Fixed/Single Speed Commuting

lost_in_thought

But it's so lovely.... It could share my bed - the bowery would have to lean on the wall... I don't need 2 cars.... I could sell one.... But then I'd never ride it for fear of it being nicked...

biondino

You have 2 cars?!

lost_in_thought

Yes.... :oops:

One's a practical estate, one's a convertible... both are Saabs. :oops:

knight2k

I wouldn't be able to afford even the seatpost if I sold my car!

Don't be fooled by the avatar.

2wheelzgood

LiT wrote:

..pedal strike fear

on this

lost_in_thought wrote:

Flburgh..... shvagarabahah....

OMG!!

Track bikes are sweet ('m a fan of TT-like bikes rather than the classical lines of a steal road frame) but turning much on one of these is asking for disaster!

2 cars yet commutes by bike...insurance must be cheaper for you then me then...

ps "Flburgh..... shvagarabahah.".
I concur!

attica

I thought there were rules about porn on this forum

il_principe

Nah I don't like that bike, proportions are all wrong. How about this beauty:

biondino

That's a messy bike, and looks like it has a hunchback. I'll leave it to Jash I think

Bassjunkieuk

Nice looking bike........wonder what the GI is on it tho :-D

biondino

HOLD ON YOU'VE CHANGED THE PNARELLO PIC!!

dafruk

2wheelzgood wrote:

LiT wrote:

Track bikes are sweet ('m a fan of TT-like bikes rather than the classical lines of a steal road frame) but turning much on one of these is asking for disaster!

I think theft is wrong and you should buy your frames, regardless of TT-like or not.

mcmullej

woohoo!

yes!

you beauty!

....

let me explain....

I've been commuting for almost 3 months now. It's a 30km round-trip, mostly flat but one fairly serious hill right in the middle. I've been using my trusty Marin Hawk Hill '98 on WTB Slickasaurus. No-one more surprised than me that I've stuck with it. Clocked up almost 3000km over the summer.

But the bits keep falling off the bike. Bent rims, broken calipers, grinding hub, indexing lasts about one day after a service before it gets all crunchy again.

So I started thinking about a new bike. Had my eye on the Marin Highway One. (all carbon hybrid, £1600+). But then I started reading this thread... Single speeds have less to go wrong, right? Hmmm.

It all happened so quickly. Called Pearsons, jumped on the train and picked up my Bowery this morning. It's gorgeous.

Took it out for a 5 mins spin after lunch just to adjust the saddle height etc. Bit wobbly to start with. The riding position and feel is very different to what I'm used to.

Anyway, best part of two hours later, I arrive home with a big smile on my face, having completed most of my usual commute including Black Lion Hill. I was worried beforehand I'd have to get off and walk, but it was a lot easier than I thought. Only up out of the saddle for the last few metres.

Anyway. Early days I know, but first impressions of ss commuting and of the Bowery are very good. Very good indeed.

;-)

---

There was a Golf playing chicken with on coming traffic on the way up to Shenley this afternoon. In the rain. Unbelievably stupid. When he crashes, hopefully he only harms himself.

---

Anybody else with a Bowery fit fatter tyres to it? How big can you go before you get problems with clearance?

itboffin

That's it I can't take it any more I need a Giant Bowery, Biondino did you buy Wayne's bike or are you tempted to join the growing Bowery fan club.

PS. We all saw Biondino riding a fixed Bowery on Friday and he loved it....

I'm planning my first full commute on the SS Raleigh tomorrow morning, gulp 44/16T hopefully I won't have to walk up any of the hills.

lost_in_thought

Yes! Everyone buy Bowerys! Bwahahahahaaaaaa! We can have some kind of Formula Bowery racing...

mcmullej, welcome to the wonderful world of SS commuting. You are absolutely right, less can go wrong, they're more fun to ride without the distraction of gears, and you'll be fitter and stronger before you know it!

For your Bowery-related tyre question, I'm not sure, not something I've looked at. Littigator also rides one, he's a bit more technical than me, perhaps he can help. But I'd heartily recommend phoning Pearson's with any questions. They're great.


Lastly, I was talking with Jashburnham and Littigator on Friday about the idea I had of organising a day out with my work to a velodrome, and thought that maybe other bikeradar readers would enjoy it, perhaps more than my colleagues. Bikeradar velodrome day? Thoughts?

itboffin

So I've just completed my first SS commute well the morning half anyway and I have a couple of questions for those in the know.

1. During my hilly 15 mile run I found myself spinning out a lot not just on the down hills, should I swap for a bigger GI currently 44/16T bearing in mind I still need to get up the hills without walking.

2. My old home made SS felt pretty steep at the front, is there a more simple way to size / set-up I know I can raise the stem but I don't want to be too upright the aero position added 8 mph to my downhill speed

Mmmm that's odd I was sure I had more questions to ask maybe its the heady fumes from my cycling shoes.

lost_in_thought

Well done!

I wouldn't get too excited about changing your gearing set-up until you've done the homeward leg too - tired legs can make it seem like you're pushing a lot harder.

You could flip the stem if it's not a 7-shaped one, but again I'd ride it for a while before playing about with it. Did you feel like the bars were too far forward or too far down?

2wheelzgood

You all know why the 08 bowey's are cheap don't ya
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bik ... 469/32689/ :shock: 8)

say it with me.. hipster. But nice. LFGSGSG opnion is that white is nice (Biodino and myself concur) but that most will swap out the TT bars.. well let me know if you do cos I'd use em.
600 squids though. :roll:

ITB, I went for the longest ride so far on the Pista yesterday. 20 miles (don't laugh, only had it 3 weeks). Slight hills with even a whiff of a head wind after a few miles makes a big difference I think on a fixed. I know you've had ss and so have I but there's just no respite on fixed and keeping a good cadence up hills is what it's all about.

Biodino. It's a nice bike but I'm with LiT, £900 for a Dawes Galaxy based fixie.. erm.. the components may be nice and it's a nice colour apart form in winter when it'll show London's finest road much up! You ought to be able to dind a galazxy frame or used bike for 200, I'd say, spray it and have cash left over after fitting the right bits.

my 2pence
hth

edit: my bad I was confusing it with a differnet bike I'd seen. it does look nice and I don't know what I was looking at (certainly not those super skinny chain stays and fork) when I said "galaxy"!)
good luck

lost_in_thought

2wheelzgood wrote:

You all know why the 08 bowey's are cheap don't ya
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bik ... 469/32689/ :shock: 8)

say it with me.. hipster. But nice. LFGSGSG opnion is that white is nice (Biodino and myself concur) but that most will swap out the TT bars.. well let me know if you do cos I'd use em.
600 squids though. :roll:

I'm not super-keen - a bit posey for me! And white is all well and good if you're got the time to clean it daily...

biondino

Hmm, everyone was dead keen on me buying the white bike and now that I actually might everyone's like "whadda ripoff!" I'll go see it anyway and if I fall in love with it I don't imagine I'll say no. More money than sense, I told you

Bassjunkieuk

lost_in_thought wrote:

Lastly, I was talking with Jashburnham and Littigator on Friday about the idea I had of organising a day out with my work to a velodrome, and thought that maybe other bikeradar readers would enjoy it, perhaps more than my colleagues. Bikeradar velodrome day? Thoughts?

Sounds like a good idea, heck depending on location I might even try to come along and prove I can actually ride a bike as I always seem to be without one for previous meetups! Might be worth floating this idea over on the SCR thread too as I'm sure some people over there would enjoy it!

itboffin

lost_in_thought wrote:

Well done!

I wouldn't get too excited about changing your gearing set-up until you've done the homeward leg too - tired legs can make it seem like you're pushing a lot harder.

You could flip the stem if it's not a 7-shaped one, but again I'd ride it for a while before playing about with it. Did you feel like the bars were too far forward or too far down?

Thanks, If anything I think it was to far back and low, I'm visiting a vendor tomorrow in Farnborough which is about 50 miles from my home i'm very tempted to do it SS especially as I have a bail out plan (the train) and it's not to hilly but before that I need to fix all the bits that have loosed themselves during this mornings ride.

As for the Bowery I almost bought one at the weekend but noticed the disclaimer for next years models and after a quick glance at Gaint website the credit was put away 2009 here we come.

PS. I brought the bike in to London this morning - that was a nasty :shock:

Littigator

lost_in_thought wrote:

2wheelzgood wrote:

You all know why the 08 bowey's are cheap don't ya
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bik ... 469/32689/ :shock: 8)

say it with me.. hipster. But nice. LFGSGSG opnion is that white is nice (Biodino and myself concur) but that most will swap out the TT bars.. well let me know if you do cos I'd use em.
600 squids though. :roll:

I'm not super-keen - a bit posey for me! And white is all well and good if you're got the time to clean it daily...

i reckon the only thing I'd be keen to swap would be the deep section rims but then again along the Millbank wind Tunnel if ever that switched to a cross wind I'd take off.

As for the velodrome idea...jeez how much beer did I have I don't remember that at all. Although it is a bloody good idea.

lost_in_thought

Too far back and low? Interesting - the opposite problem to the one I tend to have! Move your saddle on the rails and flip the stem - quick fix, might work!

And do it! If it gets too much you can bail, as you say. Mind you, check out the gradients of the hills...

As for the velodrome idea...jeez how much beer did I have I don't remember that at all. Although it is a bloody good idea.

Hmm maybe I've misremembered that - it could have just been Jashburnham... I will contact ze velodrome and find out about it...

Bugly

lost_in_thought wrote:

Interesting.... will have to go out and do some measuring. I feel like my handlebars are too far away at the minute, I can't really get down to the drops comfortably.

Should I look for one that angles up maybe? Hmmmmmmm....

LiT if you havent purchased a new stem remember that the stem is the right length for you when you sit on the drops and look at the axle on the front wheel.

If the Axle is seen behind your bars then the stem is too long
if its seen in front of your bars the stem is too long.

In General stems between 90 and 120 are common on road going bikes with minimimal handling changes but that is dependenant on the fork and head tube geometry. The more upright the head tube and shorter the rake of the fork the greater the effect of the stem legth on the handling.

itboffin

Part two of the first SS commute, I made it home in good time in fact 4 mins faster than a normal run and LiT as you so wisely predicted the run home was slightly less spinney (up hill) but it's not going to be long before I have to increase my GI.

Not doing the Farnborough run today I'm going to save my legs for tomorrow

brownbosh

Is that 84 a uk model? If sop whats the rrp?????

lost_in_thought

itboffin wrote:

Part two of the first SS commute, I made it home in good time in fact 4 mins faster than a normal run and LiT as you so wisely predicted the run home was slightly less spinney (up hill) but it's not going to be long before I have to increase my GI.

Not doing the Farnborough run today I'm going to save my legs for tomorrow

If you're on a flip-flop hub you could put a smaller sprocket on t'other side... see how you go with it. Like very labour-intensive gears

Are you freewheel or fixed?

lost_in_thought

For fans of the flash bike...

dafruk

I wouldn't ride that, some ned has been at it and bent the top tube!

2wheelzgood

Me neither, have you not seen the TdF footage where the carbon wheels lose in a fight with a white Labrador! :shock: