Popularity...

mad flashback moment at the mention of the evil NICK O'TEEN, now without googling it what was the name of his nemesis...

this segued rather nicely into a 'i was only trying to help you ro-land' conversation i was having with one of the young whippersnappers in the studio who didn't have a scooby what i was on about

Does anyone remember this?
http://www.thisiswhy.co.uk/

I went single speed a year ago(langster at £399 = real bargain) after my trusty Claud butler commuters gears were so knackered only 3 out of the 27! worked. I think a lot of other regular year-round commuters are making this switch when they have the same problem. Congestion charge, crowded tubes n buses = more new bikes with zillions of gears that wont be maintained = more future single/fixed sales. Probably a good time to own a bike shop?

wayne182 mad flashback moment at the mention of the evil NICK O'TEEN, now without googling it what was the name of his nemesis...

this segued rather nicely into a 'i was only trying to help you ro-land' conversation i was having with one of the young whippersnappers in the studio who didn't have a scooby what i was on about

Flippin' 'eck Tucker!

Kipsy - sound similar to my story, Moved to London nearly four years ago and commuted on my Claud Butler Urban 100 (thouse bike are invincible btw), then met the Fixed Gear London crew, who tried to convert me. I resisted, but got them to convert my Grandad's old bike to a single speed. Then at the end of last summer they sold me a second hand Langster which I tweaked abit and the rest is history....

Oh, and I got into cycling as an early teenager when my dad said if I wanted a lift anywhere I would have to do housework to 'earn' a lift. Fuck that! So I got on my bike.

I saw a couple in Shoreditch riding matching off the peg Bianchi Pistas last week. It was sweet.

Oh, and I got into cycling as an early teenager when my dad said if I wanted a lift anywhere I would have to do housework to 'earn' a lift. Fuck that! So I got on my bike.[/quote]

haa thats good

my dad was big into riding when i was a kid, he used to ride all the time especialy for charity rides my family used to hold. i remember he had a custom ron cooper....(i wounder if hes still got it?) he used to take me and my brothers on rides all around hampshire which was cool. and then i started riding bmx's for a good few years, my dk six pack got stolen by some pikies and thats where my riding ended........untill i moved to london seven months ago, i bought a haro mountain bike with huge triple clamps and thats what gets me around at the mo. im in the process of getting my fixie, i first learnt about fix wheel when i was in the hob in brixton, one of my sisters mates had a 06 langster which i loved....and no here i am trying to learn the ins and outs. every time a bike goes past me i always check if its fixed of not, when it is im happy

First rode fixed aged.. hmm.. 6-7?

It was a fixed gear tricycle and my brothers and I cained the crap out of it getting it sideways through the bend in our driveway.. until the outside wheel lost most of its spokes and collapsed. It had solid rubber tyres ffs!!!

Was riding an SS mtb in 2003. 'Raced' the 2003 SSWC in Castlemaine, Australia. 2-3 years ago dabbled in track while road racing - built 'Vegemite'.

Converted the SS to a gearie and toured on it when I arrived here 2 years ago. Snapped it and bought the Raleigh to commute on, which is the bike I currently ride. Bought the Ribble roadie to race on and just last night did my second competitive event in 2 years (it was only a TT but it's a start).

I don't have a long family history of bike riding/racing. Most of my family are into petrol-based sports although as a kid I always drooled over my Grandad's roadie..

That's enough about me.. now, tell me a little of yourself.. :-P

Don't own a fixed bike yet so feel a bit of an impostor, but anyway here goes...

First got into riding bikes at about 14, when I got my first 'semi decent' bike. Started going out on Sundays with the local road club. Did a few time trials and stuff. Then bought the first ever issue of Mountain Biking UK and badgered my parents for a mountain bike, started racing mountain bikes at about 16 and pretty much did that until I was about 25. I stopped for a few years, bought a Singlespeed and started racing that about 3 years ago. I've raced a few different disciplines, track, triathlon, time trials, mountain bike DH and XC.

I currently ride a Cyclocross bike on my commute to work, which I'm hopefully gonna alternate with a fixie - Cyclocross bike is good for off-road commutes through Epping forest.

I learnt and biked on single speeds in Holland untill I was about 15. Then found a very beaten up peugeot mixte and rode that untill I realised everything was in dire need off replacing. Ended up riding my dad's far too big Claud Butler and a yucky mtb... was the happy borrower of a fixie in Vancouver (got a cushy job campus messengering) for about a year and a half. And now can't wait to convert my own Peugeot!

Been riding bikes since I was 4... in the street I grew up, it was just a natural evolution of things. You learn to watch, then you learn to kick a ball, then you learn to ride a bike. Alway rode, sometimes more, sometimes less, and as a kid I had a BMX that almost broke my tailbone, and a 10 speed that almost got me killed several times over. Got really into it when I lived in Holland a summer, and biked 10 miles from home in Leiden to work at the Hague everyday on the oldest 3 speed raleigh ever. When I got back to NYC I bought a 70's 3 speed huffy - women's bright yellow with baskets that I used to waeve around cabs and peds. Then I bought my first really good bike, a cannondale t-800 that moved me from NYC almost all the way to Altanta through the Blue Ridge mountains. After that, I began riding the 'Dale with Faster Mustache in Atlanta, ans some of them had fixies. I never really cared about it until I tried a friends, and it just felt right. I bought a Bianchi pista, then sold it for the bike I now ride. I guess that makes it 6 months or so? I thought about going brakeless, but I could not hack it on my current 52-16 setup and bad knees, so I am keeping my brake. Might try track racing because it has been a while since I broke me a bone. My little brother is coming to visit, and I am hoping to get him hooked.

started riding a bmx cos i didnt want to pay for the bus, then i realised it was dumb to ride on the road all the time and got a road bike, started couriering a few years ago and started realising fixies were easier to maintain and looked fun and have been riding for a year or so now

BMX then mountain bike from ages 4-18, practically lived on my bike. Then about an 8 year hiatus whilst I went to uni, overindulged in everything and generally rebelled against excersise in favour of hedonism. By the time I was 26 I realised I was fat and hated spending 2 hours on the tube every day. Was eventually convinced by a mate at work to buy a bike again and start commuting, which I loved. Eventually became frustrated by constant gear/drivetrain issues on the slicked MTB I was using, and after a bit of research treated myself to a SS last October. Loved that completely and it made a huge difference to my fitness almost immediately. Following that, after a barrage of advice from mates and forums, switched it to fixed about 6 weeks ago and love it even more.

Ok first post...
Been biking for ever.. Was using my stupidly expensive mtn bike for commuting to work.. Thought this might be a bit silly. Borrowed flatmates spare condor pista fixie to ride instead a couple of years ago. Hooked. Spent months researching, scouring ebay etc for a cheap project bike, finally bought a frame from Roberto the bike king and his Aladins squat. And now seem to be constantly spending money on it!

Interested in the Thursday night rides. Does that still happen?

Bob fossil Borrowed flatmates spare condor pista fixie

I want flatmates like yours! :)

what's it like purchasing from roberto?
did you feel dirty afterwards? ashamed?

RPM what's it like purchasing from roberto?
did you feel dirty afterwards? ashamed?

lol

It was fabulous.. Is he renowned for dirty, shameful behaviour?

haven't a clue.

there's a few things I'd have bought from him if I'd been on ebay at the right times

52:16. Commuting? My 42:16 is enough and I only have 1 hill to do.

ex-bmx-ers !
aah takes me back.. i raced bmx a looong time ago, best season was top six south england series - '83. even used to blow the doors of andy ruffel every now and again around buckmore. craig campbell the year below was the nuts though, that kid could jump !

after that i 'graduated' to track, road and MTB. have ridden fixed as a winter trainer off and on for years but only recently made the jump across as a commuter. couriered for a couple of years but it was about 12 years ago and pretty much no-one was riding fixed back then ! maybe i just dont remember (it was a while ago) but there wasnt the messenger/fixer scene that you see around now, back then we rode alan cross bikes with slick tyres !

love riding fixed in town now though, and agree that the shoreditch fashion thing has made it popular recently, and its also not about the 'zen'.

its simple, easy, quick, cheap(ish) and bloody good training.

i've got an old robinson racing bmx that i dont use anymore, flight cranks the lot - anyone want to swap it for some fixie stuff ?

nah man, serious old schoolers will pay bucks for the BMX

my Haro cruiser is hanging out t'back, unused since last year..
BMX is hard work on the elderly

haro cruiser ! really, really nice..
i had a redline proline with tuff III's/flight cranks /CW's etc but it got nicked :(( i bought the robinson after that..

but i always wanted a hutch ! those bear trap pedals were a bit naughty mind. saw a kid lose half his knee at shoreham once..

heh! they make some monster pedals like that now

raced all last year, 30-39 cruiser.
never last, but close to last most of the time! couple of bust ribs and tacoed front wheel into the bargain

Ex BMXer here too, still got an 24" SE Racing Floval Flyer (with 7 spoke Skyway Tuffs...) and an SE Racing Quadangle. I commuted 20 miles a day on the floval for about four years a few years back! It still gets ridden from time to time.