On Jun 10, 11:21Â am, fiddler crabby
ya-nospam-hoo.com>
wrote:>> Quickest option: Go to the Bike Pedlar and pick up a pre-built wheel,
>> cog, and a chain, mount up and ride. There will be much talk about
>> whether you want a freewheel lower than your cog for rides home and
>> yadda yadda on your flip flop...but the reality is that you'll ride it
>> as a single speed for a while, flip it to fixed gear, and either love
>> it or hate it,and stick with one or the other.
>
> What's the price range on a pre-built from Bike Pedlar?
AFAIK, you can walk out the door with a wheel and a cog for $150. The
hubs are generic, but fine cartridge Taiwanese stuff, about a notch
below what I run in the polish dept. That said--you'll likely never
have to service the hubs. Straight gauge spokes. Double wall rims.
Forgot which brand. Probably Alex or Weinman. Doesn't matter much.
You'll need to ask them to space the wheel up to 126mm, which involves
just a couple washers, and don't forget some track nuts. Grease those
threads!
Alternately, Jolly out in Hermitage might have something--call them if
being in the Vandy area makes you nauseous.
Online is also an option. Nashbar has their flip/flop hub for $40
right now. Get Sapim spokes for 50c each through a guy on
rech.bicycles.tech and a nice Alex rim--and you can build your own
wheel for under $100 that's far better than what those bucks buy.
Sheldon Brown's site has instructions on that as well. Takes two hours
and a six pack the first time.
>
>> Note on running fixed on a freewheel hub: You can run a track cog on a
>> freewheel hub: 1. if you use locktite. 2. if you use brakes at both
>> ends. 3. as a final precaution, an old bottom bracket lockring may be
>> used as a lockring, but if ya got brakes, it's not necessary, really.
>
>> WARNING:
>
>> Despite the hipsters you see on fixed gear bikes--riding one really is
>> an advanced skill. You cannot coast. You cannot forget this. When
>> working on the bike, do not forget it either, or you will lose a
>> finger.
>
> Coasting on hills and on tight corners is what's holding me back from
> jumping right into fixed gear, along with not being able to position the
> pedals to avoid obstacles.
Coasting on hills is for invalids and the doughy! You don't want your
muscles getting cold and seizing up! ;-) There's nothing quite as
thrilling as letting your legs "noodle" at 30+ mph and thinking, "if I
tense up right now, my dental bill's gonna be hoooge". Nah, but
seriously--riding fixed is a great way to keep yourself from riding at
extreme speeds. I max out at 30mph downhill, and cruise at a good
22mph. I hear these horror stories about folks wiping out at 50mph on
wicked descents--well, since I've been riding epic rides exclusively
on fixed gear--I can't ever hit those speeds. It's safer in a way. :-)
Pedal strike in corners is more psychological. Hardly anyone ever
corners steeply enough to hit a pedal while pedaling. You can lean
your bike over with the pedal down and see how far ya can go--it's
usually quite far. That said, I run fairly short cranks for my height,
165mms.
The only time pedal strike is an issue with fixed gear on the road is
for dumb stuff like when you're rolling off a curb--that's when you
just have to get used to thinking about having your cranks "in phase".
So you think, "where is the phase going to be when I ride over that
object?" If in doubt, just stop and scooch over it.
Another issue with fixed is an inability for beginners to hop over
road obstacles like small transitions in the road. That's why I do
recommend a fatter tire than the preposterously narrow racing tires
that the hipster kids run. I'm a huge fan of Panaracer Paselas in the
28-32mm width. Tough, but light and fast. They roll over crap without
feeling like you're on a freaking bone shaker.
With all of our greenways--I think that giving fixed gear a go is
really worth a shot. It's not the thing to try first thing in traffic
to be sure--but to groove along at 13mph, directly connected to your
bike on a greeway with no clicky freewheel--that's about as good as it
gets.
Well, this is about as good as it gets, a gravel path, a mile from PP
dam, on my fixed gear:
http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aVY0AuS
>
> Thanks, maxo! This is just what I was looking for.
>
> --fc
Have fun!
