Fixies

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J

Joe24

More serious cyclist than Bonj
Location
Nottingham
Radius said:
Oh don't worry, I go fast enough to avoid the spray :rofl:
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Woop woop:becool:


I have been in Derbyshire for the past few sundays, then went out on the normal club ride. Normally on the first hill, im not too far ahead. This sunday, i went up and wasnt pushing it, turned around and they were way behind.
They were all on geared bikes aswell, some very expensive carbon ones aswell:wacko: And, they couldnt win on sprints up hills, even with a head start. Nor could they win sprints for signs, didnt do many though:becool:

Gears? Pah!!:blush:
 
Tynan

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
loads of fashion types riding tings with colouted chains and wheels on my route, usually either very slow or meduium paced

but the odd bloke flies, i rode witha bloke today with a cheeky tailwind at some rapid speeds, mid 20s and he was there all the way
 
U

User482

Guest
zimzum42 said:
No different from slamming it on with a regular geared bike as far as I can see.

When you're braking with plenty of notice on a geared, you use the back brake. With a fixie you use your legs. Its only in close moments you slam on the brakes whichever bike. As for the fixie, I do use the front brake when feeling a bit lazy too!
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I just wondered how it would work with the pedals still going round. When you slam the brakes on a normal bike, you're freewheeling...

(You have to understand that the last fixie I rode was a Halford's Pippin. It had stabilisers.)
 
andyfromotley

andyfromotley

New Member
Location
Otley, west yorks
i know people some people on here are a bit slating about 'fads and fashion' but anything that draws people to cycling is welcome in my eyes. If its a fixie that some dont like so be it.

When i started playing golf i i bought a cheap half set from argos that most people sniggered at and said 'i wouldn't hit my wife with them'. Set me off on a love affair with the game which has seen me be a low handicapper for 20 years. Those who mocked my argod specials are still on the same handicap, but imagine if thier sniggering had put me off?
 
S

skwerl

New Member
Location
London
Radius said:
Here's some questions and some answers:
Do I ride what you'd probably call a 'fashion fixed'? Yes.
Do I ride brakeless? Yes.
Am I a courier? No.
Do I have more fun riding it? Probably.
Do I care what anyone else thinks? No.

The problem I have with people seeing fixed gear riding as now being a 'fad' and interesting / individual looking bikes being 'hipster', is the generalisation that these 'hipsters' don't know what they're doing or don't ride well. Sure, some of them are completely in it for the looks and make awful decisions like running SS with just a front brake, but your bike doesn't have to be a utilitarian mudguarded monster to mean that you're serious or skilled as a cyclist. Sometimes people like to have a bit of fun, which I why I went to the opposite extreme of my road bike / road riding. I don't see the problem with that...
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why go brakeless though? would it be less fun if you put a front brake on? Unlikely
Would it be less fashionable and less credible amongst the brakeless community? Probably but you don't care what ohther people think so this isn't a consideration.
I'm not having a go. I'm really interested in why someone would choose to run brakeless (Ignoring the boring and obvious legal reason for not doing so).
I can understand someone getting hold of a track bike and having no way of running brakes without drilling etc. but you say you have a "fashion fixed" so it will have the option of running a brake.
 
Radius

Radius

SHREDDER
Location
London
I didn't mean the fun bit with regards to brakeless, I meant it in general, more 'fun' than riding my road bike, for example.
There are a few reasons I don't currently run a brake: firstly, because I never used the front brake in the time I had it on. Aside from that, the front wheel is not perfectly true and doesn't have a great braking surface. The frame was designed for 27" wheels meaning that to use brakes requires calipers with a long 'drop', most of which are old and fairly ineffectual, and the pads unsuitable for braking on the rim I'm running. More superficially, the brake lever also gets in the way of my favoured hand position.
 
swee'pea99

swee'pea99

Squire
I cannot imagine riding without a front brake. My attempts at reverse/retarded pedaling are improving slightly, but from a very low base. I dread to think what would happen on one of the big hills near me if I lost my front brake going downhill...I literally would not be able to stop (other than by crashing into something..I guess that would work!)
 
H

hackbike 666

Guest
Originally Posted by Hackbike 666
Here's some questions and some answers:
Did I ride what you'd probably call a 'fashion fixed'? No.
Did I ride brakeless? No.
Was I a courier? No.
Did I have more fun riding it? Definitely.
Did I care what anyone else thinks? No.

For when I used to ride fixie.

Plan to get another with a proper track frame.
 
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