Bicycle spags?

[LMNO]

I can't straighten tires, everything else short of welding breaks falls under wrench twisting, so I don't see much point to a bike mechanic.

Small talk?

I hear they tend to be well spoken.

Stop pedaling those awful puns here.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

I think the primary reason to ride a fixed gear bike, especially if you live in a hilly area, is to prove you are a True Bicycling Bignuts.

I think it's a status thing more than anything else.


My advice:

Get a reputable frame from people with a lot of experience making frames. If you've ever had a frame or fork break on you, you know it's a lot cheaper to spend more money on solid equipment than it is to get reconstructive surgery for your face. I was lucky and landed in dirt and woodchips but if I was on concrete I would not have all of my teeth.

Get a solid wheelset, and basic components that you replace later as ECH suggested.

[Cain]

A Really Real Cycling Bignuts (for Realness) would buy a 25 gear bike and ride it on the highest gear everywhere.  I'd be impressed, if questioning of their sanity.

[East Coast Hustle]

Also, the only excuse for having a single-speed bike and being an adult is living in Holland.  Or being a pretentious hipster who aspires to someday riding a tall bike to his favorite PBR-soaked hipster hangout.

fixed that for you.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

I can't straighten tires, everything else short of welding breaks falls under wrench twisting, so I don't see much point to a bike mechanic.

Small talk?

I hear they tend to be well spoken.

Stop pedaling those awful puns here.

No need to be cranky about it.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

A Really Real Cycling Bignuts (for Realness) would buy a 25 gear bike and ride it on the highest gear everywhere.  I'd be impressed, if questioning of their sanity.

One would need to fashion a sidecar specifically designed to carry such nuts.

[Payne]

A Really Real Cycling Bignuts (for Realness) would buy a 25 gear bike and ride it on the highest gear everywhere.  I'd be impressed, if questioning of their sanity.

If it counts for anything, I used to do that with my 21 speed.

I've fallen horribly out of shape lately, but my calves are still fucking rawking.

[PeregrineBF]

Just get a penny farthing and be done with it.

[johnnybrainwash]

I rode a single speed with coaster brakes every day for about two years in Portland, which has lots of hills. I really appreciated the simplicity of it- I'm not big on fixing things, and this was very low-maintenance. I commuted ten miles every day, in all weather, and never had any real problems. I would often blow past people with thousand-dollar bikes who were click-click-clicking their gears looking for the sweet spot, while I knew all I had to do was muscle down.

As the first bike I commuted on, it was excellent for building up strong legs very fast, and it gave me the confidence in my own strength to climb hills and the like. I could count maybe twice that I had to get off and push, and those were a matter of something killing my momentum halfway up.

I have a 3-speed now, and I think for my next bike I might go up to as many as 7 or 8. I like using third gear to fly down hills where I couldn't pedal fast enough before, but I almost never use first to climb- that's what muscle is for. I like being able to switch when I want to, though- I'm not out to prove anything.

That single-speed is still sitting in my living room, awaiting its eventual conversion to a chopper.

(Single speed does not equal fixie in this case, by the way. Fixies are specialized bikes that you'll probably never need to think about unless you're more concerned with fashion than riding.)

[Eater of Clowns]

I rode a single speed with coaster brakes every day for about two years in Portland, which has lots of hills. I really appreciated the simplicity of it- I'm not big on fixing things, and this was very low-maintenance. I commuted ten miles every day, in all weather, and never had any real problems. I would often blow past people with thousand-dollar bikes who were click-click-clicking their gears looking for the sweet spot, while I knew all I had to do was muscle down.

As the first bike I commuted on, it was excellent for building up strong legs very fast, and it gave me the confidence in my own strength to climb hills and the like. I could count maybe twice that I had to get off and push, and those were a matter of something killing my momentum halfway up.

I have a 3-speed now, and I think for my next bike I might go up to as many as 7 or 8. I like using third gear to fly down hills where I couldn't pedal fast enough before, but I almost never use first to climb- that's what muscle is for. I like being able to switch when I want to, though- I'm not out to prove anything.

That single-speed is still sitting in my living room, awaiting its eventual conversion to a chopper.

(Single speed does not equal fixie in this case, by the way. Fixies are specialized bikes that you'll probably never need to think about unless you're more concerned with fashion than riding.)

That Sheldon Brown guy in the link makes some pretty compelling arguments for single speeds as well.  I'm tempted to go for the whole different riding experience, and I imagine it'd be easier to build than a geared bike, but even on a geared bike it sucks to hit a bad hill.  It's the long sloping ones I hate the most.  The steep ones are at least over relatively quickly.  Then again I guess I haven't hit a truly awful steep one yet.

[Fredfredly ⊂(◉‿◉)つ]

isnt it better exercise to do single speed? thats the only reason i would own a bike. i only ride stationary ones anyway 

[East Coast Hustle]

Umm, Portland does NOT have alot of hills. Well, the westside has some but nobody actually lives over there so it doesn't count.

That said, building a geared bike is no harder than building a single-speed bike unless you intend to machine the parts yourself. Otherwise, it's just a matter of attaching the right parts to the right spots on the frame, and making sure you get a derailleur that's made of something heavy-duty enough not to bend and throw off your gearing every time you hop a curb.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

The single speed simplicity has it's perks, I agree. Johnny Brainwash and Sheldon Brown have some points: it's a bit cheaper, easier to maintain, and the experience is notably different (quieter, super smooth pedal strokes).

But it's not practical. Also, derailleurs are not that hard to service—it takes like 30 minutes tops to get things shifting smoothly. Figuring out chain tension on a single speed is more difficult than setting up a derailleur. It's kind of sad that people consider gear shifting systems so complicated. They ARE complicated for cars, trucks and motorcycles, I wouldn't even know how to begin. But for fucks sake, THAT is your standard for complexity versus simplicity? Some extra cogs, cables, and shifting devices?

Srsly? Those are some of the easiest parts of a bicycle to service and maintain.

I used to ride a 20" and 24" BMX and rode the hell out of them, occasionally on the westside which ECH has noted are indeed full of hills. I've also ridden a rigid mountain bike, a few hardtails, and a road racing bike on a regular basis to get around Portland. Let's just say that I willfully chose not to get my drivers license until I was in my twenties... The single speed aspect is limiting, even if you mess with the gear ratios. You inevitably will run into a situation where you're going to have to walk or not ride the way you want to because you're stuck in one goddamn gear. I can't say I've ever felt limited by having the option to shift gears as the conditions warrant it.

I can't fully understand why you'd want to ride a single speed that isn't a BMX though. If you have a single speed that you will never be able to jump over a recycling bin, WAYSRB?

[Triple Zero]

Dunno about harder to service, my point of view about simplicity in fixed gear versus multi gear is that it simply has less cogs cables and other parts that can break. Less parts is less breakage in a hostile environment, such as my city.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Dunno about harder to service, my point of view about simplicity in fixed gear versus multi gear is that it simply has less cogs cables and other parts that can break. Less parts is less breakage in a hostile environment, such as my city.

My bike is broken, yet I can still ride it around as a two speed.

If more of it breaks, I can still ride it as a one speed.

This is all irrelevant though to the greatest bicycles on earth, which hark from the Netherlands and I'm aghast you have neglected to mention. None of this rear-attaching, shit-falling-off-and-you-don't-know-it-because-it's behind-you, Xtra-cycle, 90's-neo-hippie American crap.

The Dutch know how to MOVE SHIT ON A BIKE:



LOOK AT THAT SHIT! YOU COULD PUT A PERSON IN THAT BUCKET THAT IS TOO FAT TO RIDE A GODDAMN BIKE!

THE FRONT WHEEL IS TINY AS FUCK SO YOU CAN SEE OVER IT.

SEE THAT LONG THUNDERDICK OF A BAR THAT GOES TO THE FRONT WHEEL: THAT'S A MOTHERFUCKING STEERING APPARATUS THAT WOULD RAPE A GIRAFFE WITH YOUR MOM MERELY BY LOOKING AT IT.

THE MOTHERFUCKING DRIVETRAIN IS COVERED WITH PLASTIC SHIT SO YOUR FUCKING PANTIES WONT GET ZALGOED TO A FINE, BLACK PULP OF SUPERNATURAL EXCREMENT.

AND FEAST YOUR EYES ON THE DOUBLE-FUCKING-SIDED KICKSTAND. YOU CAN GO FROM FULLY ERECT, TO THRUSTING YOUR WAY THROUGH TRAFFIC IN A SINGLE GODDAMN GESTURE.

WHEN YOUR NUTS SWELL OUT OF YOUR PANTS FROM RIDING THIS BITCH YOU CAN JUST PARK THAT SHIT ON THE BACK MOTHERFUCKING CARRIER AND FEEL THE COOL BREEZE RIPPLE THROUGH YOUR SCROTE. UNLESS YOUR SWOLLEN-ASS NUTS WEIGH MORE THAN 35 KILOS. THAT'S 77 POUNDS OF BUILT-IN BRA FOR YOUR NUTS IN THE BACKSEAT ALONE.