Today I revived My Summer Bike!
This one’s a bit of a beast — a fixed gear touring gravel bike (?)
Cinelli Tutto frame, bought online in size M (I’m 5’8/172cm), and it needed a seat post with setback, a saddle with long rails scooted all the way back, and all the spacers to make it fit.
I guess I’m tall for Italian standards.
Mounted the widest tires it would take, the lightest rack I could find, and the bare minimum in accessories to make it kinda street legal.
It’s the silliest bike I ever built, and it makes me smile every single time I ride it.
♨️🌡️💦
That said I’ll never get fixed gear drivetrains. I’d always go with a basic 1x derailleur setup. Shimano Cues is super abuse-resistant.
The only good reason to ride fixed gear is if you enjoy riding fixed gear.
It isn’t objectively better in any way.
But it gives me 10x more smiles per mile.
The fact that I can pull it out of the shed after a year, pump up the tires, and start riding is just a bonus.
Yeah, I guess the feel is very different from any sort of freewheeling drivetrain. ☺️
When you stop pushing down on the pedals, the bike starts to push your legs, like “Come on, I wanna keep going!”
It’s impossible to go slow on this thing, it wants to move.
Ah gosh, I’ve actually never even ridden a fixie and this thread is really making me itch and want to buy one.
How quiet they are is a nice bonus too! At least until I put the studded tires on for the winter.
Bonus for winter riding with a fixie is that you can still stop when your brakes ice up
Yes! And no gears to worry about when you need to punch through a snow bank.