Should I ride my first fixie back from the shop (in London)?

we all had to start somewhere...

You can pop at me all you like but why the fuck would anyone buy a bike if they didn't feel comfortable using it or know how to fuckin ride it properly?!

Unbelievable :-$

FFS, chill out. no-one feels completely 100% comfortable on a brand new bike, especially if they're new to riding fixed.

I'm gonna go and put hot pins in my eyes....just for a laugh

are you ever in the wrong or are you completely infallible pistanator?

Wrong, it's nothing to do with being wrong, proved wrong, right or being proved right

Just read the OP back to yourself again.....

You can pop at me all you like but why the fuck would anyone buy a bike if they didn't feel comfortable using it or know how to fuckin ride it properly?!

Unbelievable :-$

How can you know how to ride fixed until you have ridden fixed? There's no one on here who isn't better at riding fixed now than they were when they first tried it. The question he is asking is whether or not riding on busy, unfamiliar city streets is the best place to start. If I bought a mountain bike I wouldn't go out and do a really steep downhill track as my first ride. You may as well ask why they have an induction at Herne Hill; after all why would anyone go to the track if they didn't know how to ride in a tightly packed group round banks? Why don't people take their first driving lesson on the motorway? Why do medical students practice surgery on cadavers rather than live patients? Why do scousers start out nicking sweets from the offy rather than robbing banks?

Unbelievable indeed.

Anyway, fuck this, I'm off out on my bike to see if it's true that you need to pedal to make the wheels go round

You can pop at me all you like but why the fuck would anyone buy a bike if they didn't feel comfortable using it or know how to fuckin ride it properly?!

Unbelievable :-$

I'm not having a "pop" at you, you've obviously just been trying to wind me up the entire way through this thread? Whereas some people (the majority) have actually been helpful.

I wanted a fixie, but on second-thoughts, I guess I won't try anything new in my life because I may feel uncomfortable doing it or, horror of horros, may even not know how to do it! I'm so jealous of you, Pistanator, of your ability to do everything without ever having to try it. Thanks for your words of wisdom, you really are representing the LGFSS community well. :)

Relaxation may be required for some of the posters on this thread.

get on with it.

Ride.

Don't be such a vag

+1

First time i rode a fixed, and the first time i rode with spds, and the first time i rode brakeless, was all at once, just remember that you're on a bike, and HTFU!

I don't get all this unfamiliar road bollocks either, they're roads, ride down them, don't get hit by cars.

At what? Because you obviously think my question was hilarious and I don't find you equally funny?

I don't have any beef with you, I was asking a genuine question considering a. I don't live in London and b. Have never ridden a fixie, and then you just proceed to take the piss out of me. Fair enough it may be funny to you but I was just looking for some helpful answers (which I have got, in fairness).

We all know your serious and the worry you have is sincere, but it's a funny question. If you have a brake just ride the bike. If you have been mountain biking for years, it's pretty surprising that you would ask a bunch of cycling people if you should ride your bike or not. Seems like you should HTFU and just make a decision yourself. If you ask a silly question you get a silly answer.

We all know your serious and the worry you have is sincere, but it's a funny question. If you have a brake just ride the bike. If you have been mountain biking for years, it's pretty surprising that you would ask a bunch of cycling people if you should ride your bike or not. Seems like you should HTFU and just make a decision yourself. If you ask a silly question you get a silly answer.

Thank fuck! Someone with a bit of common sense!

I don't get all this unfamiliar road bollocks either, they're roads, ride down them, don't get hit by cars.

ha, agreed!

Thought you were going out Pistanator? :)

And the "unfamiliar road bollocks" is nothing to do with the actual roads, it's to do with the traffic and people on them. I live in Surrey in a city but it's nothing like London and since I actually want to preserve my life, reading threads about experience cyclists being knocked down and killed in Ldn is worrying me. Of course you've been riding for years and I'm sure you'd have no trouble riding where I live, but it doesn't work both ways since there's probably a million more hazards in London than where I live.

You mean like terrorists and stuff?

FFS, it's only a city. Ride the bike you big pink skipping rope!

;-)

No like psycho bus drivers, motorcyclists and car drivers I found the one and only time I drove my car there.

But yes like I said I'm going to give it a go so everyone can stop calling me a homo now :)

But yes like I said I'm going to give it a go so everyone can stop calling me a homo now :)

Homophobe

Oh God. And it was all going so well.

I'd say don't worry about it. More people get knocked down in London just cos there's more people there of course. Being cautious isn't a bad thing, don't fret, try it and see what you think. Chances are the bike won't be as scary as you might worry, chances are the traffic might be scarier than it.

If you're going back on the train from Waterloo watch out for the nazi peak-time bike restrictions:

"In the area bounded by Hook, Alton, Guildford, Reading and Dorking, cycles may not join or alight from services due to arrive in London between 07:15 and 10:00 inclusive, and departing London between 16:45 and 19:00 inclusive."

Okay thanks guys, I'll give it a shot but if you see a six foot black man with bright blue SIDI shoes wobbling all over London and generally causing havoc on Tuesday morning, it will be me. :)

I wouldn't be so sure of that, you're describing half the forum!

you can already ride a bike, you already use clipless pedals, therefore I decree you'll be fine.

Argh, I was starting to feel sorry for you too but that comment blew it.

London not even dangerous, fucking hell, one of the biggest myth about London.

Homophobe

Seriously, what happened to your bike ride? Or did you make that up to attempt to show your fixed-wheel riding superiority to a mere mortal such as myself?