it did...........but now it doesn't......

Today, I was mostly riding this.

No skis, use my feet to brake, if required. And yes did knock it up myself, took about an hour to build.

phunkymunky:That was me ...yeah been spotted by somebody from da interweb!!! .

I saw 3 guys on fixed while I was supervising at the kids playpark and then saw a bloke on a very nice purple Dave Yates on the way for coffee after. A busy bike spotting day indeed.

purple dave yates belongs to my friend ali whos one of the managers at Alpine bikes St Georges Cross. He got that frame for free after some ned bought it in asking if we could put gears on it, and if not, could we dispose of it for him!! Ali more than willingly co-operated with the gentelmans request. also came with a sturdy BB and some very foxy TA track cranks. I also know a guy who runs a yellow Dave yates fixed. theyre lovely bikes.

I definitely try to preserve momentum as much as possible.

not putting your foot down is the new rock 'n' roll.

timing the roll up to lightsband junctions becomes an obsession. especially if, like me, you've had a bang on the head and your balance isn't so good anymore.

Do you guys use Straps or toe clips or SPD's?

I know what you mean about luck on the roads dude. I've taken a few risks lately that have totally come off but I imagine my lucks gonna run out sometime.

Any hints on getting my laft foot into straps as I'm finding great difficulty flipping the pedal and getting my foot in with the pedal moveing all the time.....or is that just a practice thing? Oh, and track stands......that's ganna take a bit of time and probably a few sore knees, hips and elbows.....eek.

SoSage:Do you guys use Straps or toe clips or SPD's?

I know what you mean about luck on the roads dude. I've taken a few risks lately that have totally come off but I imagine my lucks gonna run out sometime.

Any hints on getting my laft foot into straps as I'm finding great difficulty flipping the pedal and getting my foot in with the pedal moveing all the time.....or is that just a practice thing? Oh, and track stands......that's ganna take a bit of time and probably a few sore knees, hips and elbows.....eek.

Ah, when I refer to luck I mean getting hit twice by cars through no fault of my own and coming out of it not too badly.

The trick of getting your foot into the pedal takes time but it'll snap to you someday. What pedals do you have? Some have a little catch on the back to help your foot flip the pedal around and then forward while you are pedaling down. Just find a quiet street and practice.

OK so haven't quite mastered uploading photos by hey ho

I love the way they look. It'll be good to see one in the flesh, when you make it to Fixed Beer. Welcome Dave!

This is bike number 4 for me so have a selection of locks...lock shown is 'just nipping into shop for a minute' lock so no fears

Hi and welcome to the forum,

You follow my commute it seems. I live just at the bit where pollokshaws road jumps the fence (at the Shell garage). Depending on how much you've got to spend I'd say the custom built (even if someone else builds it for you) way will be far more satisfying. There are plenty of people on here who I'm sure will be happy to lend a helping hand. I ended up buying a Fuji Track because I was strapped for cash and couldn't face the learning curve of building my own bike. I regret that decision now (slightly) and so am in the process of kitting my bike out with as many things that fit the description 'shiny' as possible.

Once you've got your bike built up you should come along to Fixed Beer on a Tuesday at 6:00pm at Big Slope. Feel free to come along before you've built your fixed-gear to ask for advice/borrow tools.

Cheers rusty.

Yeah, I live just by Queen's Park. I'm leaning that way, for sure – I love how everyone's bikes are totally their own. There's a shop down on Kilmarnock road called Behind Bars where I get my bike serviced – they've always seemed really good, so I'd maybe think about buying parts and getting them to build it if I chicken out...

And thanks for the offer – I'll do that.

Bank_street_baller:Building up a frame from scratch is definitely the way to go, but you do need to know roughly what to look for. People in bike shops are always willing to help, but you’ll tend to find you end up with parts that they like not always what’s best for you! This approach also requires patience and a bit of capital, but at the end you’ll have a bike that is yours and yours alone, no one else in the world will have one quite like it!

Yeah, cheers, I think I'm going to go for it. Probably in a much slower and crappier way than that phrase implies, mind *goes back to google-imaging other peoples' bikes indecisively*

Nice. Is that Shimano levers?

Are you thinking about fitting track ends? I don't think it'll be too long 'till your chain stretches. I am always tempted with one of those ENO eccentric hubs but they are rather pricey.

I've got the same levers on the winter bike, I like the spring return on them as I'm not running a back brake but I've got the lever.

When I take the winter bike off the road for the summer I'm going to have a go at fitting track ends or I might try it on a polo bike first.

I found this framebuilder in Falkirk. I read his blog a while back, I think he's taking time off at the moment cause he's just become a dad though.

I've read up on how to do it, I've got the materials and time, hopefully the patience. I've not got the public liability insurance though. So at the moment I am prepared to do it for myself and see how it lasts.

Ive done some welding training as part of my course. It showed me that even just brazing, should be left up to the proffesionals, unless you have a tone of spare time and steel tubing to practice on.... but if you have both of those then its a useful skill to have!

MIG, TIG, Manual metal arc, and fillet brazing... Part of my Naval Architecture corse at strathclyde

Hi.
Thought I might as well introduce myself. Been reading around the site for a couple of weeks now. Really like it, but as a new FG rider myself, a little intimidated by the knowledge and abilities of the folks here.

I bought a cheapish bike at Christmas because a) I didn't know if FG was for me. and b) I'm always skint.
Unfortunately I haven't had a great deal of time to play with it. Weekends only and when other distractions don't get in the way.

I'm having a bit of trouble getting the hang of the skid. Someone told me it's because I'm running 19 teeth on the back. But I don't know enough about it to understand if this is bull or not. It's also a big frame at around 25". (I'm 5'11") Think I need a smaller frame, short legs you see.

Anyway. Great site, thanks for it.

(Moved to Riders Bikes & Faces - rusty)

19 teeth on the back should be good for skidding. Don't be intimidated, most folk will be willing to share their knowledge and abilities.

my new wheels -

conn artist:my new wheels -

sexy stealthy!

is this you fixed now? (am i right in thinking the look was s/s?)

i'm still toying with the idea of bringing my dolan out to play on the roads. i need some forks and a brake though.

hihi,
I'm Saul from the edinburgh fixed gear fold, thought i'd try and bridge the east west coast divide and introduce myself.
was thinking of hitting the next tues fixed beer to get to know faces and convince you all to come and race in edinburgh and the end of the month, here's a pic of my current steed

Definitely worthy of its Bike Porn slot. A thing of beauty.