Fixed gear growing in popularity?!!?

http://www.registerguard.com/news/20...gear.0320.html
I would never have thought this would make a comback! I can barely remember
riding a fixed as a small child. Although I must admit I do see a lot of the
older people down here in the Sunshine State riding fixed adult trikes.
Maybe it isn't just a Florida thing.

Ken
--
More of my mind dribblings: http://mind-dribble.blogspot.com/
And my homepage: http://kcm-home.tripod.com/

Ken Marcet wrote:
http://www.registerguard.com/news/20...gear.0320.html
I would never have thought this would make a comback! I can barely
remember
riding a fixed as a small child. Although I must admit I do see a lot
of the
older people down here in the Sunshine State riding fixed adult
trikes.
Maybe it isn't just a Florida thing.

Fixed gear bikes have been popular for ages for off-season riding. The
idea was to improve your high-speed pedaling. A lot of people ride them
because they're fun, others because they're considered hip. The article
above was wrong about a few things, especially brakes. If y ou relly
want to know about fixers, see Sheldon Brown's site.

"Peter Cole" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ken Marcet wrote:
http://www.registerguard.com/news/20...gear.0320.html
I would never have thought this would make a comback! I can barely
remember
riding a fixed as a small child. Although I must admit I do see a lot
of the
older people down here in the Sunshine State riding fixed adult
trikes.
Maybe it isn't just a Florida thing.

Fixed gear bikes have been popular for ages for off-season riding. The
idea was to improve your high-speed pedaling. A lot of people ride them
because they're fun, others because they're considered hip. The article
above was wrong about a few things, especially brakes. If y ou relly
want to know about fixers, see Sheldon Brown's site.

Yeah, I know that Sheldon likes the fixies, but I thought it might just be
him, I really don't think I would enjoy riding one, perhaps maybe someday, I
will do a project fixed or something.

Ken

What appeals to me is the simplicity of it. I would not want to give up
my gears, but I have been thinking of building up a fixed gear extra
bike using Sheldon's directions. It would be fun to rescue an old frame
and update it with modern brakes, etc. I am not quite confident enough
yet to tackle it, but maybe I will try it this summer.

I ride a fixed gear and I LOVE it. Simplicity is nice -- I mean, you
have so few moving parts, that what can go wrong with it?

I've been commuting on one, and recently took it on a couple of long
rides. A 60 miler, because I figured it would handicap me sufficiently
to do a lesurely ride with my girlfriend. This weekend, a friend
needed a bike, and I had my regular bike and my fixie. He wasn't going
to ride the fixie, so I did 75 miles on it. Well, I wound up Pulling
my friend for the last 15 miles, even though he was on an indy-fab ti
crown jewel with campy record 10.

Although it seems like it must be more difficult -- I didn't find the
ride to be much more challenging than a regular ride. You do need to
anticipate road conditions and other riders' actions a little more
diligently -- and you CANT hang in a hard sprint. But, it is a ton of
fun, and its nice to not ever be thinking about your gears. Its just
you, the road, the chain, and your legs.

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 09:58:27 -0600, catzz66 wrote:

What appeals to me is the simplicity of it. I would not want to give up
my gears,

There is also another aspect to it. With a geared bike, getting up a
steep hill is more a matter of technology than strength. On a fixed gear,
it's you against the mountain.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The lottery is a tax on those who fail to understand
_`\(,_ | mathematics.
(_)/ (_) |

I commuted all winter on a converted road frame set up with a 42x20. It's
low enough to get into a headwind here in OK and also carry baggage. One
other plus - when it's cold, the lower speed and higher cadence keeps me
warm. Fixies can't be beat for simplicity. This one has sealed bearing
hubs and a conventional bottom bracket assembly. Basically, the only
maintenance is seeing that the wheels are true and applying some chain lube
every week or two. Gotta love it!

--

alan

Anyone who believes in a liberal media has never read the "Daily Oklahoman."


"MJR" wrote in message
ups.com...
I ride a fixed gear and I LOVE it. Simplicity is nice -- I mean, you
have so few moving parts, that what can go wrong with it?

I've been commuting on one, and recently took it on a couple of long
rides. A 60 miler, because I figured it would handicap me sufficiently
to do a lesurely ride with my girlfriend.

David L. Johnson wrote:
On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 09:58:27 -0600, catzz66 wrote:

What appeals to me is the simplicity of it. I would not want to
give up
my gears,

There is also another aspect to it. With a geared bike, getting up a
steep hill is more a matter of technology than strength. On a fixed
gear,
it's you against the mountain.

--


Another nice advantage is that when you're trying to motivate a newbie
- you can tell them "look, if I can take this bridge on this bike, you
can take it on yours!" Although it's a little dishonest -- if a little
fib gives a newbie self-confidence, I consider it worthwhile.

alan wrote:
I commuted all winter on a converted road frame set up with a 42x20.
It's
low enough to get into a headwind here in OK and also carry baggage.
One
other plus - when it's cold, the lower speed and higher cadence keeps
me
warm. Fixies can't be beat for simplicity. This one has sealed
bearing
hubs and a conventional bottom bracket assembly. Basically, the only
maintenance is seeing that the wheels are true and applying some
chain lube
every week or two. Gotta love it!

I also commute on a fixed gear. Another advantage when riding in
traffic is that it limits my downhill speed (here in San Diego there
are a lot of hills), giving me a little more time to react to bonehead
actions by motorists.

An additional advantage, not related to commuting, is that in the rain
you can control your downhill speed without using your brakes.

Tom

Ken Marcet wrote:

http://www.registerguard.com/news/20...gear.0320.html I
would never have thought this would make a comback! I can barely remember
riding a fixed as a small child. Although I must admit I do see a lot of
the older people down here in the Sunshine State riding fixed adult
trikes. Maybe it isn't just a Florida thing.

Are you sure you aren't confusing "fixed" with "single-speed"? On a fixed
gear bicycle you cannot coast at all.

When I was little my first bicycle was a single speed with a coaster brake
(in other words, you stopped the bike by applying back-pressure to the
pedals).

--
Benjamin Lewis

A small, but vocal, contingent even argues that tin is superior, but they
are held by most to be the lunatic fringe of Foil Deflector Beanie science.