I need a fixie!

Clever Pun

lost_in_thought wrote:

And CP is right.

QFT

fatgrimpeur

Buy the fixed, you owe it to yourself. Easy to justify (it makes you much fitter, easy to maintain), they are the perfect commuter machine, I've ridden one for around 4 years now. Get one with two brakes though, believe me it's worth it.
Also just because someone buys a fixed wheel bike does not mean they automatically start RLJing, that's Daily Mail logic that is.

edhornby

I commute on a fixed gear and I don't RLJ but the ones I see who do tend to ride cheap MTBs, so I support the theory that it's new riders or idiots who think they are invincible rather than the bike mechanics

anyway... back to the OP

clipping in or out isn't hard, if it is then your pedals aren't adjusted properly.... and I have a front brake only and I've never had issues with going down hills, if you can't regulate the speed with leg power alone then you scrub speed off gently with the brake and keep pushing back on the pedals to stop it getting out of hand

and - They are cool (especially when not wearing either a messenger bag or rolled up jeans) with drop handlebars and not overly tarty colour schemes

Littigator

Re the worst RLJers...

Fixed gear riders, better track standers, stopping at lights means a chance to show off and practice.

Urban MTBers, cannot track stand, think they can, wobble about at lights until TS fails and then in an attempt to hide this race off across the lights.

Nurse NURSE he's having one of his funny turns again...yes I think he's wet himself as well

lost_in_thought

Littigator wrote:

Re the worst RLJers...

Fixed gear riders, better track standers, stopping at lights means a chance to show off and practice.

Urban MTBers, cannot track stand, think they can, wobble about at lights until TS fails and then in an attempt to hide this race off across the lights.

Nurse NURSE he's having one of his funny turns again...yes I think he's wet himself as well

Most of the urban MTB-ers I see don't even bother trying to trackstand, just wobble through the lights... if they're not on the pavement that is.

Note 'most' not 'all'.

edhornby

woodyonthebeach wrote:

ive had a need to or an urge for a Fixed SS for a while.

Whats peoples advice. Buy a frame and build your own. or where can you buy a nice one for about 400ish

depends on what your budget is... you can get a Fuji track for about £300 and they are good, (quite a big gear on them and you'd need to put a brake on) or if you have a suitable frame or lots of bits you can build your own

if you've not got a frame (as per your post would suggest) I'd say buy a complete bike, the fuji or a pearson or a surly, or look at the planet-x website, they do a smart cafe racer...

greg66_tri_v2.0

Cantdosleepy wrote:

All your points are totally reasonable except this one:

Greg66 wrote:

FIXED RIDERS MAKES UP THE GREATEST PROPORTION OF RLJers.

Regardless of the validity of that statement, "I dont want to ride a fixed bike because other people who ride fixed often jump red lights" is an argument without an argument inside it.

Are you saying that:
<snip>

Woooahhhh! Easy there, Tiger.

As you correctly observed, I made a statement. You constructed the argument from it, not me. My statement was not an additional reason for me not to ride fixed. My reason is "I don't want to", which on its own is enough to ensure that it will *never* happen.

I made the statement because I felt like being mischievous and provoking an argument. You've got to make the most of your chances when the nurses aren't looking, y'know.

Cantdosleepy

My post was indeed nearly all inference with little more than a sprinkling of implication. You sneaky minx.

wgwarburton

woodyonthebeach wrote:

> Whats peoples advice. Buy a frame and build your own. or where can you buy a nice one for about 400ish

I'd say it depends on what you've got lying around. If you have most of the parts and want to build it then do so.
If you are going to have to buy everything, then it'll be cheaper to get an OTP fixie, or an eBay special.
If you know exactly what you want, and no-one is selling it, then you'll have to do a custom build, but it won't be cheap... Look hard at whether you could get a better bike by buying a top-end OTP than by custom buying/building, cos it's an expensive way to go...

At a previous job a colleague bought a Touche through the BTW scheme. It's a nice bike, but then it's six hundred quid, so it DWOTB!
You can get a Charge Plug for £400... It's nice, but no mudguards etc... The frame's plain-gauge, not butted and you might want to change the spec a bit (drops/flats? gear ratio? bottle cages/rackmounts etc?)

You need to look at what you've got, what you want, and what you can spend. If you can do the BTW scheme, that makes a complete bike more attractive still.

Cheers,
W.

spasypaddy

for around £400 i can recommend the one i bought, its built to my specification. Its from a shop called The Cyclestore in Friern Barnet (North London).

Steel frame, same steel frame that the pearsons are built on.

biondino

FGs are such a small proportion

Olivia, you're bright and observant and you ride in London and I put it to you you're talking out of your 4rse here! I'd say maybe 1/4-1/3 of London bikes are fixed.

While I wouldn't necessarily say FGs jump proportionally more red lights than geared bikes, I would say that more *competent* FG cyclists RLJ than *competent* geared riders.

lost_in_thought

biondino wrote:

FGs are such a small proportion

Olivia, you're bright and observant and you ride in London and I put it to you you're talking out of your 4rse here! I'd say maybe 1/4-1/3 of London bikes are fixed.

While I wouldn't necessarily say FGs jump proportionally more red lights than geared bikes, I would say that more *competent* FG cyclists RLJ than *competent* geared riders.

Ahh blondie you do make me laugh.

Do you really think it's such a high percentage? I have to say I don't - certainly mayfair and west of there, which is my main stomping ground in london, a SS is a rarity, let alone a FG.

Maybe in meeeed'jah-ville they're more prevalent... what with all the hipsters...

wgwarburton

Hi,
I'm with LiT: I visited London during the October holidays ("tattie howking") and was expecting to see stacks of fixies... I was disappointed to see loads of bikes but only half a dozen or so SS/fixed ones- I doubt it was close to 10%, let alone 30+
This was in the centre- Embankment, Tate Modern, London Eye, St Pauls, Trafalger Square etc.

Cheers,
W.

biondino

Maybe it's the Soho factor + the fact that they're all terrible ponces who annoy me on sight

Littigator

WGWarburton wrote:

Hi,
I'm with LiT: I visited London during the October holidays ("tattie howking") and was expecting to see stacks of fixies... I was disappointed to see loads of bikes but only half a dozen or so SS/fixed ones- I doubt it was close to 10%, let alone 30+
This was in the centre- Embankment, Tate Modern, London Eye, St Pauls, Trafalger Square etc.

Cheers,
W.

Ah Buns herein lies your mistake me ol' mate!

If you'd've headed East you would've discovered that in actual fact it's been scientifically proven that there are 3 fixed gear bikes to every hipster East of Liverpool Street which given the numbers of fakenger/hipsters in said area gives a total of approximately 3,419,782 fixed gear bicycles. Believe it or not the figures never lie....just ask Alastair Darling!!!

ansbaradigeidfran

Greg66 wrote:

Don't like fixed. Want gears.

Get thyself one of these!

AMRcycling

Belv wrote:

I've been trying to come up with an excuse, er, reason to buy a fixie, now i have one!

That will be my next bike - steel frame.
Mostly for training as they do help to improve pedalling technique.
Not sure if I will ride one in the traffic...

laughingboy

ansbaradigeidfran wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Don't like fixed. Want gears.

Get thyself one of these!

Or a brand new one of these, when they appear next year:

http://sunrace-sturmeyarcher.blogspot.com/2008/09/s3x-fixed-gear-3-speed.html

greg66_tri_v2.0

ansbaradigeidfran wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Don't like fixed. Want gears.

Get thyself one of these!

My first geared bike had one of those. I always wondered what elaborate machinations went on inside that hub...

wgwarburton

Greg66 writes:

> My first geared bike had one of those.

Are you sure it was one of these and not a standard 3-speed? ASCs were pretty esoteric when they were in production, let alone since...
A fixie with (easily) variable gears is hard to achieve: the ASC & TF have been out of production for decades and modifying existing hub gears is not straightforward.

Cheers,
W.

greg66_tri_v2.0

WGWarburton wrote:

Greg66 writes:

> My first geared bike had one of those.

Are you sure it was one of these and not a standard 3-speed? ASCs were pretty esoteric when they were in production, let alone since...
A fixie with (easily) variable gears is hard to achieve: the ASC & TF have been out of production for decades and modifying existing hub gears is not straightforward.

Cheers,
W.

On closer reading, no. I had the standard 3 speed.

I do recall that flimsy little chain sticking out of the hub. Quite fascinating.

DiggingDeeper

Greg - was this it?



Sturmey super star......