You are reading a single comment by @cornelius_blackfoot and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@cornelius_blackfoot
always been a cyclist, from that first blue and white tricycle, got given (after extended period of begging) a raleigh burner, loved it dropped it, fell off it more than once, then just stopped riding it. It got given to a cousin. I didn't ride again until I brought a Kona Cindercone, when I was about 18, back when everyone and his aunt was getting a mountain bike, and if you could get a Marin, you were like the Don!!!. Ride that bike come rain or shine, always on the road, never on the dirt. Couriered on it for a year or so. It was my main transportation round london town. Fast forward ten or so years, pass my motorbike test, buy a motorbike, start riding that, drop it a couple of times, fall off a couple of times, break leg, have operation to insert pin in knee, on crutches for six or so months. Cycling my only constant form of exercise, so after accident, get back on bike and ride to work during the summer, fall in love with it again, the hustle and bustle of city riding, losing muppets in traffic, jumping lights, hitting a good piece of tarmac. Decide to buy a bmx for tooling around on. Get a friend to custom build an old GT. Love that, trying to teach myself how to wheelie and bunny hop, but don't have as much time on my hands as when i was 12.
Friend gets a fixed gear a pista eom, I laugh at him, tell him he's a nutter, he doesn't listen to me, rides bike gets fast. I get some tax rebate money and spunk it on a soma smoothie from mosquito, ridden a steel bike all my life, alu's just too hard for me, so the Soma was the cheapest steel frame I could find. I also get sized and find out I've been riding in a very very bad position for the past 14 odd years. Can't ride my old bike as I wait for new bike to arrive, as I'm determined not to do any more damage to my battered old body. The wait is viciously long. Finally it arrives I ride it home and I'm in love. Who knew riding fast could be this easy. MY body doesn't ache, my legs feel fine, and I feel fast all the fscking time, even just slowly pedaling to the shops.
While searching and testing rides before I got the soma, rode condor's titanium moda. Fall in love with the magic metal, but can't afford it, spend hours on web searching for cheap titanium frames, to build up into a geared road bike. Keep getting outbid at the last minute, until whats this? A titanium track fame, just my size, and with no reserve. I put my money down and the next thing you know I've got it, comes all the way from china, via new york to ye olde south london. Think I'll build it up cheaply, but it keeps wanting the expensive, special bits. Should be ready by september. Fingers crossed and wallet allowing.
Got into this forum while searching out info on fixed bikes, brands, shops, hints and tips. Then when out for a ride with some of the west london massive and broke my fixed virginity on mashton's condor and 31trum's langster, and very scary it was indeed. Still have to shake myself to remember I'll be riding fixed thru the winter and to just keep pedaling. Keep pedaling.