BruceMetras

Thanks... no issues with the EBB.. nicely made, functions as advertised .. by design, there isn't much adjustment to take up chain slack, so you still have to get pretty close with gearing.. works great for my purpose..

caloso

Yes, that's what I'd heard. I was thinking of making my CX bike a single. I already have a DA 7800 crankset so all I'd need is the EBB and a spacer kit.

DiabloScott

Wow, I never heard of those - BRILLIANT!

TugaDude

Just did my first "fixed" ride the other day. I've been riding singlespeed for awhile, and of course when I was young that was all I had. My first ride on my 2008 Madison was awesome. I learned a lot, but I know that I need a lot more practice before going into heavy traffic, etc. I rode on a controlled, paved path and all was good. I did have to deal with some ice and snow, but just soldiered on and kept it pointing straight ahead and I didn't lose it.

I would be interested in any pointers on technique. I have two brakes, so that helps, but I would be interested in any tips on slowing down without brakes, (i.e. backpedalling), or anything else that comes to mind. I'm looking forward to better weather so that I can explore this fixed thing some more.

proantibicycle

"Forward Components EBB kit in stock 68mm BB for chain tension adjustments."

Has anyone here ever had experience with the White Industries ENO Eccentric hub for chain tensioning? I have a frame similar to this but would like more play in the adjustment so I can switch cogs if I need to.

vinfix

I'm closing in quickly on 48. I've been riding a fixed gear about 5 years. I've built a few for myself and friends. Here's the one I kept, I just put a new Vuelta 46T crank and Sugino cartridge BB. It's an early 80's Zebra Tempest, rescued from the street on Sparkle Day. I've put a lot of lipstick on it, Performance carbon fork, Easton carbon seatpost, Mavic track wheels, and a Surly 17T cog with the new crank. Super smooth & quiet.

TugaDude

Love the colors. Nice job, I bet it is a smooth ride!

thirdgenbird

i have an eno eccentric hub. there is more than enough adjustment for a two tooth difference. i would guess a three tooth change is easy but a four might be pushing it. (ive only tried two and it used ~50% of the range if i had to guess)

mrosenlof

Hi,

I'm closing in on 52. I just put a deposit on a Rivendell Simple One frame. Now starting to collect the other bits I'll need. About half of them will come from the parts box. Most of the new stuff will be parts for the rear wheel. Still going with a freewheel.

Looking forward to joining the fun.

TugaDude

I've been on the Rivendell site and don't remember seeing the Simple One. I'm gonna check it out as I like the Rivendell stuff, for the most part.

Welcome to the madness!

KRhea

Hey folks, 53yr old KRhea here from Portland OR. Began riding a LeJeune Pro track bike as my campus bike/sole transport vehicle way back in the late '70s early '80s in Ohio.
Decided after all these years that this year I was moving away from the "fixed" to a SS. Ahhhhhhh. I love it. The only time I'll be back on a fixie is at the local Alpenrose Velodrome next summer.

Here's my "new" SS built from the ground up using extra parts I had laying around including the frame:

TugaDude

Nice bike, I like it a lot for something you "threw together"!

Johnny Nemo

I rode a s/s coaster brake back in the 70's which was my paperboy bike. Though I ended up hardly touching the roadie and rode the thing everywhere. I got back into s/s later on with a mtb around 2000 or so, and started riding fixed in about 2004 on a road conversion. Since then have had a Steamroller, a beater fixed gear and now mostly riding my s/s Il Pompino.

proantibicycle

I just turned 40 and I have to admit that I am definitely not an OG fixie rider. I love it, but I still like to take my Schwinn Racer 700c conversion out every now and then. It has 45mm Deep Vs laced to a coaster brake. So I get the clean, fixie look without the knee pain.

TugaDude

I recently saw that Velomine has a decent set of wheels with a coaster brake. I'm not gonna do that yet, but it is certainly an option as I get older. I mean, that's all I had when I was a kid. Never even bothered with anything but air in my tires and probably put thousands and thousands of miles on my cheapo bike. Boy have times changed. People pay as much or more for a decent stem now as my whole bike cost back then. I know that it is apples and apples, but you get my point, I'm sure.

bbeasley

I'm 53 and have been cycling for about 5 months. I've got a Trek 2.3 and have worked my way up into the 80 - 100 miles per week range. I lazily roll in the low 15s on my daily commute of 13 miles round trip. In a pace line I can ride 16 - 18 MPH for 50 miles on the flat. My commute is dead flat and I'm looking for a better workout from this commute. It appears a fixie would be a much better workout but I didn't want to assume anything. My commute is functionally traffic clear and on very smooth roads.

Am I thinking correctly about the workout?

My other reason for being here is a bad case of N+1 mixed with "clean" envy. I just love the lines of these Fixies.

Thanks!

TejanoTrackie 

Ladies and gentlemen. As the OP of this thread, I am officially banning the use of the term "fixie" here. Any further use of this term will result in draconian measures.

Very truly yours,
TejanoTrackie

bbeasley

Sorry to offend. My enthusiasm got in the way of me fully researching pop bike culture terminology. I'll do better next time.

Sixty Fiver

Fixie...














...is a word used to describe a fixed gear bicycle that is not looked on kindly by the riders of those bicycles.

jdgesus 

i had my dog fixied

proantibicycle

I agree in principal with what you are saying...but there needs to be some distinction between fixed-gear bikes and track bikes. Since "fixie" is such a widely used term, I think it best not to ban it as it does a good job of describing a bike that has a fixed gear but is ridden by hipsters and messengers. Something you would never be allowed on a velodrome with. Also, would you ride a serious track bike on the street? Why? A beater fixie is the safest and most cost effective option.

That's my $0.02.

TejanoTrackie 

Wrong assumptions on many counts. Many people, myself included, ride track bikes on the road with slight modification, such as installation of a front brake. We do so for exercise and training, not to make a fashion statement. I don't know any messengers who refer to fixed gear bikes, which is factually what they are, as "fixies." None of my friends, fellow racers or teamates, or acquaintences refer to themselves as "hipsters." IDK for sure, but I don't think "hipsters" live past 40 years of age, so none of them would be posting in this thread. So, use "fixed-gear" or "FG" or "bike with only one sprocket in the rear that does not freewheel," I don't care, but please in the name of all that is holy and sacred, just don't call them "fixies."

proantibicycle

Well, having just turned 40, I guess I can see your point on the hipster nomenclature. Although I consider myself fashionable, the rest of the kids are starting to think I am creepy. I just use the term "fixie" because it is convenient. And I have been using that term since my messenger days...I think you will find a lot of people use the term. It's a matter of personal choice...unless that is not allowed in the forum. But that wouldn't really make it a "forum" in the true sense of the word.

Where I come from (California), a fixed-gear bike and a "fixie" are pretty much the same thing. A "track bike" is something I would say belongs on a velodrome. Sure you can ride them in the street...but again, not every one is a track racer and if you are, well that's awesome. Trust me, you are part of a small, yet elite minority on this point. But since I don't track race, I don't see the point of using a track bike on the streets. Unless you are riding a vintage 3Rensho or Bridgestone, I don't see the point. Maybe it's my bias against carbon. I dunno. I just feel safer on steel.

So I guess you would call a vintage track bike a fixed gear. But around these parts, anything fixed on the street and built to be ridden as such is a "fixie." The fashion statements aspect is an unfortunate side-effect of the messenger lifestyle being cool to a lot of people. The kids these days love the messenger mystique. And I will say, making broad assumptions that because your friends don't call them "fixies," no one else should, flies in the face of civil discourse...this is, after all, the 40+ thread. We're all adults, right?

KRhea

Guess it all depends on where you live, where you're from, what your cycling history is and how "prim and proper" you want to be.

I live in Portland, OR, haven for "fixie" riders, hipsters, and a serious cycle crazy town with the largest/most active amateur racing culture/club on the west coast, the Oregon Bicycle Racing Assoc, the largest public organized bike ride in the US (Bridge Pedal) and one of the largest concentrations of daily commuters(tons on fixies) in the US.
In our town even the serious trackies including state champs, of which there are 3 or 4 in my own club, Portland Velo, call their winter "rides" fixies. There are numerous weekend training rides around Portland specifically called "fixie" rides. And no one gets their panties in a wad when a bike is called a fixie. A quick glance at the person using the term can pretty much tell ya whether they're a skinny jean wearin' hipster rollin' on pink ano Velocitys with cut bars or if they're riding a steel framed beaut rollin' on Open Pros with fenders prepping for a "training" ride.

Let's get over ourselves already, just ride our bikes and stop with the holier than thou attitude that a "direct-drive" bike has to be called a freakin' "fixed-gear". I would venture to guess that when I saved my few pennies and purchased my first track bike as a 15yr old in 1973 most folks on the board weren't thinking about buying a "serious" bike of any kind, let alone a weird bike you couldn't coast on and that didn't have brakes. When I went to college we called our bikes "fixes" so it's neither a new nor derogatory term to those of us who have been around a while and we're not offended by it in the least.

Call it/them whatever you want, I think it's great a new niche has been created in our wonderful sport which brings a youthful exuberance along with it. Doesn't mean I'm gonna run out and purchase a pair of skinny jeans but hey, hangin' out with my buds chillin' at the cafe lamenting life and which new top tube protector to buy might be fun for about...37seconds, on second thought no thanks. I'll chose to layer up the clothes, hop on the SS, put my head down and get some miles in.

Enjoy the ride everyone, no matter kind of "ride" it is or what you call it.

KRhea

proantibicycle

I agree. Never stop pedaling. Thanks.