[Closed] Lets talk fixies!

I have a Dolan fxe....not sure it meets any of your criteria though. 🙂 I try to avoid anything fixie/hipsterish..... 😉

[url= http://www.mangobikes.co.uk/bikes/single-speed-and-fixie-bikes ]New age fun with a vintage feel.[/url]

Been very pleased with Kona Paddy Wagon, bought it take the brunt of winter training and it's standing upto the job superbly.

Here's my old Fuji track. It wasn't up for long. Apparently that shelf is for crockery, coffee pots and other such nonsense.

[img] ?oh=40f80d14c441e02ff4d4bb3f0daf268b&oe=5555FB4E[/img]

Commute on a pompino - love it. Pretty cheap, nice ride position and the wheels have lasted superbly (Don't think they're owt special, weinmann I think the brand is, but they've done 1000s of pot-holed miles and are still in fine fettle)

Would look at the wheels as much as the frame if you're looking to pick up something at the cheaper end. Some shite wheels knocking about there - hammer the driveside rear bearing in no time.

Kona Paddy Wagon is an excellent bike that is more than the sum of its parts. Bit of a hipster fail though. The Dolan fxe has similar geometry. The Specialized Langster is a little more hip.

By coincidence, we have one of each in the garage (the fxe is really a pre cursa so no brakes). They are all nice, but I'll take my custom Paddy Wagon every time. I ride about 4000 miles on it, including training rides. It's a bit special, with new and lighter everything. But the frame is very good.

[img] ?oh=0f06c794b6af44c67fe0b78121c74ebe&oe=554C72B8[/img]

but the commuter has got to look nice enough to hang on the wall...

(I'm not a hipster honest).

You're worse, you're a hipster in denial...

Here's an older picture of mine:

[img] [/img]

Viking "CitiFix" it's wearing mudguards and on its 2nd set of wheels and it's teh orsumz... IMO...

Edit:

Would look at the wheels as much as the frame if you're looking to pick up something at the cheaper end

^^ This ^^

Commute on a pompino - love it

+1. a few bits changed over the last 7 years (at easter)

biggest change is the forks to allow me to run a disc. Personally i'd run discs or calipers on a commuter: cantis are too much hassle. mini v's might be good...

it's also done several 100km + rides/ audaxs etc.

get something that allows proper guards.

ideal urban commuter hipster bike

Dolan FXE, F+R brakes, 28c tyres, guards, probably a rack. 48x19.

I'm not a hipster honest

I am, so I ride this:

[img] [/img]

Dolan FXE, F+R brakes, 28c tyres, guards, probably a rack. 48x19.

When I used my fixed to commute, there were some days that I absolutely hated it - when you're a bit ill or just knackered and you can't even freewheel. If I did it again, I'd do it SS rather than fixed.

I commute on a Revolution Belter
Single speed, belt drive hybrid.
Narrow clearances but will take Crud Road Race mudguards.

[img] [/img]

Wheels and fork are kind of heavy - think most of the money goes on the belt drive.
Cheap upgrades though

I loved my Surly Steamroller. Fast, comfortable and robust. Turns out you can pick three!

frankenfixie? M2 frame, P2 forks, Cowbell bars, WI flip-flop hub and sprocket, Renthal ring.

[img] [/img]

Langster ?

[img] [/img]

Flipflop hub so easy to swap between fixed and SS depending on what type of day you're having, will also take Crud Road Race mudguards if required.

If I was fast commuting I would get a Dolan precursa. Loaded/gentler commuting with racks it would be a pompino.

I rode this, because i hated my back. Now brakeless with drops and used only on track.
[URL= http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y173/spearmintrennie/BD742D11-7AC4-49A2-A371-88C83FCA8625-2717-000003D11B597A35_zps6e29b227.jp g" target="_blank">http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y173/spearmintrennie/BD742D11-7AC4-49A2-A371-88C83FCA8625-2717-000003D11B597A35_zps6e29b227.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

Get something that can be converted back to gears once you've grown tired of the limitations of riding fixed.

I got it into my head that I had to have a fixie, and I rode it for several years, not just to work, but all over the place.

Trouble with a fixie though is that, ummm, downhills are just really quite rubbish. You just can't go as fast. Uphills as well. And there's a limit to how fast you can go on the flat as well unless you're prepared to spin your legs a quite insane amount.

So one day I woke up and put gears on it (Surly Crosscheck) and never looked back. I love having a bike that I can use equally for commuting in the rain or cycling up and down huge mountains.

Gears are awesome!

[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8621/16232963648_dd6988ba80.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8621/16232963648_dd6988ba80.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qJsbxA ]IMG_20150131_125650[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/36306029@N05/ ]lukediamand[/url], on Flickr

Put together for not much more than an off the peg "Mango" bike .. Helped by spares box though 😉

[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7439/16509266411_b2d32ce05e_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7439/16509266411_b2d32ce05e_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/r9SiJk ]image[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/54931015@N07/ ]Plus one2010[/url], on Flickr

@oldnpastit....its all pedalling, just a different mind set 🙂

Another Paddy Wagon here, run SS rather than fixed. It's a lovely thing to ride, probably due to the geometry rather than anything else. I picked up a reduced 2013 model last year, it has a clearcoat over metal rather than the painted finish of the 2014s. All the joins are a bronze colour.

tired of the limitations of riding fixed.

Faster than u crew

[img] [/img]

I bought a couple of these [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fixie-700c-RED-Cycle-Bike-Bicycle-Single-Speed-Green-wheels-NEW-cheap-budget/371086002522?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25291%26meid%3D67241aa988fe40bcbffa1d2aeda80de8%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10621%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D371085908730&rt=nc ]single speed[/url] ( my 2 lads just at uni)Good bikes for the money

umop3pisdn, that is BADASS!

huws - Member

If I was fast commuting I would get a Dolan precursa. Loaded/gentler commuting with racks it would be a pompino.

I rode this, because i hated my back. Now brakeless with drops and used only on track.

Loving my Roadrat! Would never go fix though O.O

£200 of here + upgradeitis =

[img] [/img]

100 mile TT. Don't think my knees have ever been the same since. Just such good fun for < £200
[IMG] [/IMG]

Ooooh.. The Lick Observatory. Massive Refractor! Oooooh...

Is that an older precursa in your picture or something else?

It's a track champion (now replaced by the TC1) a bit more racy and stiff as hell.

Precursas will just about take a small cross tyre if you fancy some off road fixed fun. 😀

there's and epic thread on dolans over on LFGSS [url= http://www.lfgss.com/conversations/142028/?offset=2350 ]here[/url]

Fairdale Parser - good bike, good spec, looks good and [url= http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/urban-bikes-c4/singlespeed-c45/fairdale-parser-single-speed-bike-2014-p1185 ]good price[/url]. Although technically it's not fixed and has a choice of two gears...

Another Fuji track here, cheap and cheerful and classic look to the frame... Til I put a Planet X carbon base bar on it.

Enough room for race guards too.

100 mile TT

Me too, this year. <4 hours is the target!

once you've grown tired of the limitations of riding fixed.

Go fixed, learn to spin like a God! But use proper brakes.

Ran fixed for quite a while. When I first got it I used to ride it everywhere. The I gradually stopped riding it so much. I did and still do really enjoy it but got fed up with it after a while so changed it to single speed. Now I ride it as often as possible. It's often my go to bike. 2 brakes is a good idea because one brake and a fixed gear can be a bit hairy on a commute if you're in and out of traffic a lot.

Daisy Duke what bike is that?

I've a fixie, actually a SS, for Town. I went to BBB and bought a drop bar special from them and had them fit a front brake on it. I fitted some 28's on it and mostly gear to 18, sometimes a 19 just to spin up. Down East way some of the roads I use to get into Town are shot or cobbles so I prefer a bit of bounce. I don't need to commute, 10min walk for me but if I did I'd stick guards on it.

Wibble
It's a Graham Weigh alloy budget track bike. Has a very flat top tube but for some reason it's mega comfy and can ride in the drops all day.

I rode fixed as a student in Edinburgh and loved it. Following a trip to Portland, OR, I fancied another. Thirty years later I liked the simplicity, I could still spin fluidly buts struggled on the steep 12% climbs to get back home. Built up from my spares box and an ebay 653 frame it cost next to nowt. Sold it for more than the sum of the parts, the itch scratched. 🙂

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/mcs-fixie-project-now-complete

[img] ?oh=21e879e217e927e6381883885301a363&oe=5562CFE9[/img]

This was mine just before I sold it. Giant Bowery from 2008 I think. Perfect for nipping around the town, a few 30 odd mile rides around Fife and the odd commute from Dundee to St Andrews.

Don't think Giant still make them, but for about £200 it was a bargain.

I'd suggest staying away from a proper track bike and get something designed for actual roads. The handling will be easier and it'll have a more hill friendly gear on it.

@ Daisy Duke not big on info on that Graham Weigh site are they?!

What's the tyre clearance like? What are those mudguards on yours and with what size tyres? Cheers

The quintessential London commuter IMO is any of the Condor singlespeeds - Pista being the real classic or a Tempo if you're middle-aged (it takes guards and a rack). It helps that they're lovely bikes to ride.

Wibble
I think Graham Weigh and Dolan names are interchangeable these days. I run 23mm but there is loads of clearance for a wider tyre. I run sks narrow gauge mudguards for long TT's! The welds on the frame aren't brilliant but it's serviceable.

Old steel road frame with the numbers 531 and bash on.

Classy and perfect.

Thanks Daisy Duke. Like the look of that. Could be a cheap build with various parts I already have knocking about.

Again SS rather than fixed.... On One Macinato - my favourite bike.

[img] [/img]

another dolan precursist here - I love mine and the good thing is that you take the brakes off and it's Herne Hill ready 🙂

mine had a child seat on it !!

[img] [/img]