Get your fixie in Urban Cyclist magazine

JW83

Urban Cyclist magazine, from the makers of Procycling, is launching as a fully fledged magazine on the 10 December. We're looking for readers to send in pictures of their fixed gear or single-speed bikes for the first issue, along with details of the bike, where you ride and why you love to ride it. All photos, in as high a resolution as possible, should be sent to Jamie Wilkins at Jamie.Wilkins@futurenet.com.

DonDaddyD

Reckon the name of the magazine should be changed from 'Urban Cyclist' to 'Fakenger Scum'...

Anyway, I'll send my photo's in but here's my article:

Details of the bike: Stolen frame, gunmetal in colour. De-stickered halo wheels, white rim. White tyres. Single speed. Bull horn bars wraped in leather bar tape. No brakes. Brown leather Brookes saddle.

Where I ride: On the pan flat roads in London, I haven't got gears so I can't go uphill.

Why I love to ride it: It's counter culture, I'm different with my skinny jeans, mocha chocolate coffee and iPhone, iPad and iPod.

dhope

DonDaddyD wrote:

Reckon the name of the magazine should be changed from 'Urban Cyclist' to 'Fakenger Scum'...

Anyway, I'll send my photo's in but here's my article:

Details of the bike: Stolen frame, gunmetal in colour. De-stickered halo wheels, white rim. White tyres. Single speed. Bull horn bars wraped in leather bar tape. No brakes. Brown leather Brookes saddle.

Where I ride: On the pan flat roads in London, I haven't got gears so I can't go uphill.

Why I love to ride it: It's counter culture, I'm different with my skinny jeans, mocha chocolate coffee and iPhone, iPad and iPod.

Pan flat? I'll have you know my 30mph Balham Hill ascent was on the fixed

rjsterry

DonDaddyD wrote:

Reckon the name of the magazine should be changed from 'Urban Cyclist' to 'Fakenger Scum'...

Anyway, I'll send my photo's in but here's my article:

Details of the bike: Stolen frame, gunmetal in colour. De-stickered halo wheels, white rim. White tyres. Single speed. Bull horn bars wraped in leather bar tape. No brakes. Brown leather Brookes saddle.

Where I ride: On the pan flat roads in London, I haven't got gears so I can't go uphill.

Why I love to ride it: It's counter culture, I'm different with my skinny jeans, mocha chocolate coffee and iPhone, iPad and iPod.

Still not enjoying the new job then?

SteppenHerring

A bit harsh 3D. My commuter is fixed and I'm not (much of) a tw@t. I may be an idiot because my commute isn't at all flat. It is ultra-cool though as it has drop bars, mudguards, two brakes and bar tape that was once white.

iPete

Real men ride fixies, fact.

But mine is fugly and practical yet impracticable in equal measures.

Paul E

Urban cyclists don't all ride fixies

EKE_38BPM

Paul E wrote:

Urban cyclists don't all ride fixies

Yeah, some have had their wheels stolen and ride SS.

Fireblade96

My fixie's brown, has both front&rear brakes and mudguards, and my commute's mostly rural/riverside.

I don't think I fit the target demographic

pangolin

iPete wrote:

Real men ride fixies, fact.

But mine is fugly and practical yet impracticable in equal measures.

+1

rubertoe

Fixies = Meh

Its not 1912 the freewheel has now been invented as have derailleurs.


I'd love a fixie, i'm just not man enough

EKE_38BPM

rubertoe wrote:

Fixies = Meh

Its not 1912 the freewheel has now been invented as have derailleurs.


I'd love a fixie, i'm just not man enough

I've been riding SS for a couple of days and it feels slower and lazier than riding fixed. The hills feel harder too.
FG DOES feel better than riding with a freewheel.

Barnet Hill on a fixie will put hair on your chest.

rubertoe

EKE_38BPM wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

Fixies = Meh

Its not 1912 the freewheel has now been invented as have derailleurs.


I'd love a fixie, i'm just not man enough

I've been riding SS for a couple of days and it feels slower and lazier than riding fixed. The hills feel harder too.
FG DOES feel better than riding with a freewheel.

Barnet Hill on a fixie will put hair on your chest.

It's not Barnet Hill that worries me, i'ts getting from Camden to Finchely (Archway road, Swains Lane, Highgate West and North Hills and up through Hampstead is where it would hurt)

jds_1981

rubertoe wrote:

It's not Barnet Hill that worries me, i'ts getting from Camden to Finchely (Archway road, Swains Lane, Highgate West and North Hills and up through Hampstead is where it would hurt)

Had a friend who wanted showing the way to a friends house in north London. Asked me for an escort as I know the area better. Ended up taking him up muswell hill (ooo err) when I was on 48 * 16. When I turned left I saw it & figured the only way to deal with the slope was to attack. Wasn't too bad.

**I lie. I sprinted a good way up. My heart then tried to jump out of my chest so I had to stop, wait a few minutes then push it the rest of the way.

bushu

ss i cant pedal any faster & build speed downhill no matter how hard i try, flats peaking round 20mph but uphill i own

would riding fixie allow me to spin faster eventually? or will it just chew up my legs going downhill?

pastryboy

I never call it a 'fixie'.
It has panniers.
It has mudguards.

Not sure if qualifying as urban?

EKE_38BPM

bushu wrote:

ss i cant pedal any faster & build speed downhill no matter how hard i try, flats peaking round 20mph but uphill i own

would riding fixie allow me to spin faster eventually? or will it just chew up my legs going downhill?

20mph?! Really? What gear do you ride, 42 x 19? That would explain owning the uppy bits.

Sounds to me like you are spinning out due to low gearing. Use this page to enter your gearing and from that your gear inches. It will also tell you what your cadence will be for different speeds. Using 42 x 19 (59.2 Gear Inches) as an example, 20 mph would be about 115 rpm (which is pretty damned spinny), but a sprocket change to 42 x 15 (74.9 GI) would bring your cadence at 20 mph down to a much more reasonable 90 rpm.

Riding fixed is more of a workout than SS as you are always pedalling, but it feels really good around town. It does kind of force you to MTFU and this can mean you are quicker up hills (even than on a geared bike). You just need to choose your gear wisely. Too big a gear and you will have a higher top end, but will be slow away from the lights, going up hill will hurt but going down will be more comfortable. Too small a gear and you will be have a lower top speed but you'll be quicker away from the lights, climbing hills will be easier but going down hills could feel like your legs will be ripped from their sockets.

If you do ride fixed, use foot retention (toe clips, SPDs etc) and have at least a front brake.

Try it.

Paul E

I'm going to rip the starter motor out of my car and fit a starting handle and fit solid rubber tyres, might as well if we are going the whole retrograde route

iPete

Paul E wrote:

I'm going to rip the starter motor out of my car and fit a starting handle and fit solid rubber tyres, might as well if we are going the whole retrograde route

if you are going to use cars to compare it's more akin to taking all the driver aids off and driving around in a Caterham

Paul E

Caterhams are very advanced compared to early cars though, I was comparing an early car with early bikes

iPete

As I ride a modern fixie, it's a better comparison

You either get fixed or you don't and generally those who don't have never actually put down any decent mileage on one.

dhope

Paul E wrote:

Caterhams are very advanced compared to early cars though, I was comparing an early car with early bikes

Track bikes are very advanced compared to early bikes though.
Go Kart vs Ford Focus maybe. Certainly the latter is more sensible.

Paul E

Go karts are not comparable to early cars. Early cars had solid tyres, starter handles etc etc thats the anaolgy I was trying to make.

The materials maybe and the methods to make them but the mechanics aren't advanced.

jds_1981

Aer you making fun of my velocipede?
http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/museumcollecti ... hp?irn=466

jds_1981

According to wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle
First popular bike "the boneshaker" = 1860s
Every day use ~1880
first freewheel patent - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freewheel - 1869
first real freewheel in use - 1902/1903.

wgwarburton

Paul E wrote:

Go karts are not comparable to early cars. Early cars had solid tyres, starter handles etc etc thats the anaolgy I was trying to make.

The materials maybe and the methods to make them but the mechanics aren't advanced.

I think your analogy was flawed :-). The driver-aids comparison is better, I think, as a "modern" fixie is more akin to a modern bike without the complex bits than to an antique with complex bits added!

If we want to continue the cars comparisons, a fixie is more akin to a modern classic than a vintage car. It's reasonably contemporary (fully in the case of an actual track bike) and pretty quick, as well as being fun to ride.

An '80s Porsche or an MG or TVR, for example, is not going to be faster than a new one but it will be fun to drive :-), though it'll ask a bit more of the driver than an Audi TT or a Honda CRZ... Similary riding a fixie isn't as easy as riding a geared bike but can be more rewarding. And Cheaper.

Cheers,
W.

dhope

Paul E wrote:

Go karts are not comparable to early cars. Early cars had solid tyres, starter handles etc etc thats the anaolgy I was trying to make.

The materials maybe and the methods to make them but the mechanics aren't advanced.

Modern fixed gear bikes are not comparable to early bikes. That's the analogy we were trying to make.
The mechanics aren't advanced, sure. No moreso than Chris Hoy's track bike at least.

Paul E

The drive train is, it's exactly the same as the first fixed wheeled bikes save for advances in chains etc but one big sprocket driving a smaller fixed one on the back wheel with no freewheel is exactly the same, that's the anaogy I was making by satying i should strip off modern things like a starter and pnumatic tyres from my car.

pangolin

Early bikes didn't have pneumatic tyres. Modern fixed bikes do.

Paul E

pangolin wrote:

Early bikes didn't have pneumatic tyres. Modern fixed bikes do.

Yes which is why I said about taking off pneumatic tyres off my car along with the starter motor. those things are improvements which is why I just don't know why people get rid of a reliable and useful device like the freewheel off their bikes, it's a backward step. Call me mad but I like things easy.

JamesB5446

Does having a starter motor make your car less efficient? Because having a free wheel will make your bike less efficient.

Just admit it, you made a silly comparison.