Toe nearly dipped in the fixed pool

[4F]

Looks nice Luke

 

[RedBike]

Evans have just called me to say they have the bike I asked to try in stock. I'm having a look at the Ridgeback Solo, my first fixed.
It comes with 48-18 freewheel setup, and I'll need to pluck up a bit of courage before I take to the streets fixed.

I've got the Ridgeback and i've ridden the Langster. They're two very different bikes. The Ridgeback takes full mud-guards + larger tyres and is more comfortable. The Langster is lighter and feels more agile

 

[RedBike]

It would make sense.

Look at how dodgy you and I are on fixed

Lol. For the last month or so i've had no fixie. I used the brakes going downhill so much I wore out the rims. The bikes now sat in a corner looking very sorry for itself waitiing to be treated to new wheels.

I had a very odd love hate relationship with the fixie. Its attacked me on several occations and even managed to throw me over the bonnet of a car. Despite riding it for over a year I still can't go downhill on it without being terrified.
Yet, strangely, it was always the bike I would pick up if I was going out for a ride on my own. I would rarely ride anything else.

I often thought the fixie would be improved no end if there was an emergengy stop button. You'd hit the button and be able to freewheel.

 

[stevevw]

got a couple of cracked ribs at the moment

Good Birthday on Friday Luke?

 

[redjedi]

Good Birthday on Friday Luke?

The ribs are a result of my wheel fitting failure last week. Friday helped to numb the pain though, and in the morning my head helped to distract further from the pain.
Was back to full agony on Sunday. Luckily I haven't needed to sneeze in the past week. I'm not looking forward to when it does happen though

 

[redjedi]

Well I'm now crouched by the side of the fixed pool with my armbands on.

Picked up a Ridgeback Solo last night which so far seems very nice. I need to set it up properly and go for a good spin but first impressions are very good.

Still only got a freewheel on for now, but I'll order a fixed sprocket and then pluck up the courage to use it

 

[palinurus]

Still only got a freewheel on for now, but I'll order a fixed sprocket and then pluck up the courage to use it

It took me a few weeks to get around to converting my Singlecross to fixed, but it's been a whole lot more interesting since. I rarely ride anything else now.

 

[RedBike]

Well I'm now crouched by the side of the fixed pool with my armbands on.

Picked up a Ridgeback Solo last night which so far seems very nice. I need to set it up properly and go for a good spin but first impressions are very good.

Still only got a freewheel on for now, but I'll order a fixed sprocket and then pluck up the courage to use it

I've got the same bike and I love it.
Its not the lightest of beasts, its almost as though Ridgeback have addapted a touring bikes frame. If you can put a carbon seatpost on it. This seems to improve the ride dramatically.

When you come to ride it fixed for the first time you might want to initially use a smaller ratio to what you use for single speeding. The theory being the lower the ratio the easier it is to slow the bike down via the pedals. So hopefully with a low ratio you will feel more incontrol of the bike and enjoy riding fixed wheel more. With a low ratio you will also be getting used to spinning like the clappers.

Once you've got used to riding fixed and spinning like the clappers then you will probably switch to a higher ratio to what you use for singlespeeding. The reason for this is that the 'fly-wheel' effect you get from riding fixed seems to give you a helping hand up the hills so you can climb running a slightly larger gear fixed than singlespeed.

 

[redjedi]

I've got the same bike and I love it.
Its not the lightest of beasts, its almost as though Ridgeback have addapted a touring bikes frame. If you can put a carbon seatpost on it. This seems to improve the ride dramatically.

When you come to ride it fixed for the first time you might want to initially use a smaller ratio to what you use for single speeding. The theory being the lower the ratio the easier it is to slow the bike down via the pedals. So hopefully with a low ratio you will feel more incontrol of the bike and enjoy riding fixed wheel more. With a low ratio you will also be getting used to spinning like the clappers.

Once you've got used to riding fixed and spinning like the clappers then you will probably switch to a higher ratio to what you use for singlespeeding. The reason for this is that the 'fly-wheel' effect you get from riding fixed seems to give you a helping hand up the hills so you can climb running a slightly larger gear fixed than singlespeed.

Your blog was one of the few sites that came up with a review of the RB Solo, and was very helpful in my decision.
I've already ordered a carbon seatpost picked up for £19 from PBK. Which I've just realised I'll need anyway as the seatpost supplied is very short and is a couple of CM to small.
I think I'll have to try a few sizes out and see how I get on.

Does anyone know where I can get cheap track cogs from, so I can experiment a bit without spending a small fortune?

 

[RedBike]

When I first got the bike I kept fitting larger and larger ratios thinking this would help me go downhill.

I didn't feel comfortable spinning like a mad man going downhill or around bends.
It only took one pothole while pedalling at 150rpm to throw me into a mild panic.

Irronically the larger the ratio I ran the less I was actually in-control. It took me months to realise what I actually needed to do was to ditch the large ratios and become comfortable pedalling quickly. Unfortunately this is easier said than done.

 

[Spin City]

redjedi: Good luck with your new purchase.

I've got a Genesis Skyline which is exactly the same bike as the Solo but mine's a couple of years old now i.e. It was bought before the name change.

I think it's a great bike and I've been very happy with mine. I asked the shop where I bought the bike to set it up as a fixed wheel so I've never known it as a 'single speed'. I've kept the gear ratio as 48/18 which I find is just about right.

The Skyline came with a carbon seatpost so obviously I've not had to change that. As I've now done approximately 5700km on it there are a few things I've had to replace because of wear and tear but overall it's been a very reliable bike.

You will no doubt have come across the bike's minor irritation in that there is some toe overlap but if you're careful this shouldn't cause any problems. I replaced the pedals immediately for clipless one's so I don't know if this makes the overlap better or worse.

One last thing, the tyres that came with the Skyline were not very good so I replaced those very early on. Also, the chainlength on my bike is such that I can remove the back wheel without having to do anything with the mudguard. i.e. the back wheel can be slid forward to get the chain off and then the wheel can be removed off the back without touching the mudguard. I'd advise that you get yours set up similarly (just in case you get any visits from that well known 'fairy').

 

[Aperitif]

Your blog was one of the few sites that came up with a review of the RB Solo, and was very helpful in my decision.
I've already ordered a carbon seatpost picked up for £19 from PBK. Which I've just realised I'll need anyway as the seatpost supplied is very short and is a couple of CM to small.
I think I'll have to try a few sizes out and see how I get on.

Does anyone know where I can get cheap track cogs from, so I can experiment a bit without spending a small fortune?

Yes - quickly mounts up Luke! Pannier rack, seatpost, next - a saddle...panniers (Ortlieb - of course) swap out the front wheel for a dynahub and mega blaster light, change poxy brake blocks for Koolstops, M+ for a bulletproof ride, fall off again...LET ALONE the brake levers are set up with the front brake on the right! Bloody 'English' bikes - cack-handed ne'erdowells...
Sheesh - it's never ending!

 

[4F]

Luke, welcome to the world of velo solo http://www.velosolo.co.uk/intro.html

 

[RedBike]

I nearly forgot.

For some reason on the stock Formula wheels if you just screw a track sprocket onto the fixed side of the hub it ends up being 1/2mm closer to the center of the hub than the single speed sprocket is.

This miss-alignment isn't enough to cause a problem, but to get everything running quitely and spot on then you might want to use a spacer.

http://www.velosolo.co.uk/bbspacers.html

 

[Aperitif]

I nearly forgot.

For some reason on the stock Formula wheels if you just screw a track sprocket onto the fixed side of the hub it ends up being 1/2mm closer to the center of the hub than the single speed sprocket is.

This miss-alignment isn't enough to cause a problem, but to get everything running quitely and spot on then you might want to use a spacer.

http://www.velosolo.co.uk/bbspacers.html

Purist!