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Lot's of advantages to fixed, one especially simple and good one in traffic is that you hardly need to touch your brakes at all, also it is safer in wet/slippy conditions. When you start riding just do it slowly on quiet streets and push back to brake - your legs will remember then that they have to pedal all the time. Probably do not get out of the saddle until you feel more confident too, after a while you will feel completely at ease.

Get a spirit level, run it from the highest point on the back of the saddle to the highest point on the front, adjust it so it is level. In my experience this will be fine.

25 mm Continental 4-Seasons 1,500 miles so far. Nearly all inner city, one puncture total. Good grip. No obvious wear so far, a few small cuts, but been through lots of glass. Fast.

Bok? - Ti moxes biti hrvat da? Ja nisam takodjer ali ja mogu razgorati malo na hrvaskom. Razajumajis?

Where do you live?

Thank you very much. I will look it up.

Yes - also you could tape your track bars, I taped mine when I used to trackrace - better grip when you sweat. But as we all know it is a question of taste and also aim. If the aim is practicality .. then one thing .. if it is to look good then maybe something else. Usually there is a compromise possible that successfully accommodates both ...

clefty [quote]Zippie Pardon my ignorance, but when is it?

a clue is in the thread title... ;-)[/quote]

Okay so it was or will be in October, so I missed it unless it is tonight and I move quickly ... thank you.

Let me rephrase the question to make my interest more easy to grasp?

If someone i:e. me, were interested in participating in such a ride how could he discover where and when, and would anyone on this site be kind enough to assist him?

I have drops and hoods. I enjoy the hood-position too much to do anything else and am too used to it after racing for years (I have tried straight bars but could never get really comfortable) and you can cover the brakes, you can also sit pretty high on the hoods and also get down pretty aerodynamically whilst still covering the brakes.

The other big advantage is using the hoods whilst climbing too (again whilst covering the brakes ...).

Pardon my ignorance, but when is it?

Also before ... spin the wheel and look to see if the rim is round. If you have a 'flat' in the rim i.e. the rim itself has been bent then it will be difficult to true well. Other wise you should be fine with a spoke key. Make small adjustments rather than large.

Yes - as per Mr Smith - a beeswax mix, there is another brand called 'Snowproof' or something similar. Also use a little all year round as it also prevents the leather eventually cracking from sun exposure. If you really want to do a job on it you can melt it in with a hairdryer! (but not if the saddle is wet, wait for it to dry first, wet leather heated cracks, let it dry out slowly). You will find that with a few coats it will become waterproof. After it has soaked in/hardened rub it with a cloth to buff up and remove any excess.

I have used both and would go for 1/8 for strength and durability, although I did spend a couple of Winters on fixed training for road racing where I ran an 1/8 chain on 3/32 ring and sprocket and it was VERY smooth.

If I was doing it from scratch I would go 1/8.

I would of thought that a standard axle length for a single chain ring would do it - go to a good bike shop that sells single speed bicycles. Also one thing to bear in mind is that you can get spacers for your fixed sprocket - to move it out - but this will not help in the other direction of course.

....oh yes, also in really cold weather a thin motorcycle balaclava folded up under your helmet will keep your head warm. Gloves, obviously also important too ....

Yes - goretex is no good except for sedentary cycling (around town it may be okay - I use it when I am commuting and it is pouring down but even then I get wet inside from condensation) - but for anything else it does not allow the moisture out (sweat) fast enough. The best is something like a helly hansen undervest (synthetic and wicks moisture away), with wool over, and then maybe polyester (easy to wash dirt etc. off) with a thin wind resistant 'cape' (not terribly water-proof but that is okay) in your back pocket in case it rains. Wool is still warm when it gets wet but better not next to the skin because it can be too cooling.

In extended rain, or for longer rides in rain, you are going to get wet through anyway so do not worry about keeping dry, the aim is to keep warm which means layers of correct clothing, and something windproof on the outside which is not too thick to allow excess heat to be lost without wind chill taking it all away too fast.

Silk I do not know about - in my limited experience it is too expensive and wears out too fast (and if you ride a lot you are going to be washing it a lot).

Cotton only (no blend) anything is for hot weather only. It absorbs moisture and cools very effectively, usually too effectively.

When I used to ride seriously even in the Summer I would not wear cotton as after a hard ride the cool-down twiddling home could cause a chill even in Summer (late evening). Around London streets in Summer it is unlikely that I would work up such a sweat so I do wear cotton now ...

Wear and carry thin layers (unless it is very cold), that way you can add and subtract as necessary, and keep extras in your back pockets.