The Screamin’ Salmon was my fixed-gear bike. A few months ago, after 10 years, I decided to unfix her. I wanted to coast down the Queensboro bridge. First I put the Bendix 2-speed kickback hub on her, but that hub was too heavy for such a light bike. So then I went with a simple…
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So I’m in Amsterdam again. On day five, I saw my first fixed gear bike. It wasn’t like I was missing them or looking for them. I just find it interesting, one in five days. Meanwhile there are now hundreds of bakfietsen. In some ways, symbolically, a new bakfiets here is kind of like an…
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My kickass Bendix kickback hub finally arrived today. My God it’s heavy. Almost 4 lbs. This was build back when A-myrrh-ica still build steel. It’s so heavy, I’m having second thoughts about using it for a bike I want to be fast and nible. But I am going to use it and convert my fixed…
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My plan is unfix my fixed gear, put on slightly smaller (650B) wheels, and coast with joy down the Queensboro bridge. I’ve got nothing against fixed gears. I’ve had this bike for almost 10 years. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Today on ebay I purchased a Bendix coaster brake 2-speed kickback…
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I received a comment from an editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette telling about this article“The Limberness of the Fixed Gear Mind” (they left out the the hyphen, not me) by Jeff Guerrero, publisher of Urban Velo, a Pittsburgh-based cycling magazine and daily Web site. It’s a great read, probably the best single summary of fixed-gear…
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So I was riding my fixed-gear bike to work the other day. While going over the new horrible series of bumps on Crescent St. as you approach the bridge, my chain came off. It’s never happened before. And it wasn’t a big deal, because I have a hand brake on my fixed-gear bike. So I…
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It’s not a bad article. Actually, once you get past the part that implies fixed-gears can’t stop because they don’t have brakes, it’s surprisingly good. But I can imagine writers convincing editors about their story about these crazy people that ride bikes… get this… Without Brakes(!). FYI, my fixed gear has fenders and front brakes.…
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After 7 years and many (4?) attempts, I finally found comfortable handlebars for the Screamin’ Salmon, my fixed gear. It finally involved: 1) buying handlebars in Amsterdam2) sawing off the end of those handlebarsand 3) buying a new extended high handlebar stem with minimum reach The handlebars are right at seat height. Maybe an inch…
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The only thing weird is that it’s sponsored by Puma. Fixed-gear 101 makes great bathroom reading. Download the pdf version.
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