Fixed/Single Speed Commuting

Clever Pun

Soon to be passing you with a rider not trying of course...

2wheelzgood

Wow nice wheels CP. I'm on the Condor site now.. it's a fancy piece of cycleware! I like the colours, the carbon, the ability to have a rear brake (all hell will occur when I ride mine free with just a front!).fancy bikes. big money!
Question is, is the rider up to the the standard he's set himself?

Clever Pun

2wheelzgood wrote:

Wow nice wheels CP. I'm on the Condor site now.. it's a fancy piece of cycleware! I like the colours, the carbon, the ability to have a rear brake (all hell will occur when I ride mine free with just a front!).fancy bikes. big money!
Question is, is the rider up to the the standard he's set himself?

I can but try

I saw a roadie ahead of me this morning and thought I could get a proper test and I was happily gaining but the selfish git turned off

[tart]I upgrades to veloce brakes so they colour matched the crank, I also like wearing a rapha hat with it[/tart]

freewheel with only one brake? how much do you weigh?? that could be ballsy or deathwish territory

2wheelzgood

hehe!
If that a cheapo Lidl/Aldi saddle bag?
Looks like mine and I say this cos mine doesn't sit well on the Dawes. The straps are in the wrong place and it swings about lots.
Not very tarty. In fact, its positivity utilitarian for a fixed bike to have kit to repair punctures!

Littigator

Nice wheels CP, will you be out and about on Friday nicht? We can compare sprockets...oh err missus

Clever Pun

2wheelzgood wrote:

hehe!
If that a cheapo Lidl/Aldi saddle bag?
Looks like mine and I say this cos mine doesn't sit well on the Dawes. The straps are in the wrong place and it swings about lots.
Not very tarty. In fact, its positivity utilitarian for a fixed bike to have kit to repair punctures!

it's a specialized... it does need pimping though... suggestions? I don't want to carry all my crap around on my back (it's from my road bike) I've just had a thought if I put race blades on it will I be able to get the wheel off?

Littigator yeah I'll be around on friday night... is there a time? 6?

2wheelzgood

CP, some mates of mine are on about 2 diy projects becasue as you say bags aren't cool.

I have modified a shoulder bag with an extra strap so that it doesn't swing round. ideal of a few bits and keeps a light shower off a jumper or so but my repair kit dangles under the seat of my Dawes when I don't carry the bag.

one guy is on about getting a used car seatbelt and stitching velcro to make a removable "miss fixie world" utility belt thing sash. I think he'll put some sort of a pocket on it to hide phone, wallet etc with minimal back coverage to reduce sweat (not that us fixed riders perspire!)

another option being talked about is a velcro top tube fastening. A removable bag hanging down to carry gubbins. I'm sure something like that is available to buy.. surely!

I will want something too, or at least a better saddle bag on the Bianchi

HTH

re mudguards.. interesting. I was thinking the same and that old horizontal dropouts would be better but track ends are cool. a few bikes have track ends end mudguard lugs though (Pearson for example I think)

il_principe

If you're looking for a great bag to lug about all your commuter gubbins then I can highly recommend these: http://www.reloadbags.com/

Best of all they do custom designs, I've been thinking about a GAME themed one but sadly I'm rubbish at design! This is my current bag though, and I love it:

ride_whenever

just get yourself some PLCE webbing from army surplus, doesn't move, hugely flexible and expandable.

Clever Pun

2wheelzgood wrote:

re mudguards.. interesting. I was thinking the same and that old horizontal dropouts would be better but track ends are cool. a few bikes have track ends end mudguard lugs though (Pearson for example I think)

I've ordered these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/SKS_Race_Blade_Clip_On_Mudguard_Set/5300005894/

I guess I'll see...

I've got a bees knees crumpler which is great... I'd just rather not have to carry everything on my back... tsk the sake of making things pretty I guess

Greg T

ride_whenever wrote:

just get yourself some PLCE webbing from army surplus, doesn't move, hugely flexible and expandable.

Keep a spoon inside a pair of mess tins and you'll have no need of a bell.......

ride_whenever

exactly...

plus, no taxi will cut you up if you've go and 80 strapped to your back...

Littigator

Clever Pun wrote:

I've ordered these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/SKS_Race_Blade_Clip_On_Mudguard_Set/5300005894/

I guess I'll see...

I've got a set fo those and they're superb. They have rubber bungy type attachments so you can put them on and take em off in seconds.

Re. time on Friday, 6 sounds about right

Clever Pun

I've got to say downhills really are cack when you can't crank the gears and give it some... freewheeling down feels like cheating.. I suspect on fixed it'll be horrific

lost_in_thought

Clever Pun wrote:

I've got to say downhills really are cack when you can't crank the gears and give it some... freewheeling down feels like cheating.. I suspect on fixed it'll be horrific

I really enjoy downhills on my fixed, when I run out of push, which seems to take a while, I just relax the legs and let the pedals pull them round. Kind of like shaking out a stretch in sensation...

And I still can't confirm my potentally big gearing, must count teeth (on bike).

As for my thigh measurement, quite chunky but solid is all I can say! I Put that down to having lugged a single-speed back-pedal-braking cruiser around London with around 1.5 stone of panniers, as if that bike wasn't heavy enough already!

A question - stems - has anyone replaced theirs with a shorter one? Does it have a real effect on the steering?

And lastly, for all potential track-standers, my brother maintains that they are easier if you try to hop the bike - you don't need to actually do so, he says, but trying to will help you keep balance. I tried it this AM and it actually was an improvement! Interesting!

il_principe

Depends on stem length (no comments please Greg) Basically a short stem - say 70mm or could make steering pretty twitchy, a long stem can make things a bit sluggish. Personally I'd keep it between 90 and 120.

lost_in_thought

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....

il_principe

Try "flipping the stem" ie attaching the bit currently gripping the bars to stem and vice versa. This should raise the angle of the stem bringing the bars closer to you.

Flipped stem:

lost_in_thought

Hmmmm, ok, thanks for that, I'll have a look!

Littigator

Right, ok, I'm back, here we go...

The bike is in, arrived Tuesday and with my irresistible desire to fettle fiddle and f*ck up a perfectly good machine, I have so far fitted white bar tape, a white saddle mounted on bare carbon stem and white spds.

It's starting to look tarty, but it's all cosmetic so far.

The factory ratio is 46/17 which I've found too soft for any kind of speed and ends up with me bouncing along legs ablur.

I've ordered a new chainring which should be in tomorrow, although I think I may have over-cooked it just a wee bit with an ......eh....ahem....52??!!

This takes me from 72.4 to 81.9 gear inches. Feel free to come along tomorrow night and laugh at me as I try to pull away from the pub after a couple of pints.

At least I only bought a very cheap ring with the intention that if it was too big I'll try downsizing to a 50.

2wheelzgood

aw gutted I didn't realised you were that big a man to want a big gear. Mine will come with a 48/16 and I'm looking at getting a 18t cog to downsize it from 81 to 70. The 17t would have been a nice middle ground swap. Oh well.
I've just ordered my single-sided spd pedals! I hope it arrives today.. I wonder how hard it can be to put together..

Littigator

Mine was nice and easy to build, only had to fit the handlebars, connect the brakes and trim the cables, fit the saddle and fixed cog and bolt the wheels on.

It only took me 3 days

il_principe

Littigator wrote:

Right, ok, I'm back, here we go...

The bike is in, arrived Tuesday and with my irresistible desire to fettle fiddle and f*ck up a perfectly good machine, I have so far fitted white bar tape, a white saddle mounted on bare carbon stem and white spds.

*Pricks ears - White SPD's? Where did you find those? I've only ever found white SDP-L's before.

EDIT: 52, 52! Ye Gods man.

2wheelzgood

Littigator, you got 700x28 tyres on the Bowery? I bet it's plush with them.. got a carbon fork yeah?

I went down 2 teeth on the rear ( more or less same as up 6 on the front) and didn't find it too bad. but that's on a ss and going up to 80.9.

I'm sure all this cycling on one gear with thigh busting power has contributed to my powerplay pedal bearing showing good (choice of word?) wear after 5 months. I hope my shimano ones will stay better or maybe I'll just get that smaller cog and save the cones some pain.

How to people find skidding on a 80 inch gear? possible at all?
and the same answers please for a newbie to fixed bikes!

Clever Pun

I'm running 48-17 and at the moment getting up the hill I have to that's fine... I could use higher gearing for the flat sure but I'll build up to that I think once I'm spinning up beckenham hill on a friday afternoon/evening

Littigator

jashburnham wrote:

Littigator wrote:

Right, ok, I'm back, here we go...

The bike is in, arrived Tuesday and with my irresistible desire to fettle fiddle and f*ck up a perfectly good machine, I have so far fitted white bar tape, a white saddle mounted on bare carbon stem and white spds.

*Pricks ears - White SPD's? Where did you find those? I've only ever found white SDP-L's before.

EDIT: 52, 52! Ye Gods man.

Sorry dude, I meant white SPD-Ls

http://www.dhcyclesport.co.uk/parts-acc ... p-273.html

As for the 52, you'll see the results tomorrow, I may be a broken man from having over-expanded my ring by that point!

Greg T

Littigator wrote:

As for the 52, you'll see the results tomorrow, I may be a broken man from having over-expanded my ring by that point!

I'm all for talking a big game...........

Can I have first shout on your frame when you brake your femur trying to get away from a standing start?

Littigator

Greg T wrote:

Littigator wrote:

As for the 52, you'll see the results tomorrow, I may be a broken man from having over-expanded my ring by that point!

I'm all for talking a big game...........

Can I have first shout on your frame when you brake your femur trying to get away from a standing start?

That's what I appreciate in a fellow cycler (ist is for oldies man)

honesty...integrity and an overwhelming desire to make good out of other's misfortune!

Cycling Schadenfreude!

attica

jashburnham wrote:

Try "flipping the stem" ie attaching the bit currently gripping the bars to stem and vice versa. This should raise the angle of the stem bringing the bars closer to you.

Flipped stem:

I think you're wrong here, it'd result in bars at a silly angle.

Flip the stem over on the forks, so that it points up instead of down, having the same bit clamping the bars just again upside down.

Did it with my Saddywagon Tractor and thanks to Kona's lack of foresight now have the Kona logo upside down on my stem.

lost_in_thought

Greg T wrote:

Littigator wrote:

As for the 52, you'll see the results tomorrow, I may be a broken man from having over-expanded my ring by that point!

I'm all for talking a big game...........

Can I have first shout on your frame when you brake your femur trying to get away from a standing start?

Ladies (or is it just me) and gentlemen...

I can now officially inform you that I am 100% riding a 14 tooth sprocket and a 48 tooth chainring (*hopes she's used the right terminology*), giving me a gear thing of around 91-92 varying on source... as previously specified.

No wonder I struggle to accelerate uphill...

And on the flat... although that is getting better... but my top speed rocks... once I get there...