[gazmungus]

OK, I bought a fixed gear bike.

today, I had my first substantial ride on it, hills and all....



After the initial "stop pedalling and go over the handlebars" insecurities I thought it was fucking brilliant! Even some of the extreme hills (think 30degrees plus) were manageable both up and down....

Bar one or two hilled sections, I can actually see myself taking the brakes off...

A couple of gripes though, firstly, I can't get enough cadence to get my heart rate up on the "flat" and secondly, the level of pedal crashing I have to do to get up some of those hills is going to murder the frame and the rear spokes in no time....

I'll be changing the chain on almost a weekly basis I fear...

still! 'tis kind of the ultimate acoustic fretless biking...

[rob]

Man, you've shamed me severely. Just yesterday I was on the verge of buying a fretless trumpet (soprano trombone). I chickened out at the last second because of fear of how much I was going to suck. Now, you are fretless (acoustically) biking.

Oslo looks hilly from the stratosphere. You ride that thing on your daily lakes tour? Your thighs are going to be huge.

Does it have two cogs on the back? If so, are they different sizes?

[gazmungus]

rob, on Mar 26 2009, 03:29 PM, said:

Man, you've shamed me severely. Just yesterday I was on the verge of buying a fretless trumpet (soprano trombone). I chickened out at the last second because of fear of how much I was going to suck. Now, you are fretless (acoustically) biking.

Have you tried trumpet before? If your a noob, I'd say go for a stock trombone, it'll be easier on the (ahem) "more mature" lips...

Go and buy it. You know you want to really!

rob, on Mar 26 2009, 03:29 PM, said:

Oslo looks hilly from the stratosphere. You ride that thing on your daily lakes tour? Your thighs are going to be huge.

Does it have two cogs on the back? If so, are they different sizes?

Not the lakes tour, that's all snowed up (will be until june) I do a winter road tour thats about 50 miles where I don't get shouted at by cross cross country skiers!! (wankers!)

The mountain bike will be back when the snow melts....

There's another cog on the other side, but it's a freewheel - I need to buy the tool to remove it as right now I have no intension of using it.....

[rob]

corcoran, on Mar 26 2009, 03:49 PM, said:

...
Have you tried trumpet before? If your a noob, I'd say go for a stock trombone, it'll be easier on the (ahem) "more mature" lips...

Go and buy it. You know you want to really!
...

I'll have you know that I have quite youthful lips. Seriously though, I've never tried trumpet. So, why would trumpet be harder on the lips than a trombone? I kinda know about the differences in the construction of the various mouthpieces of brass instruments, but, I have no practical knowledge of what that implies. I've been thinking about alto trombone too. I like the range of alto for Jazz related things.

So, the bike has a freewheel on one side? Smart move on the part of the builders. Could it be changed out to a fixed hub on that side? I have this fuzzy memory of reading an article about an early bike racer who had a hub on a either side of a fixed wheel bike. He would ride up the mountain on one side, get off and change the wheel around, and then use the other hub for the ride down.

[gazmungus]

rob, on Mar 26 2009, 04:24 PM, said:

I'll have you know that I have quite youthful lips. Seriously though, I've never tried trumpet. So, why would trumpet be harder on the lips than a trombone? I kinda know about the differences in the construction of the various mouthpieces of brass instruments, but, I have no practical knowledge of what that implies. I've been thinking about alto trombone too. I like the range of alto for Jazz related things.

Purely mouth piece size, and modern trumpet mouthpieces seem to be deep "eggcup" style, like cornet mouthpieces, and the edge is quite sharp and can dig in, for a rounder tone I'm told - I always found them uncomfortable and unforgiving

My mouth pieces are as shallow as possible, like a countersink with a soft edge, which is considered wrong, but as I'm an "ole skool" pressure player it helps with the high notes....

You'll find it easier because you have more margin for "error" if you like as you play into a bigger mouthpiece with a larger lip area.....

Should really just go for exactly what you fancy, you'll find that easier - don't listen to old fart failed horn players like me....



I'll shut up and get back to bollocks now, sorry!

Yes that's true, I can have both sides of the hub as fixed, the freewheel is just a screw on cog with bearings in it....

And the fuzzy memory is correct, in the days before deurailiers......

[Chilly Willy]

corcoran, on Mar 26 2009, 03:22 PM, said:

Looks dangerous to me.............don't take the brakes away, you NEVER now and a visit to the dentist will ruin your cash flow for the DFGF5!

[gazmungus]

niehorster, on Mar 26 2009, 05:13 PM, said:

Looks dangerous to me.............don't take the brakes away, you NEVER now and a visit to the dentist will ruin your cash flow for the DFGF5!

Are you going to have it in May again?

[Chilly Willy]

corcoran, on Mar 26 2009, 05:42 PM, said:

niehorster, on Mar 26 2009, 05:13 PM, said:

Looks dangerous to me.............don't take the brakes away, you NEVER now and a visit to the dentist will ruin your cash flow for the DFGF5!

Are you going to have it in May again?

If it means you are not coming then I will plan it in another month. I think it sucks you'll not be here!!!

But then again, keep the breaks on that bike, ok?

[gazmungus]

niehorster, on Mar 26 2009, 06:19 PM, said:

If it means you are not coming then I will plan it in another month. I think it sucks you'll not be here!!!

Dude!

You shouldn't schedule it around me! There are many other more dedicated and important fretless players than me.....

I can (finance permitting) come any other time and hang with you dudes. I must say I was gutted when you confirmed it in May, I had a possibility of the 9th, but a gig came in. I really wanted to settle some unfinished business from the last fest where I didn't play any of what I'd planned. I'm back out gigging now (only one wedding this summer - I know you hate that ) so I'll be watching next year's planning closely.....

I've decided that the brakes are coming off, well, the back one at least

[Chilly Willy]

I wanted some time in between NY and DH so that's why but a month earlier or later is no bigy. Besides I'm loyal to people that are loyal to me. Kind of give and take!

No brakes.........no brains!!!! You're a bit too old for this teenage behavior my friend

[gazmungus]

niehorster, on Mar 26 2009, 09:45 PM, said:

I wanted some time in between NY and DH so that's why but a month earlier or later is no bigy. Besides I'm loyal to people that are loyal to me. Kind of give and take!

No brakes.........no brains!!!! You're a bit too old for this teenage behavior my friend

It sounds daft to say, but it actually makes you safer in some ways, ie. predicting hazards and slowing down way in advance.....

I'm way too defensive as a rider anyway, but I can safely say I've seen 50mph on 8kg of carbon for the very last time!

I still love my road bike, the fixed gear is just for wet shitty weather which we have rather a lot of.

[Chilly Willy]

When in NY last September I saw a few of these kamikazes cycling through Manhattan with no brakes and no brains.

It is an underground scene of young people risking their life's so the "package" gets delivered on time. Did you notice all the white bikes chained to streetlights? They represent delivery guys that have been killed in traffic. I saw a lot of them, in Manhattan but also in Brooklyn were I stayed.

But I guess that you would develop different muscles using such a bike, usually you don't use the "reverse" mode on a bike...........also, your dentist must be extra happy? If you broke your wrist while taking a piss last winter imagine what will happen when you use a bike with no brakes!!!!!

[gazmungus]

The lunacy doesn't end with no brakes!

The rear sprocket screws onto the hub clockwise, so that means when you pedal forward, you tighten the sprocket.
So then, when you back pedal, you'll loosen the sprocket being unable to stop...

Now its normal to have a lockring over my cog to stop this, but I understand that it's considered cowardly and gay to use such a lockring

If the truth come out, then I'm far too much of a coward to take the brakes off - I'm actually having a front wheel made up with a roller hub brake for it (again for bad weather)

I used to do recruitment for messengers in london, both motorbike and pushbike. The injuries records were horrendous for all, brakes or no brakes, not being able to stop (which you can really well) is the least of your worries when white van man chases you half way across the west end to try to run you down (yes that's happened, not to me, but the guy who I recruited for..)

Just a few days ago I was confronted with a car going the wrong way on a narrow residential street - the stupid bitch in a posh audi was texting and didn't see me until the last second, when she swerved - I had nowhere to hide so all I could do was brace for impact. She missed me by about 2cm and then wheelspun away....



I hate traffic!

[Kai]

The passed a law last year in the province banning cell phone use while driving (except for hands-free gear) but I still see lots of folks turning corners through crosswalks with only one hand on steering wheel and the other holding the phone, oblivious of their legal obligation to yield to pedestrians who have the green.

I really should attach a key-like implement to the back of each hand so I can always leave a long scratchy reminder on their passenger side of how closely they cut in front of me as I stepped out into the green light crosswalk. The whole island of Montreal has a no-right-turn-on-red policy (I guess that would be "no left on red" in UK-style countries), so pedestrians often find it safer to cross on the red as long as there's no cross-traffic, since at least no one will be turning across the crosswalk during that time.

[gazmungus]

Kai, on Mar 27 2009, 04:17 PM, said:

The passed a law last year in the province banning cell phone use while driving (except for hands-free gear) but I still see lots of folks turning corners through crosswalks with only one hand on steering wheel and the other holding the phone, oblivious of their legal obligation to yield to pedestrians who have the green.

I really should attach a key-like implement to the back of each hand so I can always leave a long scratchy reminder on their passenger side of how closely they cut in front of me as I stepped out into the green light crosswalk. The whole island of Montreal has a no-right-turn-on-red policy (I guess that would be "no left on red" in UK-style countries), so pedestrians often find it safer to cross on the red as long as there's no cross-traffic, since at least no one will be turning across the crosswalk during that time.

It's illegal in the UK now as far as I know, not sure about here....

It's actually the second time I've nearly been scat down by people driving/texting it happened last year too, roughly the same story. Fair enough people talking on the phone whilst driving, BUT WRITING SMSs IS JUST FUKKIN' STOOPID whilst at the wheel, in motion....


Just to balance things (re my last post) I've always been outspoken against the behaviour of some cyclists - no wonder drivers get pissed off and try to kill bikers - 'specially with some of the mong heads that think they're higher up the holier than thou tree because they're biking to save the planet. Not to mention the 250 - 300 lb guys who bomb through kids/families on cycle paths at 30-40 mph - and the weekend fat bastard bikers who wannabe Lance and group up side by side to crawl uphill at 2mph, while the poor fucker driving the truck with all 30 odd gear has to dangerously negotiate overtaking just cause they refuse to go single file or use the bike road.....