First Fixed Ride

It is a joke. Ignore it.
at your peril

Will our resident Zen Master. Nice post. Spot on about the skidding thing - it is fun pulling a nice tail-whipping skid. People forget that.

To C, stick with it. You'll pick it up quickly enough - everyone does - and then you'll love it.

At the risk of being shot down in flames by the majority, this morning I tried riding fixed gear for the first time, flipping my rear wheel. I think I have been riding freewheel bikes for too long, I found the whole experience nasty. I take my hat off to you guys who ride fixed but think I will be sticking with SS.

I have to agree with many of the proceeding posts, you have to stick with it and soon enough it will just click. Once you get to that stage you will never go back.

I don't think this would have happened if you had relaxed your knees properly? Seems to me you are riding with very tense legs. And rest your body weight on your ass, not the soles of your feet.

It seemed to happen when I had just pushed down with my leg and as my pedal came up, I naturally locked my knee and tried to coast, so when the pedal came back up, I couldn't really bend my knee to accommodate.
Is this because of my technique or because of my seat height or something?

Out of interest, is the bike okay?

I got a nick on my new seat, but I got my glasspaper and wire wool out and the handlebars were as good as new. Fuck tape.

The constant pedal action nearly threw me straight out the saddle, i remember flying along with one leg strapped in, one waving in the air, bouncing up and down like a right twat.

Hahaha, its like your describing my first ride!

you will never go back.

You might do; after riding fixed for a couple of years, I did.

been riding fixed for about a month, shit the bed when I first rode to town.

Where have you been Will? I missed this.

Been? Are any of us, ultimately, anywhere? or everywhere? or nowhere? or all four?

Well I was here, regretted it in an instant, so dispatched myself to another hinterland while leaving no trace.

I rode fixed for the first time this afternoon. Not sure why I was making such a big deal out of it, it really wasn't that hard.

That said, I was going about 4mph.

It seemed to happen when I had just pushed down with my leg and as my pedal came up, I naturally locked my knee and tried to coast, so when the pedal came back up, I couldn't really bend my knee to accommodate.
Is this because of my technique or because of my seat height or something? ...

Nah, don't worry too much about the saddle height. But you might want to keep the saddle quite low initially to reduce the likelihood of you going over the bars again.

I took my fixed out for a proper ride this weekend, (as opposed to a scoot to the shops which is all it has been used for).

Had a 2 mile scoot to the Halfords as I had a wobbly crank, but then on my way. Managed a 20 mile round trip, which I thought was pretty successful really. I had a few hairy moments when going over bumps or avoiding a pothole where I forgot about my legs, but no major events.#

Also, I had a man at Tesco tell me how pretty my bike was. This made my day.

CSB

Also, wobbly crank + Halfords = temporary bodge.

Your crank shouldn't come loose. Is it square taper?

It was wobbly by nature of me not having the right tool to secure it properly in the first place.

A big allen key? A wise investment, also find a nice local bike shop rather than halfords if you can.

Where you based benjy?

A big allen key? A wise investment, also find a nice local bike shop rather than halfords if you can.

True story - need to get a few more tools, couldn't pick up the right bits over the weekend though - for a quick need they filled a gap; the usual LBS was closed on the Bank Hol

Where you based benjy?

Chelmsford, at the mo!

Just wondering, so that someone can recommend you a local bike shop other than Halfrauds.

Just wondering, so that someone can recommend you a local bike shop other than Halfrauds.

The key there, is in the name... LOCAL.

Yeah, need / convenience lead me to Halfords I'm afraid. Normal events catered for by a local firm!

wow so many new wobblers above ^ !!! welcome one and all
great to see people still flocking to the fixie scene

join in on one of the upcoming rides / or come to one of the compass beers ... for tales of derring-do on the high seas ( fixed bikes )

scene! lolz.

hell yeah, i only joined because of the hype and the scene that went with it

oh yeah and the chicks

You might do; after riding fixed for a couple of years, I did.

Indeed, I should refrain from generalizing.

I rode with aero bars for the first time today.

It was ok.