It's embarrassed by best bike :/

[earth]

The fixed is almost all metallic. The only carbon is the fork and the rest is mainly aluminium. Despite this it weighs about the same as my carbon frame fun bike and cost about half the price.

Since I've been riding it I have been really getting used to the bullhorn bars and the feeling of being at one with the bike. So much so that riding the roadie feels strange. I have an unconscious fear of freewheeling. Which in someways is good but not so good for leaning into a corner with the inside pedal up. As soon as I got on the roadie the cranks just felt strange, like there was nothing there and turning the crank back to set the pedals was just weird.

How long before you can comfortably swap between fixed and freewheel?

I'm worried that the fixed has become the new fun bike and not just an everyday commuter.

 

[Theseus]

Sorry, your last sentance does not compute. Nothing wrong with the fixed being the fun bike. Mine gets a lot more use than all the other 4 bikes in the shed combined. Any of them will do for the commute, and the utility bike is better suited to carrying loads and running at night (hub dynamo), but the enjoyment of the fixed is what causes me to reach for it most days.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Another one here, the fixed is the weapon of choice, the kilmeston, which I just paid nine hundred quid for, feels strange for the first ten or fifteen miles and is not as fun to ride as the fixed. Perhaps we need to ditch the gears completely and go for fixed only?

 

[RedBike]

I was more or less the same. When I had the fixie I rarely rode anything else, all my other bikes just sat un-used.

I even ended up running the MTB fixed geared for a long while. Fixed wheeld was useless off-road (with me riding it), but it was great fun!

 

[palinurus]

How long before you can comfortably swap between fixed and freewheel?

You will, it might take some time though. I no longer have the feeling I can't freewheel when I have the option to, and I very rarely try to freewheel when I don't. About nine months for me.

 

[colinr]

I ride my fixed far more than my other bikes. There's nothing wrong with it

 

[e-rider]

I know that fear of freewheeling

 

[earth]

Sorry, your last sentance does not compute.

Hmmm, I understand. I'm just a bit put out that my best bike is no so much fun anymore. It's not a bad thing, just a change in the force as it were.

 

[earth]

Slowing down using legs is still difficult though. I don't have the coordination yet to do something as simple as pushing down with one foot while pulling up on the other despite doing exactly that when moving forward. I have not been able to lock the rear wheel and slide either. Something I might want to do in one of those emergency moments. I still haven't had one of those yet and I'm quite afraid of what will happen.

 

[Theseus]

The use of the legs to brake will come with practice. Personally I have 2 brakes on the bike as well as the leg braking and I tend to use these more so my leg braking skills are still low.

You don't want to be sliding your back wheel if you really want to stop. This provides a worse braking effect than not sliding. The knack is to have the leg braking about to slide, but not quite. If it does, back off a bit.

Some people think that siding the back wheel looks cool, my opinion is that it just puts flat spots on your rear tyre, but then I am an old fart.

 

[colinr]

If you're planning to learn skids I'd recommend sticking a lower gear on. I was taught this "skidding for beginners" and shall pass it on:

1. Get out of the saddle
2. Choose which leg will be taking the strain
3. On the downstroke of the opposite leg to (2), somewhere around the 1 o'clock position, put your weight forwards - groin to the stem sort of forwards - and lower yourself almost onto the top tube
4. This position lets you lock out the leg you chose in (2) as the upstroke kicks in, which in turn locks out the back wheel

Easier to practise in the wet and the using the horns of the bullhorns will let you get further forwards. Once you get the feel for it you can learn how to throw your weight into it more subtly. I leave skidding to the kids though, brakes are far easier on my bad knees (and I'm rubbish at it).

Slowing down with legs is just practise, I just fight against each upstroke and always remember to start resisting each one earlier than you think you should have to.

 

[earth]

I think you're both right that skidding is for kids and my hipster friend who suggested a fixed.

 

[henryst]

I remember seeing a minimalist fixie with handlebars barely wider than two hands side-by-side skidding to a stop sideways behind a bus in london traffic before overtaking it. It certainly left an impression and was uber-cool but not something I trust myself to do in an emergency so I never even try! I flip my wheel fairly regularly and I'm comfortable with both, the braking with legs takes some (but not much) getting used to. Ride freewheel for a while and keep your legs going even when you brake or corner, that way you'll be ready for the slightly weird feeling of continuous movement while riding fixed. After a while the fixed thing seems better than freewheel, you almost never need to stop for any length of time as you slow before lights etc. However beware of eventual knee pain caused by tightening of quads. A painful sports massage usually does the trick!

 

[smutchin]

Hmmm, I understand. I'm just a bit put out that my best bike is no so much fun anymore. It's not a bad thing, just a change in the force as it were.

I sympathise. I tend to ride fixed for preference these days, while my expensive carbon road bike languishes in the shed.

I just remind myself that they're different bikes for different purposes. The fixie has dynamo hub, mudguards and saddlebag, so it's ideal for commuting and audaxes, which accounts for most of the riding I do. I use the carbon bike mainly for Sunday morning club runs, or just when I want to pretend to be a racer. The only reason I don't ride the carbon bike more is that I don't do so much of that kind of cycling.

Having a range of gears is good when you want to just put your head down and maintain a high pace and steady cadence over all terrain. I used the carbon bike for a 200km audax in the summer and it was a real blast - I absolutely flew round, finishing in well under X hours*, which is ridiculously fast for me.

But there's no doubt that riding fixed is a hell of a lot of fun. Discovering fixed is what got me out of the cycling doldrums last winter when, for a while, I was absolutely fed up of the sight of bicycles.

d.

*censored to avoid suspicions of competitive attitude to audaxing.

 

[smutchin]

I have not been able to lock the rear wheel and slide either. Something I might want to do in one of those emergency moments. I still haven't had one of those yet and I'm quite afraid of what will happen.

Believe me, when the circumstances arise, you will find yourself learning how to do it very quickly indeed. BTDTGTTS.

d.