New Toys - Finally I can look like the cool kids, and enjoy my fixie!
January 26th, 2007
As many of you may have probably picked up from reading my posts about cycling lately, I’ve become obsessed with my new single-speed/fixed-wheel (fixie) Redline 925. Since I bought it back in November I have not ridden any other bike. I’ve put over 750 miles on it.
Well, the guys at Recycled Cycles put a straight bar on it before they sold it to me, because according to them, the stock mustache handle bars weren’t attracting any potential buyers. I’ll admit the straight bar is cool, cooler in my book than the mustache… but not nearly as cool as drops or bullhorns would be. But alas, I was eager to get the new bike and so I didn’t quibble with them over the handlebars.
But, 750 miles of riding around on this thing in a rather upright position, and frankly getting “those looks” from the other cyclists was starting to get to me. The fact is, serious cyclists all seem to look down on people riding around upright. Dammit, I’m riding this same hill with a freakin 42/18 and you’re running up and down those gears like this little bump is L’Alpe d’Huez, and you’re looking down at me!? I’d chew you up for breakfast.
But I have thin skin… really, I didn’t get enough hugs as a child… so I had to do something about these straight handlebars!
Well, Monday afternoon, after my crazy 25 mile bike ride, plus leg strength training session… I headed down to Recycled Cycles and bought myself a used $5 road drop handle bar. I was going to show those stuck up cyclists a thing or two! Later that night I removed my straight handle bars, and dove into my mission to replace them with something much cooler.
About 10 minutes into the project was when I realized that $5 handle bars weren’t the only things I needed. Although I didn’t mind using the same straight bar style lever brakes on my drops, they were too small to fit on my new drop handle bars. (I should have realized this when I bought my handlebars!) So the next day I headed back to recycled cycles to buy the cheapest brake levers they had. Here are my $15 brake levers on my $5 handlebars.
With new brake levers in hand, I started on the project again Wednesday night. About 10 minutes into it again I realized there was a problem. The brake cables on a standard straight bar style brake lever are about 6 inches shorter than those that are neatly tucked under the handlebar tape of a standard drop style handlebar. Dammit! Back to the bike shop… oh and since I’m doing all this work at 9pm after the kids are asleep, this means the bike stores are closed already… one more day without a bike.
Thursday comes around, and I go buy new a new brake cable and about 4 feet of brake-line tubing. With some advice from my favorite mechanic and triathlon supply store owner Reed of Speedy Reedy, I only purchase one brake cable. He recommends I reuse the old brake cable from my back brake for my new front cable, and only purchase one new full length brake cable to use for to replace the back brake cable. Another $5 in parts and I’m back to the project later that night… well actually I didn’t work on it again till today.
And after about 30 minutes of work, mostly because my wire cutters were really lame and it was pretty dicey cutting the tubing and brake cables cleanly, I finally had my new handlebars. Oh did I mention I also had to buy $10 worth of handlebar tape. And since I didn’t have any black vinyl tape, I had to temporarily use white.
Now normally I wouldn’t be seen in public with this mismatched color scheme… after all the point was just to look cool right? (C’mon really, it was for the aerodynamic riding position? Well, maybe.) But since I hadn’t been able to ride my bike since Monday, as soon as my legs saw the handlebars back on their friend, they were screaming like kids who heard the tune of an ice-cream truck on a hot summer evening… “Daddy, please let us go out side! Please, pretty please, pretty pretty please with sugar on top! I’ll do all my chores without complaining!”
So tonight, after the kids were in bed, I jumped on my bike (with new drop handlebars!) and headed to the local have everything and stay open all night store, to buy some black electrical tape… I also picked up some flat black spray paint… because if you noticed from the before shot, these are basic aluminum handlebars, and so right where the bars are bolted on there will be some exposed “silver” color… I can’t have that can I? So some time this weekend I will be taking this all apart again so I can paint the handlebars black. But in the mean time, I have my new toy!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention, I got another new toy today… but there’s so much to talk about with that, I’ll have to save it for a post tomorrow. Ooohhh, I bet you can’t wait. Here’s a hint….
Entry Filed under: Fitness, Triathlon, Ironman, Cycling, Strength Training, fixie, single-speed, fixed-gear, bike maintenance
6 Comments Add your own
1. Karl McCracken | January 30th, 2007 at 7:53 am
I like fixies - the cleanness makes em look cool even (especially?) with straight bars.
However, I’ve heard that they can be really hard on the knees - what’s your experience?
Karl.
2. zappoman | January 30th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
I have wondered about this… the issue of your knees. Here is my experience…
When I first started riding my fixie, I noticed that I felt it in my knees more than riding my road bike. I tweaked my seat height and made some other adjustments, and the feeling was reduced. But I also think that I’ve become more conditioned.
For sure, there is no cheating on a fixie, you simply can’t downshift when the going gets a little harder… you have to just muscle through it.
I’ve heard that trying to “resist against” the wheels to slow down is really hard on your knees. I haven’t tried this alot, but I played around with trying to slow just using my legs, and is is definitely an odd feeling, and I felt it mostly in my knees. So maybe that’s where the comments you heard stem from. For me, this is not a concern because I have brakes, and I use them. I don’t plan to stop using them.
As for the look of a fixie… I totally agree, I think these bikes are very sweet and clean looking. My fixie has too much junk on it (fenders, water bottle, lights, etc.) but I need this stuff because I commute in the rain and train long distances on this bike…
But when I see a clean bare bones fixie, I always stop and admire it. In fact I saw one tonight on the way home from rock-climbing with my daughter… She said “c’mon dad, let’s go home it looks just like yours”… Kids these days, no appreciation for beauty!
3. Karl McCracken | February 2nd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
“It looks just like yours” - or was she complementing you?
4. Joe Hefta | February 8th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
You put BRAKES on it?! (shudder)
5. zappoman | February 8th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Actually, the brakes came standard when I bought it at the shop… but it’s true, I “kept” the brakes on it… which is clearly not cool.
But, there was a bike messenger in Portland who was recently stopped and fined for not having brakes on their bike. A judge recently ruled and found in favor of the city that indeed you need a mechanical system for the brakes to be considered actual “brakes”. Now I don’t know the laws in Seattle, but I guess I will use the “it’s the law man” as the excuse, if any Critical Mass-er confronts me on it.
How’s your training going Joe?
6. ZappoMan.com - Fitness Bl&hellip | March 1st, 2007 at 11:16 am
[…] set, and he and I are working out together. It’s easier to stay motivated with a friend. But I also got myself a new bicycle that is single-speed/fixed gear… and so that’s also helping with resistance training. And I am doing much more running this […]
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