Seattle Century on a fixed gear

I have a dream… or rather prior to today I had a dream. In that dream I could ride my fixed gear bike as long as I wanted. Over hill and over dale for miles and miles into the sunset I would ride all the while comfortably spinning like a madman.

So like an idiot I invited Jeff Reed to join me on the Seattle Century and suggested that we ride single speed bikes. I was feeling pretty macho since I had completed this ride last year on my single speed… Jeff replied, "Sure! How about we ride fixed gears?"

Whaa…?!

It seems I just got one-upped. Oh well, if you make your bed you need to lie in it so I agreed. Did I mention I was recovering from a wicked saddle sore? Whatever. Go!

Joining Jeff and I was teammate Tony Bravetti on his geared bike. At least I had one person to keep me company in my misery. :)

Let me start by saying that this ride rocks. It's close to home (I was able to ride to the start), there is free food at the start, it's well supported meaning you never go more than 15 miles before you come to an aid station and the time of year is optimal meaning it's almost always warm and dry. Top it off with an AMAZING post-ride meal of grilled salmon and roasted asparagus (all you can eat) and beer/wine (all you can drink!) and I guess that's why I have been here four times in a row.

Turns out Jeff and I had a common goal - only eat ride food. Every year I get totally sick of all the sweet, processed specialty food products like bars and gels and so today we vowed to only eat what they had at the aid stations. I kinda goofed by bringing bottles filled with a fancy drink but I did not feel like dumping out the contents. In spirit I was right there with Jeff. And in practice it's why I had 'real' food at the start.

Unlike some of the more serious recreational rides in the NW this one is open and doable by pretty much all comers. Combine that with three different distances and you get folks like the guy I saw in full-length blue jeans and sneakers at the start. And I say good for him! Riding a fixed gear I was not about setting any speed records. On the contrary, today was all about (and here I'm gong to play off a common colloquialism that all the kids use these days) HTTU. Harden The Taint Up.

We rolled out. And then stopped and ate. Then we rode some more. And stopped to eat again. Repeat. I had stated that I wanted to take a short break at all the aid stations to eat but also to stretch my back and ease the part of my body that touches my saddle. Surprisingly, in spite of some sections that were uncomfortable I did way better than I thought and my crotch held up really well. I attribute this to good bike fit! Needing to rock your hips or being too stretched out, etc. will kill you on a fixed gear and luckily I have been tuning my position for many years.

In the beginning Jeff was destroying me on the descents. Tony would coast away and Jeff would slowly spin away while I struggled. I was totally stiff and could not relax the muscles in my legs. Thank goodness the more I rode the better I got and by half way I was able to keep up with Jeff when we went downhill. Just like any fixed gear ride, the climbs were a huge relief! It really changes your perspective, that feeling of looking forward to a climb is so refreshing.

Eating ride food can mean many different things. Today it meant we ate stuff like this.

And this.

I know...!

There were a few tough climbs climbs but not needing to go fast or keep up with anyone sure helped. We regrouped at the summit the one time we got separated. The hardest climb for me was heading west on the old Issaquah-Fall City Rd. Ouch. The hardest descent was going down Black Nugget Rd. Bigger ouch! Coming down from Snoqualmie Falls was not too bad. By then my legs were turning circles much better.

We laughed, we luckily did not cry and we spun our brains out. Here we are finishing up riding through Magnuson Park.

The longest ride I had ever done on my fixed gear prior to this was about 50 miles if memory serves me correctly so this is a new milestone for sure. Would I do it again? Yes! Especially if I did not have to start the ride with a sore behind.

Kudos to Jeff for doing this with me after suggesting it. Turns out he was almost not able to do so… He was truing the rear wheel of his fixed gear bike and broke a spoke. He went to the bike shop to get a spoke and they removed his cog so he could thread it through the hub flange. When he got home he discovered the shop had kept the axle nut. :( Thankfully I had a spare nut.

Here are all the pictures and video.

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	6:00 AM - banana, water 7:30 AM - hard boiled egg, bread w/jam, coffee
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	2 bottles each w/2 scoops Perpetuem, 2 hard boiled eggs, half a peanut butter and jam sandwich, half a cheese and meat sandwich, slice of pie, 2 bottles Gatorade, 2 bottles water, banana, 2 slices watermelon
Injuries	My right knee twinged a few times during the ride but it was at the end and did not bother me after I finished.
Therapy
Time of Day	8:00 AM
Workout Type	endurance
Weather	upper 50s to mid 70s, sunny by the end, dry, calm
Course
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment	Kona Paddy Wagon 42 x 16 gear 700 x 23 tires
Clothing	bib shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap

Technorati Tags: Seattle Century,fixed gear bicycle

snowshoe | fixed gear ride

What a great day! The sun was out, it wasn't windy and there was plenty of snow in the mountains and none in the city.

So logically Shelley and I had to play in the snow and then I had to go for a ride. Done.

We didn't get to the trailhead until almost 9:30 but I guess it's early enough in the season that the masses have not yet started showing up and parking was not a problem. Good times.

Today was just a short walk but there will be more.

Here are all the pictures.

After a quick snack I headed out on my Single Speed Bike. Having not ridden much lately and wanting to accelerate my ramp-up I figured this was the ticket.

Wow was I tired… or weak or something. I was crawling up all the hills but I resolved to stay seated for all of them and did do that even coming up Madrona and Union on the way home. Whew. On the upside I got a little better as I rode and whereas I had trouble maintaining 18 mph on the way out I held onto 20+ mph riding north on Rainier.

While taking a nature break at Coulon Park some other guy was washing his hands when a third guy walks in talking loudly on his cell phone. He glances around and then asks, "Is this the men's restroom?"

Really?

While on Lake WA Blvd it started to get a little darker and that was fun. I saw a bunch of kids with wheelbarrows setting out candles along the lake. Kinda like when they do that at Green Lake. Shelley and I will be there for sure.

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	snowshoe - water ride - 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem, 2 gels
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	snowshoe - 9:30 AM ride - 1:00 PM
Workout Type	endurance
Weather	snowshoe - low 30s in the shade, very comfy in the sun ride - upper 30s, dry, partly cloudy, calm
Course
Results
Time	snowshoe - 1:22 ride - 3:15
Distance	snowshoe - 2 miles ride - 50 miles
Pace
Equipment	Single Speed Bike
Clothing	ride - Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, heavy long sleeve jersey, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap

Technorati Tags: snowshoe,Gold Creek,fixed gear bicycle

fixed gear ride

Jeff R and I have been talking for ages about riding fixed gear bikes together and we finally got our shit organized today. Yes. As a bonus we were joined by RC R and Greg and Suzie K. Good times.

Today is literally my second ride of any length on any bike other than my Town Bike since switching over to running so I was pretty psyched.

It was great! The weather was cold but nothing was frozen and the roads were nice and dry. I managed to dress perfectly and the company was awesome. All morning I floated from conversation to conversation and they were 1) interesting and 2) luckily not all about cycling. Funny that. I love to ride but hearing a bunch of bike dorks prattle on and on about gear, watts, races, etc. gets OLD. Hell, it got old about a decade ago. It's so refreshing to talk about skiing or kids or the last time you got drunk or what kind of music you are into now or that super hot new employee at the office. That last one is purely hypothetical.

I was doing okay until we descended Seattle Hill Road and then I Had to grab a handful of brakes. Yikes, that one got my legs moving.

Climbing back up Broadway was a pleasure for once. Probably because I was not trying to keep up with anyone and we talked the whole way. Note to self: go for a social ride more often as it makes you rediscover how pretty some of the these routes are.

We did punch it up that last climb into Woodinville… it's only proper I suppose. Not sure if I have ever gone easy up that in my life actually. It's always been super hard or I have been on the verge of tipping over because I was so trashed.

As we got close to Bothell Everyone except Jeff and I went home and the two of us did an extra credit loop to add some distance since we had driven to the start. That was my first time up Norway Hill on my fixed gear and I thought Jeff (42x15) was going to break his legs! Ouch. But he did an amazing job and is obviously quite a bit stronger than I am. Descending down Juanita back to the car I thought for a moment I was going to make it without touching the brakes but then I caved. Or rather my legs reached their limit. That on-the-edge feeling of being totally spun and not having the option of coasting is not really a good one. :)

Sleep	7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	6:00 AM - 2 bananas, almond butter, water 7:00 AM - applesauce, walnuts, egg
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	8:00 AM
Workout Type	endurance
Weather	low to upper 30s, dry, calm
Course
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment	Single Speed Bike
Clothing	Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap

Technorati Tags: fixed gear bicycle

fixed gear ride

What a relief! To get out on this bike with a friend that is.

Work has been insane and exercise is such good therapy. The only problem is I keep falling off my bike and hurting myself so have not had much therapeutic activity recently. Plus this bike is a joy to ride. Plus I was with good friend and teammate RC R. Bonus.

I left home a little early and was going to ride north and meet RC on his way south when I ran into Ryan G who was out on his track bike of all things. He was headed south so I just rode with him down to the hydro pits and then turned around and went back to Leschi to meet RC.

We rolled south and at the top of the climb up from Seward Park we met some folks who knew RC and so chatted all the way to Renton where we split up.

There were a ton of riders out! And runners! I saw what must have been a running club outing because the group consisted of at least 30 people. And we saw a big group of the F5 cycling club folks and a big bunch of Starbucks riders as well. I think one of them was Jeff R as I heard my name called out as we rode past. I must have been living under a rock or something because the weather was not perfect plus it's the off-season for many folks and the roads were packed. Kinda cool.

The pace was nice and social. RC and I talked most of the time.

As it turns out RC and I were riding the same gear which is HUGE in terms of keeping the pace sane. We got misted on ever so lightly at the south end of the lake but it let up by the time we got back to Bellevue. It was never cold. None of my injuries gave me any grief except when I hit a bump. Very fun.

 

Sleep	5
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	2 large bottles each w/2 scoops Perpetuem, gel
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	8:00 AM
Workout Type
Weather	mid 50s, mostly dry, calm, overcast
Course
Results
Time	2:24
Distance	40 miles
Pace	17 mph
Equipment	Single Speed Bike 42x18
Clothing	knit shoe covers, knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap

Technorati Tags: fixed gear bicycle,fixie,fixed gear

fixed gear ride

Funny how your goals get 'adjusted' as conditions and your motivation changes.

Way back when I had wanted to participate in the Rapha Gentleman's Ride on Saturday but then I woke to rain and Saturday turned into a day of slothliness. I ate, watched television, ate some more, repeat. Rumor has it there was also alcohol involved. Back on Friday the forecast for the weekend looked better on Sunday than Saturday so when the rain started Saturday morning I figured no biggie, I'll make it up tomorrow.

Originally I planned on a long (100 mile) ride by myself on Sunday.

I woke up Sunday. I started watching the TdF. Then it was 9 AM. No more time for 100 miles.

How can you maximize the benefit of a limited ride window? You never coast. And what better way to not coast than riding a fixed gear.

So I aired the tires and rolled out.

ASIDE - I just want to point out that my max speed of 33 mph is not too shabby… and there were sections where I maintained 27 and 28 mph for seconds.

Back when I last checked the forecast it predicted warming and drying on Sunday but as we all know, the NW Is nothing if not fickle when it comes to weather. Let's just say I'm lucky it was warm enough because I got pretty darn wet.

The first raindrops arrived when I got to Bothell. Just after I had to climb a mother of a hill because the last couple of miles of the Burke Gilman Trail were closed. Of course I saw the detour sign and of course I ignored it thinking there would be some way for me to sneak through. There was not. So up to Bothell Way I went.

Road and trail closures were the theme for the day. In Kirkland the park at the north end was closed for some sort of street fair. I noticed it just in time to avoid entering the park.

As I got closer to Bellevue the rain started coming down good and proper so I donned my vest. I was really surprised how warm I still was as rain = hypothermia in my mind. I guess I've been living in the NW too long… I didn't have any shoe covers or rain coat but I did have my phone which has a radio so I was grooving to Preachin' The Blues and Johnny Horn is damn good.

In Bellevue there was another road closure and this time I got lucky because I really wanted to go a certain way. The sign was at the bottom of a really steep hill and boy am I glad the road was still open when I got to the top.

I kept snacking and sipping my bottles but the rain was bad enough that I told myself I was going to head across the lake on I-90 if it didn't let up and what do you know… just as I neared the bridge the rain abated some. So I kept on heading south. Good times.

My legs usually tighten up on longer fixed gear rides but today was just the opposite. I was getting tired but I was also feeling more fluid the longer I rode. Nice! Just south of I-90 I hit 33 mph on a descent and was then able to maintain 28 down a longer hill. Coming down Juanita it was a chore to sustain 27 so I was definitely getting better/looser.

As I rounded the south end and started to head north the rain almost stopped and the DJ on the radio changed (which was a good thing - I can only take so much Blues) and I was able to settle into about 22 mph all the way up Rainier. I guess this meant there was also no headwind! :)

Dropping down to Seward Park I saw yet another road closure sign and was about to utter something inappropriate when I saw that it was Bicycle Sunday. Glad I exercised some restraint. All they way up Lake WA Blvd I had a big smile on watching little kids ride around, jump out in front of, stuff like that. But I had use of both lanes so it was easy to swerve and avoid them. I saw one guy on a hand bike meaning he was using his ARM to power the cranks. That's right, not only did he not have use of his legs but he only had use of one arm. And he was still riding! Way to go mister - that is so cool. I wanted to high five him but his arm was occupied and I suddenly felt like an ass for even considering this so just rolled by.

I had been taking small detours all the way around the lake just for fun and to add a few miles and when I got to Mt Baker Beach I turned left, crossed Rainer and then rode up Beacon Hill. This is such a nice green space and it was so quiet. Except for the one guy who was walking down near the top and yelled something completely unintelligible to me. He looked kinda sketchy so did not slow down or ask for clarification.

When I got home my back was a little tight that was a super ride. And really, I have not ridden in the rain in ages so since it was warm I can't complain. Plus my bike had fenders!

Sleep
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	6:00 AM - cereal
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	2 sample size Clif Bars, 1.5 large bottles each w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	9:00 AM
Workout Type	endurance, power intervals
Weather	upper 50s, rain at times, cloudy, pretty calm
Course
Results
Equipment	Single Speed Bike
Clothing	bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap

Technorati Tags: fixed gear

fixed gear ride

Sleep	8 hours
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast	6:00 AM - smoothie
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	10:00 AM
Workout Type	endurance
Weather	mid 50s, dry sky, damp ground at start, some sun by the end, light wind
Course	around Lake WA
Distance	50 miles
Time	2:48
Power
Results
Equipment	Single Speed Bike 42x18
Clothing	knit shoe covers, knee warmers,

Yesterday I had to miss the local race which was a bummer, especially in light of our fantastic results in ALL categories but hey, I was okay with that.

Today I was going to go on an early ride but it was raining! Again! I caved and watched stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia instead while I cried in my figurative beer. After getting over myself (about the time I checked the weather forecast and looked outside – both of which indicated it was getting much nicer) I decided to head out. Good call.

I was looking for something new and something that would give me a good workout in less time so hello fixed gear! No coasting was just the ticket today.

Can you say well rested? I was. And it was a blast. I decided on clockwise as that would let me finish on Lake WA Blvd which is more scenic than the Burke Gilman Trail or Lake City Way so headed north WITH TUNES; that was another plus. I mile or so up the trail I pass this buy in a yellow raincoat on an older mountain bike with slicks. He was probably doing about 18 mph and I was cruising along at 20. With my headphones in I could not hear subtle sounds but maybe one mile later I could swear I heard a squeak and knowing my bike was silent I started to look around. Glued to my rear wheel was Mr. Yellow Raincoat. Nice. It was his drivetrain that was squeaking.

I was actually a tad nervous as he was getting pretty close but I also figured he was an adult and so decided to focus my eyes on the road (or trail in this case) in front of me.

I kept up a pretty steady 20-21 mph all the way to the end of the trail and at the last crosswalk where I had to stop for a red light Mr. Yellow Raincoat pulled up next to me and said, "Thanks for the pull! I'm gonna fall back now." I managed a smile and said, "Okay." And then he proceeded to suck my wheel all the way to the base of Juanita Drive. :)

At the light he stopped to remove his raincoat and told me how impressed he was that I was doing this on a single speed. I was going to return the compliment and let him know that not everyone can sustain 20 mph on an aging mountain bike but the light turned green and he was still trying to extricate one arm fro his jacket so I rolled away. Classic a-hole move on my part. And racers wonder why people think they are stuck up...

Climbing Juanita was fun. My gear was small enough to stay seated and my shuffle was hitting all the good stuff. That smile wasn't leaving my face.

Descending Juanita was not so smooth... it's been a while since I have been on my fixed gear and I had to touch the brakes at least twice on the way down.

At the bottom I rode through the last finishers of the Kirkland Half Marathon. They had one lane of traffic coned off so it was a delight to ride up and over the hill without cars next to me. And by now there were so few walkers and runners that I pretty much had the lane to myself.

Riding through Bellevue I passed David Barton's gym with giant posters in the windows that proclaimed, "Look Better Naked." How true. After all, what do we go to the gym for anyway? If getting fitter didn't have objective, visual results would as many of us do anything physical? I'll wager the answer is a big, fat NO.

I was loving this ride! The temperature kept slowly creeping up so I got to unzip my vest and take my gloves off. And I kept riding at 20+ mph! Usually on these longer fixed gear outings I get pretty shagged and start to slow but not today. I also usually start to get a little tight in the hamstrings but that also did not bother me today. In fact, riding up Rainer and then up Lake WA Blvd I was able to maintain 21-22 mph. For me on this gear that is pretty good.

As I dropped down to Seward Park I saw barriers across Lake WA Blvd indicating that the street was closed. Crap, detour time. Not! It was the first Bicycle Sunday – YEAH. This was like the icing on the cake. Suddenly the road was car free and I was mingling with families out walking and riding. How cool is this.

Just because I was having such a fantastic afternoon I opted for Madrona and did it all in the saddle. Boom.

Yes, I am prone to hyperbole and self-aggrandizement. Isn't that what blogs are for?

Technorati Tags: fixed gear

Fixed Gear – Training

OK, you've built your fixed gear bicycle or you're considering building it and you want to know what it's possibly good for. Fair enough, here are some benefits:

• RESTING - On a fixed gear, you'll get less of it. Since you can't coast, each ride will seem like it's about 30-40 percent longer than it really is. If nothing else, this is testimony to how much we all coast during a regular bike ride. This is also cool because the longest fixed gear ride you will ever have to do is about 40 miles.
• TECHNIQUE - Hopefully, riding a fixed gear will improve your pedal stroke. It is of course possible to ride a fixed gear bike for months and not improve at all but you'd really have to work at it (not improving that is) or just never ever go down a hill. And that would be a shame. The idea here is to get better as time goes by. To try and 'flow' while on the bike, to move one foot out of the way of the other, to become more relaxed in the saddle, to loosen your grip on the bars and to feel more at home while you ride. Don't fight it, change is usually good.
• STRENGTH - It will improve. Think about it, you will never be able to shift down for a hill. This may sound intimidating at first but it's actually very liberating once you try it. Removing the stress of thinking about what gear to shift into when a hill approaches is HUGE. You now only have two choices, sit down or stand up. Whew, what a relief... Seriously, too many people run for the granny gear when they start every little incline. A fixed gear will require you to push harder on your pedals thus making you stronger. And like Martha says, "It's a good thing."
• SPEED - Yeah baby, leg speed WILL increase. Once again, you can't coast. This will make you see descending your favorite hill in a whole new light. In fact, riding a fixed gear bike has been known to make people that used to abhor climbing into hill fanatics. Increased leg speed has SO many benefits. It allows you to spin along at higher cadences on climbs saving your strength for when the hammer really gets dropped, it allows you to close those gaps in a fast-moving paceline much more quickly, it gives you a better jump in a sprint and it means you will last that much longer on those killer descents before you actually spin out and have to coast. Heck, you might even be able to drop your friends the next time you return from climbing a mountain pass!
• SKILLS - You'll get some. You won't be able to coast to get a drink, to look behind you, to take off clothing, etc. Hey, is there a theme here...? You guessed it, YOU CAN'T COAST.
• PACE - It will become more consistent. There is nothing like riding a fixed gear in a pack of geared bikes to make you realize how damn jerky everyone else is in terms of maintaining the same pace. You can't coast so you are always applying either forward or backward pressure on the pedals. This is an enormous aid towards being really smooth. Your paceline buddies will love you all the more. And isn't love what it's all about? I'm getting verklempt, discuss amongst yourselves...

Right, but what about the drawbacks? Well sure, there are some, like:

• Your geared bike may actually seem like a huge burden to ride. Who can keep track of what gear they are in all the time anyway... And there's so much stuff to maintain and clean and lubricate and replace, what a HASSLE!
• Unless you have a DAMN nice geared bike, it may actually be heavier than your fixed gear. Seriously, think of all the crap you removed from the frame to create your fixed gear. Practically the whole drivetrain! That's not insignificant when climbing believe-you-me.
• You may end up like me, spending the whole fall and winter calling friends up on the phone asking them to go for fixed gear rides and having no luck... Oops, did I sound bitter? My apologies. Then again, perhaps this web page will help change that.
• You'll start to collect lots of links from esoteric web sites that promote single speed bikes and fixed gears. You'll get all cocky and 'indie' and try to out-geek other cycling friends with talk of gear inches, killer descents and how long you lasted before you had to grab your brakes. Oh well, once a nerd always a nerd I suppose. Riding a fixed gear won't change that.

Riding a fixed gear is just coming full-circle. Most of us started out on a fixed gear tricycle and this is just another attempt to return to that state of innocence.

Technorati Tags: fixed gear,training

Fixed Gear - Equipment

Here is what you will need to build your own fixed gear bicycle:

• A frame with horizontal dropouts.
• A rear wheel with a threaded hub.
• A single speed cog.

The rest is quite simple. Here's how to do it:

• Remove the shift levers, derailleurs and associated cables & housing.
• Remove the freewheel from the rear wheel.
• Install the track cog on the rear wheel.
• To size the chain, clamp the rear wheel all the way toward the front of the dropouts.
• Size the chain so that it's as short as possible and can still wrap both chainring and cog without binding.
• Slide the rear wheel back in the dropouts until the chain is the correct tension, clamp it and you're done.
• Don't forget to check your chain-line. From the back of the bike, sight along the chain and make sure it is fairly straight. If it's not, move the chainring to the inner/outer position on the crank or stick a spacer behind your cog or re-space and re-dish your rear wheel. If your chain-line is really bad, the chain will fly off when you push hard and you will fall down and go boom. Ouch...

Here is a bicycle info and maintenance article that I found on the Surly web site (which I have freely plagiarized here) that is really quite useful. It explains a lot about single speed drivetrains and contains some very important cautions/considerations that the single speed novice might not be aware of.

ASIDE - What is the correct chain tension? The chain should be snug without binding at any point during the pedal rotation. Clamp the wheel in place and pedal the bike while running your fingers along the chain. You will feel the chain get tight, then loose, then tight and then loose again. That's because of things like the threads on the hub not being perfectly centered, etc. With a derailleur, this doesn't matter because the cage takes up the slack in the chain. With a fixed gear it's crucial to get it right. If the chain is too loose, it may fly off while you bounce around on a bumpy road or while spinning at really high cadences. If it's too tight, it will bind with each pedal stroke and slow you down. If you have to, err on the side of having it too loose. If it flies off, it's not the end of the world. You can just stop, put it back on and continue your ride.

If you want to get fancy, here are some more things you can do to make your fixed gear bicycle uber cool:

• Remove the outer chainring. This will require that you get some 'single' chainring bolts (which are just shorter than 'double' bolts).
• Since your chain line is probably not perfect, it really is nice to re-space the rear hub in order to line up the cog with the chainring and then re-dish the rear wheel. Go on, it's not that hard or expensive, and it will give you a stronger rear wheel and a drivetrain that will last to boot.
• Gee, did I say 'things'...? Well that's it. There isn't anything else to do. That's the beauty of a fixed gear, it's so damn simple!
• Since this bike will get used (by most of us) primarily in the winter, I might suggest getting some fenders as well. Shoot, the bike is so light already, fenders will hardly get noticed.

NOTE - Want to convert your existing geared bike to a single speed and not a fixed gear? Try this converter from Nashbar.com.

FAQ

BRAKES
Q: Martin, I've seen movies of NY messengers where they don't have any brakes on their fixed gear bicycles, can I take those off too...?

A: NO! Leave both of your brakes on and make sure they are well adjusted. A fixed gear bike is not always like a true track bike in that there is usually not a reverse-thread lockring holding your rear cog onto the hub. In the event you have a real panic stop, it's entirely possible that your cog will spin right off your wheel and without brakes, you'd be helpless. Plus, unless you have mastered the skid technique of scrubbing off speed you will need brakes.

MORE ABOUT BRAKES
Q: But Martin, I've seen messengers in Seattle ride around with only the front brake, surely that must be OK...?

A: NO! See above tip. If you ever have to do a panic stop with only your front brake and don't have mad skillz, you're guaranteed to endo or push out your front wheel as it looses traction. Think of all the embarrassment you will save yourself by just keeping that second brake ON YOUR BIKE.

Q: Won't all the messengers think I'm a dork for using brakes?

A: Maybe.

Technorati Tags: fixed gear,equipment