fixed up you mean bullshit then yeah, nice job bro.
 
Same here, but i call them fixies, and so do all of my friends who ride (a ton). If you don't use that word then how do you differentiate between a fixie and literally any other kind of bike?
 
fixies have a fixed rear hub, so the bike can t coast (like the old bikes u had as a kid, slam the pedals back and it would break,)
 
well it gives you a move "controlled" feal of the bike. Also there's alot less to break/wear down. Making it ideal for street riding/computer through a city were you lock you bike up out side in all elements. On top of all that since there hardly any parts on the bike , its super fucking light, again ideal for street riding.

 
my wheels are deep V's with formula hubs, but I honestly never checked tension before o started riding and now two seasons latter the back is quite loose. and on a separate note my chain line is out of wack, and must have been roght from the factory, it's a Masi
 
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