I had a guy stop me last night...

My trouble ascending is that I'm always fiddling with the gears trying to find the best combination of effort and cadence to get up the incline. I'm sure that a more experienced cyclist doesn't have this problem.

With a fixed I don't have to worry about any of this - there is no excuse but to just build some speed up and mash it up the slope, frequently passing furiously peddled geared bikes.

Not very efficient, but I'm sure it's great training because I'm getting much better at hills.

If you really understand cadence and gears and ride a geared bike you will be able to destroy almost anyone on a fixed gear. Maybe I am horribly wrong, but whenever I rode my Ciocc or my Chesini and some fixie tried to race me they could not keep up. Although I have found it somewhat easier to keep a very constant pace on my fixed gears.for obvious reasons......but that was over five years ago so my memory is fading....

If we're resurrecting old threads.. this is one of my favourites.

I'm gonna dive in, enjoying this thread. I got into SS last year and got some good advice from peeps on this forum. I wasn’t new to cycling at the time, was (and still am) a keen roadie/sportive/weekend rider, but was drawn to SS/Fixed for commutin’ and pootlin’ round London, as someone who already rode I could see the attraction in keeping things simple. I’m noticing a lot more fixed on the road recently and I guess I’ve adopted a bit of a fakenger look 'cos I find it comfy/practical (thank you Swrve) and it means I can actually wander into bars/shops and look vaguely normal… before that I commuted in lycra and pubs and lycra kinda don’t mix… I do get fucked off by the attitude of some people and shops though, looking at you like you’re a cunt cos you use a freehub or have an OTP bike (mines a Pearson Touche or just because your not a courier etc etc etc. I’m not a suit but I earn ok money and given my lack of family commitments and car I’m able to throw a fair bit of it at cycling. I’ve learnt how to do a lot of mechanical stuff myself over the years but still wouldn’t feel comfy building up a bike yet, hence OTP. Went to BLB once and came out feeling like they didn’t really want my custom. Funny thing is when I bought my new roadbike @ Sigma I was treated very well – maybe because 1: they’re nice blokes, 2: I demonstrated some knowledge about roadbikes or 3: They knew I was gonna drop a decent bit of cash. Either way the result is I’ll use Sigma without a qualm now, but I’ll never go to BLB again. In the market for a 130bcd 50t chainring at the moment though, thought I might try Cavendish or Tour De Ville. I’m no stranger to customising my road bikes and I’m keen to personalize my Pearson a bit more at the moment, does that make me some kind of fakenger/poseur cunt or just someone who likes bikes?

Good on ya Jash, welcome aboard. What does it make you?...One of us my friend :D

I got the Ultra bike Nazi treatment the other week from someone in BLB. He felt my forks were ok but the rest of the bike was a piece of shit because it's a conversion- not fit for purpose blah blah blah.

I don't ever remember seeing him training with the Polish athletic team, so I demanded he took off his trainers!

What? Not fit for purpose.. you mean like riding a track bike on the fucking road?

WAC.

That's broken 77, by the sound of things. Has some fairly odd beliefs when it comes to cycling with a fixed wheel.

Lot of pricks out there. Some will look down at you 'cause you are new to the scene. Screw them, everyone starts somewhere. I'm a courier, yet I don't hate fakingers( actually I do hate the ones that pull up at the lights ahead of me and then get in my way, but I digress). A city boy on a fixed is still ONE LESS CAR. Tell me that's not a good thing.
P.S BLB looked down their noses at me, Condor frame, radio, Courier bag and all. Won't be going back.

I got the Ultra bike Nazi treatment the other week from someone in BLB. He felt my forks were ok but the rest of the bike was a piece of shit because it's a conversion- not fit for purpose blah blah blah.

I don't ever remember seeing him training with the Polish athletic team, so I demanded he took off his trainers!

Ha ha
They talk shit man.
I saw your photos on the OTHER site. (nice spot btw - amazed nobody nicked it whilst you took the one from the bottom of the steps -)
Reminded me just exactly what a work of art it is...