Wow! And I thought I'd just moved to a nice, friendly part of town? Horsebox - the long distance rides sound ace. I will PM you about those one day. oilworker - I started this thread purely to have a conversation about fixed gear riders and bikes. Defintely not to brag or preach about being in some sort of "clique" as you put it. We both ride fixed gear very much NOT as part of the whole east-london scene and take it seriously. I've ridden fixed for about a year now, and my mate even longer. I personally wouldn't think of going back to geared now because as someone else put it, I feel much more a part of the bike and have amazing control of what I'm doing. the other benefits are that you gain much better momentum and speed with fixed, you get fitter and there is much less to maintain when things go wrong. It does have it's danger and risks but if you know what you're doing then it's surely part of the fun and excitement. I ride up and down Dog Kennel Hill every day and there is nothing better to start and end my day to be honest. You get pumping for the ride ahead in the morning and it wakes you up and you definitely feel like you have achieved something every time you tackle it. Believe it or not, it's almost as hard coming down hill than it is going up. My legs are slowly becoming stronger, and that's partly why I ride fixed. I do like the idea of being part of a cycling community too, but I do get annoyed when people think I do it because it's a craze etc. I've spent hardly any money on my bike (yet) and I st ill ride the frig out of it everyday. I also have absolutely nothing against geared riders either... Anyway, it's cool I got such a varied response. I've never been part of a forum before.
