Who Rides Fixed?, Fixed gear bikes that is Options

[Coomer]

I know at least a couple others ride Ffxed gear bikes, so I figured I'd find out who else rides a fixie.

I just got mine last Friday...it's a Mercier Kilo TT and I love it...easily the best $500 I've spent in years. You just feel so in touch with the road on a fixed-gear...plus it's way faster than riding a bus/driving a car/riding a longboard in downtown Seattle.







New MKS track pedals are on the way, and I plan to get a new seat soon too.

Who else rides fixed?

[TRD_Ian]

gotta love rollin the pant leg up to avoid tangles lol...i have been lookin in to one of these but think i might stick to a trusty mountain bike or bmx bike..i live in the city with a hudge hill lol....sucks for fixed gear bikes

[bseaman_5]

Bmx over here. Trek, if I get the chance I'll get a pic up

[96bluevert]

My friend's got a one speed bike and that thing is alot of fun to ride around on.

[Coomer]

gotta love rollin the pant leg up to avoid tangles lol...i have been lookin in to one of these but think i might stick to a trusty mountain bike or bmx bike..i live in the city with a hudge hill lol....sucks for fixed gear bikes

I live in a city with huge hills too...my gearing isn't optimal for hills and I have to walk up some of them, but aside from steep hills, the fixie is a blast. You should at least try one out and see if you like it.

Bmx over here. Trek, if I get the chance I'll get a pic up

Nice...I used to ride my DK Cincinnati BMX a lot. Now though, I much prefer the new ride.

[punkuup5150]

i just got a specialized Rockhopper comp disk a few weeks ago. replaced my hardrock my brother got stolen a few years ago ive prolly put 30 or 40 miles on it allready rideing some backtrails around my town. lots of fun and great for short trips around town but i need a new seat my butt swallows it >_<
Specialized Rockhopper comp disk

what it looks like

This post has been edited by punkuup5150: Oct 25, 2008 - 11:57 PM

[Hanyo]

I've never liked those fix gears bike. Sure they are lighter and more reliable then conventional geared bikes. But i love going through all the gear as I accelerate and dropping gears as i come to a stop.

[95CelicaST]

Nice ride Coomer. I ride fixed, but I rock it without brakes.


Did you pick up your Kilo from BikesDirect?

here are some dark pictures. I'll take it out today for some photos.




This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Oct 26, 2008 - 2:04 PM

[shaunrichard]

I know at least a couple others ride Ffxed gear bikes, so I figured I'd find out who else rides a fixie.

I just got mine last Friday...it's a Mercier Kilo TT and I love it...easily the best $500 I've spent in years. You just feel so in touch with the road on a fixed-gear...plus it's way faster than riding a bus/driving a car/riding a longboard in downtown Seattle.

New MKS track pedals are on the way, and I plan to get a new seat soon too.

Who else rides fixed?

I'm not trying to knock it, just to understand it. What, exactly is the advantage to a fixed-gear bike? I ask because I may have to give up running after a knee injury and I have seen fixed gear bikes advertised in my initial search, but I know nothing about them. Also, I notice that there is a front caliper/hand brake on yours, Coomer. Is that the only brake or does it work by pushing back on the pedals?

Please forgive my ignorance, but at least I'm trying to find out stuff. Thanks.

This post has been edited by shaunrichard: Oct 27, 2008 - 8:38 PM

[RickJamesBish]

If that's you in those pics Coomer, you are so awesome to have one leg rolled up.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you just pedaling your nuts off (not your nuts, specifically) when you're trying to haul ass with a fixed gear?

[95CelicaST]

If that's you in those pics Coomer, you are so awesome to have one leg rolled up.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you just pedaling your nuts off (not your nuts, specifically) when you're trying to haul ass with a fixed gear?

That is Coomer, and it's mighty hipster of him with one pant leg rolled up.

And no, you aren't pedaling your nuts off- you have a good all-around gearing and it is quite easy to go very fast without much effort at all.

I'm not trying to knock it, just to understand it. What, exactly is the advantage to a fixed-gear bike? I ask because I may have to give up running after a knee injury and I have seen fixed gear bikes advertised in my initial search, but I know nothing about them. Also, I notice that there is a front caliper/hand brake on yours, Coomer. Is that the only brake or does it work by pushing back on the pedals?

Please forgive my ignorance, but at least I'm trying to find out stuff. Thanks.

There isn't a real arguable advantage to fixed gear riding, it's just a matter of preference. I enjoy it because a few years ago I screwed up my knee and had surgery to correct it. The great thing about fixed gear is that I cannot coast, which forces me to keep my spin (bike term for RPM's ) up. This also increases circulation to my knee and has helped me exponentially.

As for brakes, fixed gear bikes don't benefit much from a rear brake, you aren't going so fast that you need one, however it's all about how comfortable you are. Personally I run without brakes, just because I can exert enough pressure pushing against the pedals to come to a safe stop. You just have to be (literally) looking ahead for potential dangers.

Plus, the great thing about most fixed gear bikes is that they come with whats known as a "flip flop rear hub" meaning that you can put a BMX freewheel on one side (allowing you to coast) and have your fixed cog on the other side (no coasting).


I would implore you to go and try it. It takes a couple rides before you get comfortable with it, but it's been the best decision I've made for my health.

[RickJamesBish]

That is Coomer, and it's mighty hipster of him with one pant leg rolled up.

And no, you aren't pedaling your nuts off- you have a good all-around gearing and it is quite easy to go very fast without much effort at all.

I was gonna use something other than hipsters, but in light of him being admin...

[Coomer]

Yeah Matt, I got it from BikesDirect. I recently got new pedals and just got a new flat bar last weekend. Call it what you want, but unless I wear skinny jeans, I ride with my pant leg rolled up...I wouldn't want to get my jeans caught in my chain.

And yeah, like Matt said, you can stop just by putting resistance on the pedals. I'm not to the point yet where I can stop as fast as with a brake using just my legs, especially on steep hills.

What gearing are you running Matt?

[96bluevert]

Didn't notice before, but I have those exact same Etnies as you Coomer


Are fixed bikes less strain on your body than a regular geared bike?

[95CelicaST]

Yeah Matt, I got it from BikesDirect. I recently got new pedals and just got a new flat bar last weekend. Call it what you want, but unless I wear skinny jeans, I ride with my pant leg rolled up...I wouldn't want to get my jeans caught in my chain.

And yeah, like Matt said, you can stop just by putting resistance on the pedals. I'm not to the point yet where I can stop as fast as with a brake using just my legs, especially on steep hills.

What gearing are you running Matt?

You got a set of Risers? did you also get Oury grips? hipster. I couldn't see you wearing skinny jeans. That would be odd.

I think my gearing is 46/15. BikesDirect says mine comes with a 16t cog, but they lied. It doesn't matter though, I pulled the formula cog and lockring and put on a Surly 15t cog and lockring. I would recommend it to anyone to spend the 40 or so dollars and pick up the new lockring and cog.


Are you on bikeforums Coomer?

[Coomer]

You got a set of Risers? did you also get Oury grips? hipster. I couldn't see you wearing skinny jeans. That would be odd.

I think my gearing is 46/15. BikesDirect says mine comes with a 16t cog, but they lied. It doesn't matter though, I pulled the formula cog and lockring and put on a Surly 15t cog and lockring. I would recommend it to anyone to spend the 40 or so dollars and pick up the new lockring and cog.


Are you on bikeforums Coomer?

Yeah, I think they'd be considered risers. They're some bars I found at Recycled Cycles for $10, and they're pretty sweet. I've got Specialized grips though. I thought hipsters rode with no brakes.

I'm not on BikeForums yet...I'll should join sometime soon.

[gt_driFFter]

So what do you do when you're going down a hill and your pedals are spinning way to fast to keep your feet on?

[Coomer]

So what do you do when you're going down a hill and your pedals are spinning way to fast to keep your feet on?

I've gone down some steep hills and it's pretty easy to keep your feet on because typically most fixed-gear bikes have clipless pedals or toe straps to keep your feet in place. Your legs just get moving really fast.

[gt_driFFter]

But coasting is just so nice/fun/relaxing!

Very cool bikes, btw

[bizzerk]

Use to ride my KHE bmx all day was so much fun. Then i got my 6gc =[

This post has been edited by bizzerk: Nov 12, 2008 - 2:03 AM

[blu94gt]

Not to bring this back from the dead but have any of you guys converted a bike to a fixed gear? I've been wanting to try a fixie for a while now but can't afford some of these nice new bikes, but could easily find an old road bike to make my winter project.

[95CelicaST]

I've got an old schwinn crosscut converted, and it cost me well over what my Windsor was. The biggest problem is the rear dropout. fixed gears are generally track frames that have horizontal drop outs. this allows you to pull the wheel back to tighten the chain. with older road bikes they have vertical dropouts, because tension isn't kept at the cassette gears, but at the chain guide that hangs off of the frame. they have conversion kits, but they arent very effective.

i only spent 300 dollars on my brand new Windsor (list is 795) and you can get the same deal at www.bikesdirect.com

my schwinn conversion cost me somewhere in the range of 400-500. most of that was the wheelset and a new flip flop hub.

[Coomer]

Not to bring this back from the dead but have any of you guys converted a bike to a fixed gear? I've been wanting to try a fixie for a while now but can't afford some of these nice new bikes, but could easily find an old road bike to make my winter project.

To bring this back from the dead, I've converted a few bikes recently. Like Matt said, the main cost is a new wheelset. I found nice wheelsets (Velocity Deep-V and Weinmann DP-18 rims laced to Formula hubs) on eBay for $140-180 and got a really nice Dura-Ace/Velocity wheelset locally for $130. The rest of the parts were sourced used from eBay or local bike shops for cheap.

Here are a couple of my conversions.





Matt, you have pictures of your conversion?

[95CelicaST]

Somewhere. Presently it's in pieces in my garage, but i'll see if I can find some photos. If not I'll try to put it back together this weekend. Weather has been crappy and the tires on my Windsor don't like inclimate weather, so I haven't been riding much.

[Coomer]

Sweet...have you modded the Windsor much since you got it?

[95CelicaST]

Cheap mods if you will.

Dimenson bars
Dimension stem
Fizik bar tape


once it's not so crappy outside I am looking to put on some Gatorskin tires and a Suguino messenger crank. With the potential for moving to Seattle this summer I'll probably invest in a Tektro front brake setup.

[uberschall]

i've been riding brakeless fixed for about 2 years.

some time ago i posted some pictures of my beat-up late-70's motobecane conversion in one of the "other rides" threads. i recently threw the wheels (electric blue deep-v's on surly track hubs, built by yours truly) and some other parts on an old raleigh supercourse frame that i got off craigslist.

if i don't go broke trying to fix my stupid celica, i'm probably going to buy a steamroller soon...since riding a suicide fork and 30 year old brazed frames gives me the heebie jeebies.