Comments on Kent's Bike Blog: Fixin' to Ride

Kent,It's cool to see you're riding fixed again .....

2008-07-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

Kent,

It's cool to see you're riding fixed again ... but kinda sad to find out you gave away the Monocog. After your Great Divide Race triumph,that bike should of been bronzed and put in a glass display case along with your story ... it still inspires me !

Chris / Novi, MI

Rob,The front coroplast splash guard works pretty ...

2008-07-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Rob,

The front coroplast splash guard works pretty well at keeping much of the spray off but a wrap-around fender with a mud flap will keep your feet dryer. Advantages of the splash guard are lighter weight, NO effect on the front end handling of the bike and it never jams with mud.

Kent

KentA question:How well does the colorplast "fende...

2008-07-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Kent
A question:

How well does the colorplast "fender" zip tied simply to the down tube work? Compared to a fender that moves with the front wheel?

Rob

Now that you're working at a bike shop with a larg...

2008-07-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

Now that you're working at a bike shop with a large supply of old miscellaneous parts, we're going to have to keep an eye on you lest you end up writing your own version of Johnny Cash's "One Piece At A Time". Well I got a '79, '80, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86 bicycle.

I recently got myself a speed cruiser. 700c x 47 Continental CityContact wheels and Shimano 8 speed Alfine internal gears. No dirty deraileur. The speed cruiser is right at home carrying a rack and panniers. My fixie is happy because it no long has to suffer the indignity of trying to carry a rack and trunk bag.

Jim G.The green bike went to my friend Chris. I te...

2008-07-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

Jim G.

The green bike went to my friend Chris. I tend to hang onto a bike long enough to learn something from it but if I get the sense somebody else would get more use from it, it goes. I gave away both Merckxs, the Monocog and the Kogswell. I sold Smokey back to his original owner for the cost of the parts I'd put into it. I've never regretted passing a bike on. You have to empty your cup before you fill it again and at the end of the day, you don't even own the cup. The key to traveling light is too not lug around more than you need. My problem always has been a matter of having too much, not too little.

Kent

Kent wrote: "Right now I'm at three bikes: the Fix...

2008-07-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Kent wrote: "Right now I'm at three bikes: the Fixed Fuji, the M2 Stumpjumper SpeedCruiser/Adventure bike, and the Dahon D3 folder."

Kent, what happened to The Green Bike?

This new Fuji is quite similar to both your old Kogswell Model G and even your older Eddy Merckx. Do you ever regret getting rid of those?

It seems to me that you somewhat-restlessly "cycle" through a lot of bikes -- do you just get bored with 'em?

I like the link between lao Tzu and fixed gear. I ...

2008-07-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

I like the link between lao Tzu and fixed gear. I definitely think Lao Tzu would have like the Tao of Cycling.

Unfortunately, fixed is a bit more difficult if you live in Yorkshire...

Mattbot,You must be new around here! I've been mak...

2008-07-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

Mattbot,

You must be new around here! I've been making fenders, bags and other things for my bikes out of coroplast for at least a dozen years. Coroplast is the corogated plastic that is used for political campaign signs in this damp part of the world. If you type "coroplast" into the search box at the top of this blog, you'll find lots of examples. Here are a couple of places to start:

http://tinyurl.com/2r67dp

and

http://tinyurl.com/66zcy7

Kent

It's all one eternal round. Or in the words of Cyp...

2008-07-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

It's all one eternal round. Or in the words of Cyprus Hill: "What goes around comes around"

Still, recumbents get shorted out of this one eternal round? There are no doubt some pretty displeased middle aged men reading this who must feel that their patron saint hath passed them over.

Perhaps instead of one eternal round, it's more of a whirlpool. Tighter, faster, more efficient, until like Superman, you turn so fast that you can turn back time.

Fuji makes great bikes.

Kent,Your fenders look like you've made them out o...

2008-07-13T23:25:00.000-07:00

Kent,
Your fenders look like you've made them out of recycled something-or-other...did you make them, or buy them? If made, how so?

Yours is the first thing EVER that made me lament ...

2008-07-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yours is the first thing EVER that made me lament my congenitally malformed knees and wish that I could give fixed gear street riding a serious go. Great writing.

You became one with your bike :) that's romantic!

2008-07-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

You became one with your bike :) that's romantic!

Anon,Right now I'm at three bikes: the Fixed Fuji,...

2008-07-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

Anon,

Right now I'm at three bikes: the Fixed Fuji, the M2 Stumpjumper SpeedCruiser/Adventure bike, and the Dahon D3 folder. I've been as low as one bike and as high as seventeen. As I said, ebb and flow. All just passing thru.

Lao-tzu famously advises“To gain knowledge, add so...

2008-07-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Lao-tzu famously advises“To gain knowledge, add something everyday. To gain wisdom, remove something everyday.”
How many bicycles do you own now Kent? :)

"I don't train, I just ride." These are words to l...

2008-07-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

"I don't train, I just ride." These are words to live by.

Greg,The "no-retention" thing has been unexpectedl...

2008-07-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Greg,

The "no-retention" thing has been unexpectedly uneventful. I thought I might have a problem with the pedals trying to get away from me on descents but as it turns out the pressure up on the backstroke pedal of course is equal to the speed of the forward pedal. The only place a pedal might "get away" is at the dead top and dead bottom of the stroke and with the little pegs on the BMX pedals meshing into my Keens that just doesn't happen. It was Dave Nice who got me thinking about trying this, his riding off-road without retention inspired me to give it a shot.

Kent

Well said, Kent, as usual. You comment, "I use ge...

2008-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

Well said, Kent, as usual. You comment, "I use gears to go slower (shifting into an easier gear to climb)", is something I've noticed about myself. I've just added gears and coasting to my fixed gear bike...and now you write this. Now I wonder why I thought adding gears was a good idea. Now I just feel silly.

How do you like riding fixed without foot retentio...

2008-07-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

How do you like riding fixed without foot retention?

Greg Z

While not exactly the same thing, I certainly find...

2008-07-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

While not exactly the same thing, I certainly find the I ride faster on my singlespeed mountain bike than I do on my geared one. Faster climbing out of necessity.