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Or at least, would I get more enjoyment out of cycling if I let go of the whole 'fixed' thing?
No. I’m slightly older than you. I have bikes with gears but the fixed gear bikes put the biggest smiles on my face. Nice to have gears for knee preservation reasons, but I’d always choose fixed if I could.
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I've been thinking about treating myself to something nice this year as a 40th birthday present
This might be your problem, a "something nice" fixed gear build will likely feel just the same as any of your previous fixed builds (of which some are very nice btw). A geared build will let you get much more imaginative and at least make you think you can do much longer rides.
FWIW i'm just shy of 42 and 3 out of my 4 bikes are fixed. The geared bike is pretty much trainer only and when i do use it i often find myself thinking i wish i'd done this fixed. For my 40th i had a friend build me some very snazzy road wheels which have probably done less than 200 outdoor miles.
I like building bikes but have given up on them being a catalyst to new riding horizons. IME it's generally the ride/company that make it fun and not the bike. Maybe a bike trip someplace special would be a more memorable/rewarding experience than building another bike?
How much of this is going to end up in SFSS..?
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Have you moved on from fixed gear and how do you find it?
Yes, I stopped commuting by bike and I have found the rate that I've been driven into by cunts in cars has decreased substantially.
More seriously, I'm still riding the Fucked Condor to the pub. I just put a DH stem on it. I still like the feeling but I also like being able to take ALL THE GEARS into the mountains or whatever with no (ok, little) walking. I'd not bother doing long rides fixed. I know some people get a kick out of it but it doesn't do it for me. In town though, I still like my fixed.
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Jonny69
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@M_V
I'm going to be 40 this year, arguably middle aged, and I do get to wondering if it's still wise for me to be kicking around on fixed gear bikes. Or at least, would I get more enjoyment out of cycling if I let go of the whole 'fixed' thing?
I definitely enjoy bikes that are on the more simplistic end of the technological spectrum so of the 11 bikes I currently own, while only 3 are fixed, only 1 is geared. (A retro mtb with a cargo fork and I run it geared as I feel like it's more functional that way.)
I've been thinking about treating myself to something nice this year as a 40th birthday present to myself and I'm finding myself looking largely at geared bikes, perhaps a svelte road bike or maybe something more functional, a modern gravel bike with 1 x 11 or 12 and hydro brakes etc etc.
Thing is, I borrowed my mate's Genesis Equilibrium last year to give the 'normal' bike thing a go and I was pretty underwhelmed. I suspect inserting gears into my current 'riding practices' (is that a thing?) might mean my average ride would be 5 or 10 miles further or 2 or 3 miles an hour faster but does that necessarily mean it'll be either any more fun or any more 'meaningful'?
TLDR: Have you moved on from fixed gear and how do you find it?