Serious cyclists use them for winter training,good for pedal action,learning and understanding cadence,muscle endurance etc,couriers I can just about see the others who ride them are frankly just cunts.
I've got a fixie... Does have brakes though. In essence it's an absolute piece of piss to maintain and far cheaper than buying a geared bike of similar quality (really nice steel frame). Why fixed? Because the fuckers sent it that way and I got used to it pretty quickly so didn't bother changing. I quite like it. It's a Pompino, absolute joy to ride - very nimble. Like this one, but without carbon stays. I run it 48:18, not many hills in London that are a problem and I avoid them anyway. N.B I was a courier once and would rather stab myself in the face with a sharpened brake lever than join lfgss.
A back brake on a fixie? I'd kind of quite like one, not as my main bike, but as something robust that I didnt really give 2 shits about..... There's way too many hills where I live though.
That might not be fixed... I've got one on mine, but never use it. I don't brake with the back wheel anyway though.
I ride a fixed, a road bike, a touring bike and a mountain bike. I'm not a serious cyclists so I guess that makes me cunt only when I ride my fixed. Actually if anyone's a cunt it's those who base their views on fashion. Specifically anyone who dismisses the simple beauty of fixed bikes due to any preconceptions they have. That's a worse attitude than an hipster, at least a hipster embraces what they like rather than simply bitching about what fashions they don't like. Ride what you like, when you like. It's all about performance.
Don't get off your bike I'll pick up your pump.O.K. I made a sweeping statement.I think fixed wheel bikes are fine if your choosing it for utilitarian purposes however it seems to me most of the people I see riding them are poseurs who ride them to the pub occasionally,I also see occasionally some man/woman with a bag of tools slung on their back cycling to work something I sense they've been doing for donkeys years,more power to their elbows.As to whether your only a cunt when you ride your fixed wheel I have no idea.
Have to say that in all my decades of riding bikes with gears, the amount of time I've spent maintaining the gears can't add up to more than an hour.
Not for me, the slightest abnormal noise coming from down there and I have to spend ages tweaking it, and then the cables stretch or something and I have to do it all over again. I can't ride fixies though cos of my knees.
This and this. I'm currently after a maintenance free superlightish bike, though was going to opt for a hub gear system. like this: or this: Feel free to call me a cunt (or if anyone wishes to offer some advice on the bikes below, or suggest alternatives, I'm very welcome to them)
A shame these fixie riders don't do the obvious and totally enclose the transmission - albeit with a quick release cover - chunky chain, bath of oil - win-win-win
I ride a single speed cyclecross bike, there's very few hills round my way and if I come across them I use the power in my legs to negotiate them. S'not hard ya pussies
Soz... First one is a Mission Sutro...A california company that makes each one to spec, quite pricey and not sure of the quality of the components (and will be a mish to ship over here), though the do look damn fine https://www.missionbicycle.com/gallery/sutro-arbor Second one is a Schindelhauer Ludwig, comes in 3 variations of hub gear though will probably go for the 11 speed, and in the plain aluminum as pictured here: http://www.schindelhauerbikes.com/#/en/models/ludwig11/ The only problem is I'll want to put bulls or drops on it which raises the cost by a few hundred. These lot do have UK dealers though, so the ability to test one out is worth a lot. A couple more options here, all thoughts welcome! http://www.dshack.net/2012/04/a-rundown-of-urban-bicycles-with-clean-lines.html
Fashion, especially fashion of that kind, is a way of making a statement about who you are; it actively invites comment and judgement.
Personally wouldn't get an alu bike if I was spending that much, although it depends what you're using it for. Stiffness of the frame is liable to make long rides or commutes on rougher roads... uncomfortable.
That's why, on special occasions, I go for the socks and sandals combo. While being entirely practical on cold evenings I also take pleasure in the fashion statement.
Singlespeed is more efficient and wears the chain less because you will always get a perfect chainline. It's also a piece of piss to clean.
