single speed/fixed bikes (for women)
- Thread starter baldrick
- Start date
tommers
Currently in investor / advisor mode.
the main reason i started riding fixed/single was because i was spending £100+ a month on parts- trade!
Yeah, exactly. If you're riding 60+ miles a day every day and you don't get paid if you're not working then it's important that your bike doesn't break down all the bloody time. If you're riding a 10 mile commute then that isn't quite as big a priority.
I am ready to eat my words though. I've got an old steel road bike in the shed that I might do up.. why should I make it fixed? (Bearing in mind that I live at the top of a 10% hill and have a 14 mile round trip every day.)
Herbsman.
Nah Lotion, Pet, Nor Powder.
If you're riding a 10 mile commute every day you're still going to have to service your bike fairly regularly, especially if there's 'bad weather'. You're going to get a lot of crap in your gears when it rains. You might want to make your commute as cheap as possible in the long run. You might not enjoy having a narrow chain that sometimes comes apart when you pedal hard (happened to me so many times with various brand new chains on new cassettes...) or slips off one of the cogs/chainrings when you're accelerating in front of a bunch of cars (saw that happen to a geezer the other day). You might just enjoy the simplicity and the feel of riding fixed.
I'm not saying YOU should ride fixed, but there are plenty of good reasons why other people ride fixed, and there are drawbacks too. But unless someone's constantly nagging you to give up all your multi-geared freewheel posessions in favour of a fixed wheel device, then it shouldn't really bother you...
I'm not saying YOU should ride fixed, but there are plenty of good reasons why other people ride fixed, and there are drawbacks too. But unless someone's constantly nagging you to give up all your multi-geared freewheel posessions in favour of a fixed wheel device, then it shouldn't really bother you...
tommers
Currently in investor / advisor mode.
well, I'm playing devil's advocate a bit.
But all those advantages you list... come on there must be more to it than that! Yeah, in bad weather you have to clean your chain and gears but so what? And yes, occasionally your chain breaks but it's happened to me twice in 20 years+ of cycling (both times in the past 2 years).
On the other hand you have to sit there and lift your back wheel up to get your pedals in the right position EVERY TIME you stop, you can't ever lift your pedals up to avoid kerbs and whatever else and (most importantly) you can't ever change gear! Uphill, downhill, flat, it's all the same cog... it's like it's the fucking 1800s.
I mean, god people can make whatever choices they like and like I said before I've never ridden them so maybe I'm due some kind of road to damascus epiphany... I can even see that they make perfect sense for couriers but it just smacks of the Emperor's new clothes to me...
I think it's probably cos I saw this shop in Shoreditch that was just selling fixies. Kind of reinforced my prejudices.
I should add by the way that I'm also just arguing for the sake of it. I want somebody to convince me I'm wrong really.
Boycey
juvenile rave slut
I think it's probably cos I saw this shop in Shoreditch that was just selling fixies. Kind of reinforced my prejudices.
the tokyo lot opposite the bagel shop? if so i've never dealt with them but i'm told they're pretty fucking contemptible.
a major thing about a fixed wheel is that it really teaches you how to pedal properly- in circles rather than stabs, i thought i was alright before but i'm now a much better cyclist because of it. winter training bikes of yore were always fixed for that very reason.
like herbsman says- i'm not saying you should, but there are plenty of reasons why it can be a good thing. for someone who takes a keen interest in cycling (and it's obvious you do) it's an experience not worth denying yourself.
tommers
Currently in investor / advisor mode.
Not sure, although I'm normally at the bagel shop if I'm in the area, so probably.
a major thing about a fixed wheel is that it really teaches you how to pedal properly- in circles rather than stabs, i thought i was alright before but i'm now a much better cyclist because of it. winter training bikes of yore were always fixed for that very reason.
like herbsman says- i'm not saying you should, but there are plenty of reasons why it can be a good thing. for someone who takes a keen interest in cycling (and it's obvious you do) it's an experience not worth denying yourself.
Yeah, I kind of thought it would come down to "you just need to try it"
although the pedalling thing sounds good and isn't something I had heard before...
Herbsman.
Nah Lotion, Pet, Nor Powder.
I'm too lazy to maintain a bike. I hate having to do anything to my bike when I get home - I just want to put it away and leave it until tomorrow. I haven't bothered to clean or lube my chain for over a month and it still runs smooth.
Eh? No you don't. Well I don't anyway. If you do, well, so what??
a) why would you need to do that, and b) never had a problem getting up or down kerbs.
bad man nuh need to change gear. uphill = pedal harder, downhill = pedal faster. simple!
You can't be 'wrong', it's a personal preference thing, there is no right or wrong, except riding fixed is right for me, and perhaps wrong for you.
Herbsman.
Nah Lotion, Pet, Nor Powder.
jesus wept that is fucking scary. that exact same bike was brought into sprocket on wednesday. i'll try and take a picture of it so you believe me
foxy racer.
baldrick
hmmmmm
funnily enough you're right
the bike needs new wheels too if i'm honest.i can't really afford a new bike though i *want* one so badly....my savings account is looking mighty tempting to dip into.
If it's really steep, you get out of the saddle.
It's really not going to stop you. If you have a fixed-gear, I think that even helps because the pedals are forced round.
Unfortunately my fixie was stolen last year, I really hope to replace it, no way would I now want a geared bike for London use. You're much lighter (you lose all the gear stuff, and the back brake), the bike looks awesome, there is so little to go wrong, if you may be a touch slower off the lights, your top speed is right up there with the fastest on the road. You have none of this clanking and eternal worrying about the gear change.
I think anyone doing without a front brake is insane though
The problem I found with the sora shifters (the model I had anyway)is that the part that holds the cable end in is made of nylon and as you tension the cable up to go on to the biggest cog you slowly rip through this nylon, and eventually end up with chewed mess of nylon in the shifter. I just bought new Tiagra ones and the cable is now locked in with a piece of metal
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