My bike ride 17th Jan 2009 :D Stoke Newington to Tower Bridge

5 Mountain bikes and 1 BMX lol. It was the first ride I have arranged and for all of us aswell. We didn't want to go too far incase we couldn't handle it.

I never noticed single geared bikes until this forum, but I saw plenty yesterday. Weird how I never paid attention before :o

That's us, maybe some of you saw me? I know a few ride pass Stoke Newington.
I'm on the far right.

We reach London Bridge. Fairly slow because Rob, the black guy had a BMX.

We reach Tower Bridge. It's lovely there.

I try to do a stunt below and it kinda works and fails lol. I havent done a jump ever before mind.

YouTube- Minhs bike stunt bicycle bike fail

orly? lol.

Well done now do something that scares you like riding right across London to Kew or even better out of London to Cambridge.

I'm planning to go longer distances for sure. I have only ever done a round trip of maybe 3 miles before, so doing 4 miles there and return was a step I wasn't sure of. I ended up riding 15 miles in total which I'm quite happy about. I know it's not a lot for maybe all of the guys on here, but you gotta start somewhere I guess.

One day when I can afford it, I'll look at getting a roadbike or a single speeder. Someone said I really need to spend 500-800 for something that will last and be good. :s

I was a little sore today and was extremely exhausted by 11PM, so maybe a few more months and I can try to do a ride with you guys.

Well done for getting out there and having some fun.
Hope you stick at it...maybe tag along on some forum rides?

I was planning to try and join the big ride from somewhere to central London. I forgot now but the ride where 140 planned to join but only 35 did. Bridge I think it was called.

I have to admit I chickened out, not ebcause of the snow but mainly because of the distance. I only ever really did 10MPH before and 3 miles isn't much.

However I reached an average of 15MPH yesterday and even got up to 27.6 downhill :D

I am planning a ride each month with these guys and maybe more, and then when I'm comfortable I will definitely try to keep up with you guys on rides :)

You and your mates should get yourself to Critical Mass, I think you would enjoy it - very slow paced and it happens on the last friday of every month, starting on the South Bank.
There are lots of different riders and bikes and quite a few guys on here go, definitely worth going to if you are new to riding in London
http://www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk/main.html

Love it! good work lads

Nice one guys, just goes to show that no matter what ability/bikes you ride you can have a fun time getting out on your bike. Keep it up.

I'm planning to go longer distances for sure. I have only ever done a round trip of maybe 3 miles before, so doing 4 miles there and return was a step I wasn't sure of. I ended up riding 15 miles in total which I'm quite happy about. I know it's not a lot for maybe all of the guys on here, but you gotta start somewhere I guess.

One day when I can afford it, I'll look at getting a roadbike or a single speeder. Someone said I really need to spend 500-800 for something that will last and be good. :s

I was a little sore today and was extremely exhausted by 11PM, so maybe a few more months and I can try to do a ride with you guys.

Hackney cyclist would be a good place to go to learn maintenance .e.t..c too. http://www.hackney-cyclists.org.uk/diary10.htm

With some work you can have a good second hand road or single speed bike for less than £200 easy, it just will not be ultra modern spec e.t.c. Loads of good offers out there just keep your eyes open on here and ebay. Have people like the Hackney cyclist help you and you can be sorted easily. Learnign to sort it all your self will make you sufficient and save money.

Nice one.

You don't need to spend £500 on a single speed bike, you can convert one yourself for less than £100. You will find that the skinny tyres on a road bike will make cycling a lot easier than on a mountain bike.

However, the cheapest thing to do is to make sure your tyres are always fully inflated; best to use a track pump with a pressure gauge on it (2 wheels good on stoke newington high street will let you use theirs if you ask nicely). Hope this doesn't sound patronising - not intended that way.

you were on bikes, you had fun - make sure you do more of it, nice one!

This thread makes me happy... :]

You don't need £500 to build summat to get you started. My first fixed gear cost £120, lasted 8months and my second cost £90 and has lasted as long. Building my first nice bike now which should be around £300 but should last forever. Buy used, trade stuff and start with a free bike. Glad you had a fun ride.

@@@@MinhDinh.....if ur looking to go single speed, these guys are right, u can get a secondhand bike for cheap or convert ur own, but there are alot of fake sellers out there.......people that re-paint really old bikes and use budget parts, to sell to ppl that want ss/free or fixed, that dont know what they're looking at.
If u dont know any couriers or bike mechanics I suggest u wait a while, till u build ur knowledge, or get a new one.
I didnt get a single speed till I could afford to get a new one, I had to courier day in day out, for 6months on a heavy, mountain bike, so getting a new bike was brilliant.
At least then, u get a warranty and feel more safe that ur bike isnt gonna fall apart or somethings gonna need repair.......after years off use road bike frames crack at the botttom.
I would suggest a fairly priced bike, the specialized langster, is £450-£500, its really light-the way it comes,
plus if u get a new one they measure u up for the right size bike, they adjust everything to ur specification before u leave and u get a free full service after 2months, by this time normally a few things need tweaking.
I didnt need anything major doing to my bike for more than a year. After riding 10 hours a day, the crankset and hubs needed looking at.
Is up to u mate, but converting a heavy mountain bike is pointless, cos most the guys u see riding single speed, are couriers with superlight bikes, made from aluminium or carbon----steel bikes are too heavy and if its speed u want the best way is to get a new one.
I went to Evans, but there are many bike shops of all shapes and size and reputations that sell single speed now, but most of the 'branded'bikes dont change much in price from place to place.

Good to see u guys are having fun, u'll find most on here dont go on mountain bike rides, as fixed ss riders ride alot faster than ur average mountain bike.
Good luck finding ur next bike, if u decide to convert and need any help, message me.

I just see what edmundro said.....is true but as he said 120-lasted 8 months, a good new bike for 4-500 should last 5years plus and thats riding everyday!!
Id rather get a new bike and have it with me for a long time, modding it along the way, than have to build myself a bike from scratch evry few months.
But hey thats me, some people like building stuff from old stuff. I however like having trusty new basics with less expensive parts....riding ss can be an expensive business either way...u go thru a lot more tyres cos of all the skidding for stopping, aswell as sneak tricks, like trackstanding and if ur riding all seasons, riding armadillo tyres thats 20 a tyre.
Theres so many people on here Im sure u'll get all the info u need. X

That video is fucking hilarious... :D

This thread makes me happy... :]

it's on the money!

that video! HA!
:D

Well done for getting out lads ,bet your mate found it hard on his bmx though!

that video is fucking hilarious... :d

haha! +1

He did a Brendo™...

lol!

Maybe ten years ago most singlespeed and fixed gear bikes were ridden by Couriers...certainly not the case now.
Most couriers i know also aren't riding superlight aluminium or carbon bikes either.
As for steel being too Heavy, i don't agree with that in the slightest...let's not mislead the guy eh? :)

Also, road bikes don't all crack at the bottom bracket after a few years either...i know of road bikes that are still being ridden hard 50yrs after they were made...some of which weren't even being ridden by couriers funnily enough. ;)

My first mammaries of seeing couriers are of them all on mountain bikes... Big tyres, lotsa Muddy Foxes... Then one day (15yrs ago or so) I saw some guy on a really sweet Klein MTB frame with skinny road wheels on it... I wanted that same set-up soooooo bad... Anything goes...
#nostalgiasucks #itsallabouttheride

Love the vid :)