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@h2o
Also - if you're finding that you're having to strain too much to get going, I'd suggest starting on an easier gear. I started riding fixed on 48x19 (which is quite low!), and while pootling around was fine, my commute - which involves a couple of steepish hills - hurt my knees a lot. I took it a bit easier and did some careful leg work down the gym for a month or two to build my strength up - lots and lots of spinning on the static bike at a resistance that was just enough to get my legs really fatigued but not enough to hurt my knees.
Now, a couple of years later, my legs are much stronger, and I cruise up the same hills on a 48x17 without getting out of the saddle, and I don't remember the last time my knees hurt.
Basically - build up your muscles on a lower gear than you think you need, and when they get strong they'll take a lot of the strain off your kneecaps. Then you can gear up a bit.
And I was riding gears before I went fixed too - evidently there were muscles I wasn't using on the gearie.