First Fixed Ride

...I don't have a road bike or bmx or anything, and when I ride one, it trips me the f*ck out hehe

+1

Once every 3 months or so I get out on a road bike and spend the first half hour of the ride trying to adjust to it (gears? brakes? COASTING?!)

When I switched to fixed I started off knocking around the park in evenings and switching back to SS for the commute. First speed bump I went over was hilarious, went up out the saddle to coast over it, forgetting my legs had to keep going.
Surprised and shocked as I pitched forward and nearly started making out with the pavement.

It's that kinda of crap that you go through that makes riding fixed all the more addictive :)

The only thing i miss about freewheel is the ability to slid down the side of traffic with your crank up so it doesn't hit the kurb, can't do that on a fixed.
Eveything else is great and i'm sure i'm fitter as a result of having to peddle constantly.

Not a good habit to get into anyway.

it won't happen overnight, but it will happen.

To be fair I should give it another go I know, think I will do the park thing for a few hours first though and try to get a bit more used to the sensation.

hey, just got my lo pro yesterday and rode fixed! 650 up front!!!

F++king loved it! did 20 odd miles yesterday and another 15 today! so much more control and i must admit the only problem i've had is getting my left foot into the cage!

i got ready for the change from ss to fixed by constantly pedaling at all times for a week. But then found fixed easier!

It's just the habits I know I have developed over the years and do without really thinking about them, like coasting and repositioning myself on the saddle, freewheeling around corners. I know thats gonna catch me out at some point. The riding in the park thing is a good idea, am just worried that 40 odd years of riding freewheel bikes and instinct will take over at some point and I will inadvertantly revert back to it causing me some horrific injury whilst riding fixed.

It's what I call 'fixed fear' :)

When i first went fixed, any time my thoughts strayed to riding (while not actually riding) I used to imagine huge hills and me falling off and dying horribly, or falling off at lights, or falling off round corners, or falling off while trying to coast, etc.

You do overcome it eventually (i think it took me a week of riding every day in London), although to be fair I have fallen off subsequently in all of those scenarios. But as anyone who knows me will tell you it's because I can't ride a bike for shit, not because of the drivetrain :)

SS has it's benefits though, and fixed isn't for everyone. There are a fair few members of the SS division on this board (wayne for eg.) HEIL!

I'm diggin it!

I bought the black Coppi off Luke today at lunch and rode it home from the west end to Bow. A few notes over budget but it's absolutely what I have been looking for in terms of look so I'm in overdraft for a bit. :)

First impressions:

fuck it's fast. I mean really. Soooo much different to my old mountain bike. I picked it up and got such a surprise at how light it was. What was quite funny I reckon was overtaking most other bikes on the road without much effort. Once you get the speed and momentum up it kinda sticks and you can power on through.

it was a bit strange at first with my first instinct to coast but I just kept saying in my head "pedal, pedal, pedal" the whole ride home and by the end of it I was pretty used to it. Bus swerved in front of me: "pedal pedal pedal". Black tin can uturner pulling out: "pedal pedal pedal".

it's taxing as hell. I had to stop for a bottle of water half way through the ride drenched in sweat. hehe. I brought the bike into the shop with me which pissed off the dude behind the counter but with no lock there was no way it was leaving my grasp.

I did strike my pedal on the curb once but was going so slow it was a non issue, freaked me out a little bit and I'm glad it happened because now I am a lot more aware of it.

Stopping was interesting. It has a front brake which I don't intend to take off but pedalling and stopping was a pretty weird experience. I did try as much as possible to at least slow down using my feet and that seemed to work pretty well. Haven't tried a skid yet, will leave that for the park tomorrow.

There were some surprisingly courteous drivers on the road today (must be the brief bit of sun?). They were letting me in and keeping their distance when I was overtaking busses etc which was cool. I'm sure that will change though.

All in all, I'm really stoked!!!!!

glad you're enjoying it!

that is one sexy bike....

its not lame you're stoked.

Hars, thats an extremely well described first experience. I think many will be tempted from singlespeed to fixed, just on your say-so. Personally, I need a gallon off scotch to make me do it, but you make it seem a doddle.

Cheers bad!

BTW, i was following a messenger today on (I think) a yellow fixed gear. Black 3/4 shorts and a largish tribal tat on the right calf. Anyone here?

Tried keeping up but didnt dare weave through traffic like that dude... :)

Hars, thats an extremely well described first experience. I think many will be tempted from singlespeed to fixed, just on your say-so. Personally, I need a gallon off scotch to make me do it, but you make it seem a doddle.

I did find it quite easy to get used to for some reason. The first 10 mins of the ride were pretty hairy but after that it just felt kinda natural to keep pedalling.

I do need way more time practising stopping though. I was initiating the stop (up to a red light for example) a LONG time before I got there, trying as much as possible to scrub as much speed off with my feet. Tomorrow in the park I am going to attempt a couple of emergency stops and see how that goes.

Was that you chained up to the Starbux on Oxford St. near the Dominion Theatre? Saw that at lunch today - good purchase

if by 'courteous drivers' you mean 'slack-jawed homunculus retard attempting to kill cyclists in big white van of death', then i agree with you.

it's always like that, if you came from an MTB background, even the heaviest, slowest fixie can feel fast as fuck.

give it two weeks mate, just two weeks is all it take and then you'll ride quite naturally.

I sold my old Peugeot to a nice Swedish girl a while ago, she came off a MTB as well, and still in love with the bike (saying it's much more fun and easy to ride from Ladbroke Grove to the Dockland than her MTB).

There were some surprisingly courteous drivers on the road today (must be the brief bit of sun?). They were letting me in and keeping their distance when I was overtaking busses etc which was cool. I'm sure that will change though.

All in all, I'm really stoked!!!!!

the lack of helmet does encourage driver to be more aware (unless you were wearing a helmet).

I notice drivers give you more space if you're without a helmet, a lots safer as the time I was with helmet, cars always seemed to be crowding as fuck while in traffic.

the lack of trousers or pants does encourage driver to be more aware

I notice drivers give you more space if you're without any trousers or pants, a lots safer as the time I was with trousers and pants, cars always seemed to be crowding as fuck while in traffic.
.

the lack of facial hair does encourage driver to be more aware (unless you were wearing someone's pubis in your teeth).

I notice drivers give you more space if you're without a penis, a lots safer as the time I was with siphilis, ladeez always seemed to be crowding as fuck while in me.

.

Oh just be naked and you'll end up even having police escort for a short while until they kept up with you.

Aroogah, that's the one. Met Luke at the starbucks and handed over the dosh!

PJ, I didn't encounter any of that on my ride home but I do remember riding around on my mountain bike last year and encountering some absolute tools on the road. Came off the bike a couple of times. I was just stoked I didn't encounter any today, made for a nice ride home. :)

edscoble, ya, going to take it really easy for the next couple of weeks and get a ton of practise doing laps in Victoria park.

the brick: LOL!!! If I rode trouserless I think people would be blinded by the full moon.

full moon, now I want Jaffa Cakes.

Er, Tommy, I think you're you're deliberately misleading us here for a cheap laugh [taking pants off], now to ride home

If i feel threatened at any time on the road, i remove my trousers and use them as a helmet.

If i feel threatened at any time on the road, i remove my trousers and flash my helmet.

i find they usually back off pretty quick, too.