Fixie virgin

May be worth fitting a rear brake too if dealing with lots of downhill - using your legs to brake isn't too clever of 20% downhills IME. Finding a gear that works for you is worth experimenting - aiming for 90-100rpm cadence at your average speed should leave enough for the uphills and mean you're not cooking-it on the downhills too.

Learn to do skids with it, when you need to make a tight corner it's invaluable!

I'm getting caught out with not being able to freewheel, that seems to be something everyone says, but that's getting easier by the day.

Going at speed is no different, but find it quite strange when decelerating to have to apply the brake.

Strangest thing of all - and I was never really conscious of this before - is moving off from a standstill. I clearly like to move off with the pedals in a certain position and on a freewheel I just flick them round. However on a fixed wheel...

But I guess its just something else to get used to. And its interesting to hear peoples' theories about using fixies for winter training - I'm using the fixie for my commute but still on my road bike for weekend rides.

Went back to singlespeed on my 25-mile round trip commute recently after 3 years on fixed. Knees not enjoying the latter at all. Did a track session recently and they flared up again. Don't know what the solution is - maybe a lighter gear?

I just flipped from freewheel to fixed last week. Different...

Love the build, and the fact that thats how cycling used to be for me, build out of whats in you and your mates boxes of bits, rather than todays "cycling is the new golf"
Well done.

front mtb hub for a fixed rear hub:

http://www.velosolo.co.uk/shophub.html

to be clear. On the rear of the bike i am using an mtb front hub designed for disc brakes. where the disc should be bolted on ive bolted on a cog! it really is solid!

I don't want to sound pedantic about the terminology but it is just another one of these lazy adoptions of american english. I just feel as if I have to point it out.

Lovely build, Gepin. In my old cycling clubs (Thanet Road Club and then the Norwood Paragon) it was very much the done thing among the older riders at the time to ride 'fixed' in the winter, arguing that the simplicity was a bonus while improving pedalling technique or what they called 'souplesse' Unfortunately, I was in the younger generation that was a bit dismissive of this, going for bigger gears and longer cranks (our knees are all knackered now) but I did do one winter on fixed and it's only now with the benefit of hindsight that I realise what a benefit it was. I found it helpful to completely relax my legs and focus on my feet describing effortless circles rather than any kind of up-and-down motion at all. Go with it. You'll be killer by the spring.

yeah heres mine:

https://picasaweb.google.com/wyadvd/Jul42011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL...

stripped the vintage track hub trying to skid it (tw@t that I am!), so now it has a disc brake front mtb hub with the sprocket bolted on a la velosolo. no thread to strip!

Um I do a 30 mile round trip on mine, lets see what's gone wrong so far. just over shot a corner once trying to freewheel round it. wont do that again. feel much safer now I can skid brake when required! avoid pot holes and sleeping policemen if you value your ahem "assets" ahem.... and when it seems like hard work.........pedal faster and it all gets easier.... funny that eh!

as for punctures .. getting the back wheel off isnt so easy, and may require extra tools so think about that. other than that just google "sheldon brown fixed"

Try riding "Fixed" it's even better, or are you in the US ?

don't stop pedalling

looks like a nice build. how did the first outing go?