Too much too soon?

[aj82]

Returned to cycling about nine months ago after many years away and I'm in the market for something new and hopefully flashy soon, as I have a worrying feeling my current ride is not much longer for the world. I currently have an elderly mountain bike that recently had hybrid tyres put on, as I never go off-road.

I've been looking at various road bikes and picking out some online that I might want to look into testing some day soon if I can find a friendly LBS.

However, recently I've been kind of captivated by some of the single-speed and fixed bikes I see zipping around (usually passing me). They really look quite sexy. So without being preachy about it, what merits do they actually have over road bikes? It seems to me they could be very hard work, and it's obviously an area you can get pretty heavily into.

As a reasonably informed beginner, is there any sense in even thinking of going down that route, and am I, in all seriousness, just setting myself up for a fall if I buy something that looks nice but it turns out I can't handle it?

 

[ianrauk]

Riding a fixie gives you carte blanche to:
Try to trackstand with your arse wobbling in the air and if you cant manage a trackstand run red lights.
What the heck, run red lights anyway.
Wear one trouser leg rolled up (must be designer jeans)
Have dayglo bright orange or green rims.
The narrowest width handlebars you can find...

in no way is this post meant to stereotype fixie riders of course.....

 

[skwerl]

Riding a fixie gives you carte blanche to:
Try to trackstand with your arse wobbling in the air and if you cant manage a trackstand run red lights.
What the heck, run red lights anyway.
Wear one trouser leg rolled up (must be designer jeans)
Have dayglo bright orange or green rims.
The narrowest width handlebars you can find...

in no way is this post meant to stereotype fixie riders of course.....

Explain this to me. Those daft dayglo rims are always quite serious deep section which, in my view, = aero = speed. Which is fine but they're always on bikes with riser bars. How the hell is that aerodynamic? Or am I confusing style with substance because I'm not too kewl for (old) skool?

 

[aj82]

Riding a fixie gives you carte blanche to:
Try to trackstand with your arse wobbling in the air and if you cant manage a trackstand run red lights.
What the heck, run red lights anyway.
Wear one trouser leg rolled up (must be designer jeans)
Have dayglo bright orange or green rims.
The narrowest width handlebars you can find...

in no way is this post meant to stereotype fixie riders of course.....

Okay, I think I can see where this is going . I don't feel morally obligated to run red lights and can't afford designer jeans on my salary so on that basis alone then maybe not.

 

[skwerl]

Okay, I think I can see where this is going . I don't feel morally obligated to run red lights and can't afford designer jeans on my salary so on that basis alone then maybe not.

your timing means you're currently in the middle of a society fixie fixation which has resulted in people buying them because they look good and not because they are good. Not a problem in itself but you run the risk of being looked upon as a sheep.
I rarely ride mine these days, though that's partly to do with the novelty of riding nothing but fixed for 6 years and now being able to change gear and freeweheel. Partly to do with the sheep thing tho'

 

[Randochap]

While there's nothing inherently wrong with fixed gear bicycles (I built my first one 49 years ago from parts in my granddad's shed) and there can be an argument for their use on the street in winter (by experienced cyclists mind) the current "fixie" fad is just that ... and rather tiresome.

A track bike is a minimalist thing of beauty but, IMO, most of the things you see about town are abominations. Often "hipsters" have taken nice, classic steel frames and hacked the derailleur hanger off, making them unusable for their intended purpose, without brazing on a new hanger or using an add-on.

Worse yet is a bad "restoration" of a vintage track frame with the addition of aforementioned dayglo wheels, etc.

To my mind you would be better off, depending on your intended use, with a road bike -- tourer or sport -- or a hybrid.

If you intend on commuting or touring, make sure you can fit racks and mudguards -- that is, check if it has braze-on and eyelets for same.

Check the bike categories at VeloWeb for more info.