I've long admired those people who ride fix and have always loved the beauty and simplicity of single geared bikes. My Girlfriend was on a course for the weekend and so decided to go for it and convert my Cecil Walker track bike for the task.
On Saturday I spent about 3 hours procuring bits and bobs for my trackie to convert it to a fixie.
So, one secondhand set of forks, a secondhand Shimano600 brake, 2 new road tyres, a K-mart brake lever, hacksawed old handlebars, 2 hose clamps for the bottle cage and two hours work and I'm AWAY!!
Sunday saw the debut of my Cecil Walker Fix. We rode up Grass Tree Hill, on the way to Richmond in Tasmania. A friend had his fixie along plus another friend rode his wierd geared hybrid thing.
My perception was that it would be super difficult so we gave ourselves permission to turn back if it became too hard. It wasn't. We kicked the mountain's butt and left our Hybrid/commuter buddy for dead.
My only problem was the left crank arm working its way loose on occasion but nothing a socket wrench and some threadlock won't sort out.
After only one 50km ride I love it. I'm now proudly a fix rider. While I love my geared bike, I reckon the poor thing is going to feel a bit neglected.
I'm feeling it today though, but its that good kind of hurt. 🙂
Oh, and for those that are interested we both rode 48/18, about 70 gear inches. Good for climbing although a bit 'spinny' on the way down.