Girls

what are you on about? Singlespeed bikes have much less bits on them , so are inherently cheaper both to buy and maintain.

A brand-new decent OTP SS/FG bike is at least £400, more like £450+. They may be cheaper to buy and maintain than comparable road/mountain bikes, but £400 still ain't cheap, at least not in my book.

£400 still ain't cheap, at least not in my book.

Of course you could build one for far less. It won't be as glamourous or "designed" but I suspect that it will be more precious when ridden.

If I tot up the cost of my new conversion, it comes in at around £150 max and that includes tools that will have a long life.

Go on tombolaprize, get an old frame off ebay and set to work.

Of course you could build one for far less. It won't be as glamourous or "designed" but I suspect that it will be more precious when ridden.

If I tot up the cost of my new conversion, it comes in at around £150 max and that includes tools that will have a long life.

Go on tombolaprize, get an old frame off ebay and set to work.

'Twould be nice, except not everybody has the skill or time to build one themselves. Even if I had the time to babysit eBay auctions for used parts, I simply don't have the skills to be comfortable with entrusting my physical wellbeing to a machine cobbled together by my own two hands.

Hence, I have no choice but to pay somebody who does know how to take care of all that for me. Such is the price of ignorance.

Besides, since when did people consider OTPs "glamorous" or "designed"?

Nope. I'm trying to gain muscle because I'm a rather puny guy. I cycle everyday (fixed), go to the gym 3 days a week and then run on the non-gym days and eat carefully. My thighs aren't monstrous; I still look puny :(

sound like you are overtraining. weights, running and gym... everyday of the week. of course your muscles arentgettingbigger. you arent giving them time to over compensate. not just recover, but go past recovery into the growth stage. and maybe you arent pushing heavy enough weights. or you are doing too many reps.

any questions, dont ask A.S.D.F

sorry to hijack that for a minute... as you were.

I also get people to build mine. Why? Because I doubt my own mechanical competence. I've tried a few times and given the mess I make with compatibility, chainline and stuff... I now choose to throw money at the problem and spare my the time and exasperation of attempting to do it myself.

I also justify this as "helping local bike shops".

it's a learning process this whole bike thing. over the months and years you pick up info and the right attitude. either you find a way to ask straight-up, or be a little more circumspect. Whatever works for you - but I reckon cultural programming makes it easier to ask 'dumb questions' if you've not got an extra chromosome.

talking of cost, was in a bike shop this morning and bloke was spending a grand on a double-suspension MTB for a commute bike.

oh and calves! yes, you get great calves from cycling!

Glad there are some girls on this forum site. Hello to you all!

I want to upgrade my commuter bike to something much lighter, faster and more fun, and think single-speed looks cool.

But:
not sure about all the technical boy-stuff that goes on around it?
does it make you have massive tyranosuarus thighs?
getting away fornm the lights at speed?
going up hills like pentonville road?

I have a lurking suspicion that singlespeed and fixed speed is a fashion thing and a boy thing.

But - I would like to be proved wrong as I liked the feel of a single speed when I tried one last week. I would have ridden off into the sunset, but I had to go home to cook the tea and do the ironing.

The girl-perspective on single-speed would be really useful to me...

If this is truly not a set up?? then i'm a girl and i ride fixed, not ss, but my advise is who cares if you/other people think it's a 'boy thing' (what ever that means) or a 'fashion thing', if you want to try it and and if you have fun with it why give a shit what anyone else thinks?? as for "not sure about all the technical boy-stuff that goes on around it?" just because it's technical doesn't make it 'boy stuff'. the female of the species have brains just as capable as the males - admittedly, some things may take us a little longer but apply yourself and you will succeed. if not, then you best go think up some more recipes and what scent of softener you use in your next wash. come on - get a grip girl!!

If this is truly not a set up?? then i'm a girl and i ride fixed, not ss, but my advise is who cares if you/other people think it's a 'boy thing' (what ever that means) or a 'fashion thing', if you want to try it and and if you have fun with it why give a shit what anyone else thinks?? as for "not sure about all the technical boy-stuff that goes on around it?" just because it's technical doesn't make it 'boy stuff'. the female of the species have brains just as capable as the males - admittedly, some things may take us a little longer but apply yourself and you will succeed. if not, then you best go think up some more recipes and what scent of softener you use in your next wash. come on - get a grip girl!!

Basically an expanded version of what I was getting at.
But then I struggled with my conscience and felt bad about being mean. I don't like being a dick and making people feel bad, hence the apology.....
but I'm with you on this one, Minh Ai

"skill"
"technical competence"

I start getting worried when my idle tinkerings get referred to like that.

But seriously, I see what you mean. I forget sometimes that some things come easier to some and not others. Still, I'll always encourage people to have a go for themselves. I think it's amazing what you can acheive with a cheap toolkit and a copy of Haynes.

Basically an expanded version of what I was getting at.
But then I struggled with my conscience and felt bad about being mean. I don't like being a dick and making people feel bad, hence the apology.....
but I'm with you on this one, Minh Ai

@ Julio and Minh Ai:

I agree with you both in principle, I don't believe in holding back from doing something I want to do just because it's commonly associated with being "a guy thing".

However, I thought we've established earlier in the thread that tombolaprize didn't mean "boy stuff" the way most people interpreted it. She wasn't trying to set back the feminist movement by 20 years or anything.

'Twould be nice, except not everybody has the skill or time to build one themselves. Even if I had the time to babysit eBay auctions for used parts, I simply don't have the skills to be comfortable with entrusting my physical wellbeing to a machine cobbled together by my own two hands.

Hence, I have no choice but to pay somebody who does know how to take care of all that for me. Such is the price of ignorance.

Besides, since when did people consider OTPs "glamorous" or "designed"?

Nothing wrong with that. When I put my bike together I did it because I wanted to build a bike, having not done it before. Yes, it was a joy, but it was also very time consuming hunting down parts, bargains, etc, putting the bits together, making mistakes, and so on (this was also before the days of this forum, I literally had no idea what I was doing!!).

When I did it, a guy in a LBS said "you won't save money building it yourself". It did come out cheapish, at around £200, but that was only by salvaging a few old parts, hitting a few ridiculous bargains (99p for a stem!), and using very cheap wheels. You can do it cheap, but it ain't necessarily easy. At the time I built mine there really weren't that many OTP fg/ss bikes available (or even places that would be keen on building one up), these days the choices are pretty good.

As an aside, when I built that bike (^^) I wasn't even planning to make a fixed gear. I did so because it was the easiest option!

Besides, since when did people consider OTPs "glamorous" or "designed"?

They're beyong designed and glamorous, they're off the fucking* peg*!! I really wish my bike wasn't so damn custom. :)

But let's not get into debates about the gendered division of labour in the home.

Anyway, I'd rather iron than rake out the compost heap ...

In which case... ;-)

Basically an expanded version of what I was getting at.
But then I struggled with my conscience and felt bad about being mean. I don't like being a dick and making people feel bad, hence the apology.....
but I'm with you on this one, Minh Ai

ok, maybe a little harsh and i got a little carried away but i'm not sorry for my response. it was never my intention to make anyone feel bad but rather make people aware of what century and society we live in. i am always supportive and respectful of women wanting to try new things but (some of) tombolaprize's comment and how it was worded made me angry as it was so gender specific. at the risk of sounding like a feminist (which i'm not) it is this kind niavity and sexist attitude amongst women that invites sexism and patronising attitudes towards women (although the boys on here have generally been quite nice). the comment is so ludicrous to me that i still have a suspicion that it's a wind up and part of me honestly hopes it is.

The second page and nobody has rushed in with 'use search' yet, which is nice to see. Welcome to the forum tombolaprize. You'll find loads of handy info and lots of silly fun. Whether you have dangly bits or neat tucked away bits.

@Julio, Minh Ai, a girl is asking for some simple advice and you have been attacking her on a pointless issue instead of sharing your views. You could have told her how much you enjoy riding fixed and how you went about getting your bikes etc...

I have no interest in building bikes, getting the shiniest parts etc... I have a limited knowledge on how bikes work, I'm learning bit by bit but not that really interested. I don't drool on cogs, chains and pedals but I'm glad some people do so they can help me if I have a question.

@CG5154, your post was excellent.

OK got to go as I need to knit some merino for winter.

ok, maybe a little harsh and i got a little carried away but i'm not sorry for my response. it was never my intention to make anyone feel bad but rather make people aware of what century and society we live in. i am always supportive and respectful of women wanting to try new things but (some of) tombolaprize's comment and how it was worded made me angry as it was so gender specific. at the risk of sounding like a feminist (which i'm not) it is this kind niavity and sexist attitude amongst women that invites sexism and patronising attitudes towards women (although the boys on here have generally been quite nice). the comment is so ludicrous to me that i still have a suspicion that it's a wind up and part of me honestly hopes it is.

^storm><teacup

Errr, at the risk of being sexist, racist, and everything elsist including being an uncaring male bastard. tombola's comment about 'was it just a boy-thing' struck me as fairly typical of very English (sexless) self-deprecating humour...

racialsexualist.

OK got to go as I need to knit some merino for winter.

Can you knit me a beret in pink and white polka dots, and matching mittens? That way I can stay toasty as we munch on frog legs and terrorize ASL-violating motorists together.

I'd ask for Flashdance-style leg warmers too, except it might get caught in the chain.

On order!
I normally use 2.0mm or 3.0mm needles for merino, depending on thin you would like your beret. 2.00mm would be better I think.

I just got myself a new Addi Turbo aluminium pair of needles. They're circular. It is a bit hard to use first but once you get the hang of it it's amazing.

This is what I mean, beautiful hey!

For the mittens, I'm thinking alpaca, check how fine and soft it is...

Good lord, what a bonkers animal!

Wompa

Good lord, what a bonkers animal!

my girlfriend's from Peru, so she brought me an Apache scarf - it's the softest, warmest, most comfortable scarf I've ever worn, and it's thin as fuck.

Good lord, what a bonkers animal!

+1