Need some advice

1. Fixeds are fine for long rides, but sometimes if your doing long rides daily (15+ miles) you might like to give your knees a break now and then. Remember the tour de France was contested on fixed wheels back in the day.

2. Its hard to recommend a bike but I'll recommend things to look for.

   • How it rides. Cycle what ever your thinking, your skill in gauging how well it rides will increase with the number of other bikes you have cycled and how long you have cycled them for, etc.
     Components. Make sure the components are decent, this depends on your price range, but generally a frame wont break on you for a while (even if its not great) but your parts will. So get decent ones.
     
   • Frame. More important perhaps than the parts but you wont notice that til way after you've replaced parts. Look for light wieght, strong frame, space for mud guards and brakes if you intend using them. Make sure it's the right size, etc.
     
   • Style. Its important you like the bike your on.
     So basically you need to develop a 6th sense that weighs up price, applicability to you, value for money, style, etc.
     
     

3. You'll miss gears sometimes, but you probably wont regret it. By and large geared bikes are faster outside of the velodrome. However, when I cycle free wheeling bikes I feel like I'm out of control!! Also, if your new to bikes they are more difficult to repair and have more to go wrong. In short, fixeds are so much more fun to ride (but I'm biased), are very quick and I've only encountered 2 areas of London with hills you need to work on (telegraph hill and some place out near Compton cycles) so you wont need them. So unless you regularly hold onto cars, trucks or buses for a lift you wont "regret" not having them.

4. This depends on the gearing, you and where you're cycling etc. But you'll rarely find you hit top end on a fixed in London.

Hope that helps,

Peace