Suzy and Joel and Owen and Evie

I don’t know when the bug started, but I took the plunge and put together a fixed gear* for commuting. It’s a Jamie Roy, imported by a guy on Staten Island, and amazingly has geometry really, really, really close to my custom IF. I had a bunch of spare parts so I only had to get a couple of things in addition to the frameset.One of the reasons for riding the fixed to work is that I need to make the most of the short time I’m spending on the bike. Without shifting or coasting, my commute becomes just that much harder. Today I rode for the first time, and the theory is right! On my way home I noticed that I was tiring out.Plus, an inexpensive bike that doesn’t coast is less attractive to thieves. And riding a fixed is cool!I’d say this was a qualified success (by which I mean a pyrrhic victory). First, I proved that I could ride a fixed gear around in Westchester (contrary to what those naysayers at Hickory & Tweed in Armonk say!). Second, I learned that bunny-hopping on a fixed is possible (though not necessarily pretty nor elegant). And third, I learned what happens when the cog slips against the lockring.I believe the el-cheapo cog that I got with the frame didn’t have enough thread depth to fully engage the hub, even with a bottom bracket spacer to take up the slack. When I backpedaled to slow down, the cog moved partly off the threads, and they couldn’t hold their own. It’s not totally trash, because the other side of the hub is threaded for a freewheel. It looks like I’m going to shell out for a new wheel. If anyone has suggestions for a moderately-priced good-quality fixed-gear hub (with 130mm spacing) drop me a line.*For those of you unfamiliar with a “fixed gear,” think “no coasting.” The rear cog does not freewheel. If the wheel is turning, then the cranks also have to turn. The bike also only has one gear. No downshifting for going uphill, and your legs spin like crazy on the way down! For riding on the road, you can see that I have a brake on the front. Some folks rely solely on resisting the pedals or skidding their rear tire to stop, but other folks have a family.

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