Beautiful day to ride a bike!

vbrad26 · Apr 18, 2020

I wanted to go out today but it started raining around the time I had allotted for a ride. So maybe tomorrow.
But the Peloton showed up instead so I decided to give it a shot and I jut did one of the “scenic rides” that it allows you to do and I may be into it lol.

Still going to go out for a real bike ride tomorrow though. Weather permitting.

Mad Dog · Apr 18, 2020

Another great day to ride my beloved Schwinn Sprint fixed gear. Also, I’m a proud member of a ridiculously prestigious racing team called F.A.R.T. (Fixed Alternative Racing Team)...see placard in first pic below. Our patron saints are Uncle Bob and Dad...see second pic below. Both were track racers in Newark, NJ back in the late 1920s and early 1930s...good times! 👍

Larry S · Apr 18, 2020

Mad Dog
Another great day to ride my beloved Schwinn Sprint fixed gear. Also, I’m a proud member of a ridiculously prestigious racing team called F.A.R.T. (Fixed Alternative Racing Team)...see placard in first pic below. Our patron saints are my Uncle Bob and my Dad...see second pic below. Both were track racers in Newark, NJ back in the late 1920s and early 1930s...good times! 👍

Tried my nephews fixie years back. Absolutely terrifying.

MRC · Apr 18, 2020

Larry S
Tried my nephews fixie years back. Absolutely terrifying.

They are an acquired taste. Did you like your first glass of beer or cup of coffee?

But it helps if it's pretty flat where you live -- or that your legs can go to 160 downhill. Heart 160bpm at cadence 30 going up of course. I ride mine when I need a workout -- which somehow seems less often as I get older 😗

Mad Dog · Apr 18, 2020

Larry S
Tried my nephews fixie years back. Absolutely terrifying.

I hear you. When Dad introduced me to fixed gear riding in the 1970s, I thought it was fairly terrifying as well.

Also, a fellow masters teammate recently punched his femur ball through his pelvis because “he forgot to NOT stop pedaling” while riding his fixed gear. Really messed him up...all sorts of hardware was installed and will remain installed. I get it, though...I’ve almost been bucked off a few times due to forgetting to NOT stop pedaling.

Larry S · Apr 18, 2020

Mad Dog
I hear you. When my Dad introduced me to fixed gear riding in the 1970s, I thought it was fairly terrifying as well.

Also, a fellow masters teammate recently punched his femur ball through his pelvis because “he forgot to NOT stop pedaling” while riding his fixed gear. Really messed him up...all sorts of hardware was installed and will remain installed. I get it, though...I’ve almost been bucked off a few times due to forgetting to NOT stop pedaling.

He was a grad student and part time NYC bike messenger at the time. It was very disconcerting watching him freewheel down big hills and reengage while the pedals were almost invisible. I tried it on a flat street and gave up pretty quickly.

Mad Dog · Apr 19, 2020

Larry S
He was a grad student and part time NYC bike messenger at the time. It was very disconcerting watching him freewheel down big hills and reengage while the pedals were almost invisible. I tried it on a flat street and gave up pretty quickly.

Did he ride his fixed gear with no brakes like the super hard core fixed gear riders do? I use a front brake (and should probably have a rear brake as a backup). When Dad would ride his fixed gear track bike on the road with his team in the 1920s/1930s, they would wear a thick leather glove on one hand so as to be able to reach down and “pinch” the front tire/wheel like a caliper since they didn’t have normal brakes...pretty nutty.

Larry S · Apr 19, 2020

Mad Dog
Did he ride his fixed gear with no brakes like the super hard core fixed gear riders do? I use a front brake (and should probably have a rear brake as a backup). When Dad would ride his fixed gear track bike on the road with his team in the 1920s/1930s, they would wear a thick leather glove on one hand so as to be able to reach down and “pinch” the front tire/wheel like a caliper since they didn’t have normal brakes...pretty nutty.

Front. Pretty useless when you are doing 30-40mph down a Cape Cod Hill.

MRC · Apr 19, 2020

Duracuir1 · Apr 19, 2020

On the Scalpel today. I waited 2 months for this bike in 2005, and had a high speed fall on my first ride! I have put maybe 600 miles total on it. Hope to make it back in one piece today!

Engee · Apr 19, 2020

Sure was. The bluebells were out in Hertfordshire. I rarely ever stop mid-ride except for coffee, but I did to take this picture. It was gorgeous out today.

vbrad26 · Apr 20, 2020

Took the TCR out for the second weekend in a row and did an easy 15 miles in some VERY windy conditions.
But I didn't take a picture, so did it even really happen?
I also decided to drop it off to the local shop to give it some love since it had been sitting for a bit and probably hasn't had a proper tune up in over a year.

inchpincher · Apr 20, 2020

Mad Dog

I have the exact same Park Tool 15mm wrench although it gets more use as a beer bottle opener these days!

140dave · Apr 20, 2020

Okay, I have to ask.... other than the thrill of taking your life into your hands, what is the attraction of a fixed gear bike? The closest I have is my single gear cruiser which I love but know is an entirely different beast. I dont mean to change thread direction but am curious.

Back to topic... it’s raining here so another peloton day for me. But still a good day to ride! 😀

vbrad26 · Apr 20, 2020

It's a great workout! Also less maintenance for the bike messengers/delivery peeps.
In Florida though, it is a lot less sketchy (and easier), since we don't really have any hills and all...
I would probably shit my bib shorts riding one of those downhill.

N05J3W3 · Apr 20, 2020

140dave
Okay, I have to ask.... other than the thrill of taking your life into your hands, what is the attraction of a fixed gear bike?

Ease of maintenance, for one.

Wetworks · Apr 20, 2020

Got out for a ride for the first time since I had COVID. It was GREAT to be outside riding again!

Mad Dog · Apr 20, 2020

Wetworks
Got out for a ride for the first time since I had COVID. It was GREAT to be outside riding again!

Good to hear that you’re back on the road...and thank YOU for your service, sir! 👍

vbrad26 · Apr 21, 2020

Mad Dog
He honestly believed that multiple gears were the work of the devil and only for pussy riders...I shit you not.

Hah this guy does in fact seem quite hardcore. Awesome.

Mad Dog
C. Be extremely careful when cleaning the chain of a fixed gear. If you like to put your bike on a rack and spin the drive train to clean and lube the chain...watch your fingers! Another one of my masters teammates [not the one mentioned above] recently was spinning the drive train of his fixed gear on a rack to clean and lube the chain...the momentum of the spinning drive train grabbed the cleaning rag and his hand and pulled it into the chainring...he cut off the tip of one of his fingers.

I also know someone who this same thing happened to.
He had the bike up on the stand and was cleaning off excess lube on the chain (obviously with the drive train going), took his eyes off of it for a SECOND, and it pulled the tip of his thumb right through.

Mad Dog · Apr 21, 2020

vbrad26
Hah this guy does in fact seem quite hardcore. Awesome.

Yeah...Dad was pretty hardcore...he was pretty hardcore about only riding Brooks saddles too. Heck, back in the 1920s and 1930s, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brooks saddles were the only game in town...but Dad would still preach about Brooks saddles even in the 1980s and 1990s when a plethora of newer, more advanced saddles had come along. He would say that the newer, more advanced saddles would “light his ass on fire” and he’d always go back to a Brooks.

Beautiful day to ride a bike!

vbrad26

Mad Dog

Larry S

MRC

Mad Dog

Larry S

Mad Dog

Larry S

MRC

Duracuir1

Engee

vbrad26

inchpincher

140dave

vbrad26

N05J3W3

Wetworks

Mad Dog

vbrad26

Mad Dog

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