Quitting Fixed Gear

Fixed gear riders often get so enamored with the feeling of riding fixed that we can't imagine riding anything else. Fixie for life! But sometimes, life gets the better of us. That's what happened to our dear friend Justin who recently had to quit fixed gear. Let's talk with him.
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#fixedgear

[@MartinVilla-r5c]

"Retired" NYC bike messenger. I'm 45 years old, and I've ridden and worked on the fixed exclusively for years. I rode for a company during the day, and a restaurant at night. In my opinion and experience, building your legs and total body reduces knee pain. Making sure the muscles which surround your knees are strong. Squats, etc. Rest is important as well. On my days off, I didn't ride heavy if at all. Diet. I didn't subsist on PBR and dollar pizza alone. I ate well to avoid fatigue. Bike fit and saddle placement. Bike handling. Staying alert and aware in traffic. I hardly skid anymore unless i have to emergency stop. 👑

[@TheSpaceBrosShow]

You bring up a lot of good points. A buddy of mine had his leg bone turn to dust, bunch of titanium later, he can walk but it would hurt. Convinced him to ride single speed and a few months later, bam, leg pain gone. The supporting muscles and ligaments got stronger I guess. Also PBR & dollar pizza 😂😂

[@J167_v]

Interesting points, but not everyone is built like you. You forget that some of the conditions are predisposed to. After a while, some get tired and want gear bikes to make their lives subjectively easier.

[@TheSpaceBrosShow]

@@J167_v I'd honestly say "objectively" 😅

[@J167_v]

@TheSpaceBrosShow I disagree. Gear bikes with breaks and fixed gear bikes are difficult to operate for some. Thus, it's subjective. Because it's an opinion/ preference. Objective is verified information, facts, and evidence. Has there been empirical research done on this subject?

[@tay-lore]

Pro-tip: be an ambidextrous skidder so you destroy BOTH your knees at the same time

[@marc-olalonde5779]

Hahaha they’ll be both less worse than if it was just one side though maybe hopefully

[@brosettastone7520]

Skidding is so corny That’s the shit we did on coaster brake BMX bikes in the 90s lmao.

[@solik434]

Pro tip : Run a Gear ratio that you know you can Comfortably stop with minimal pressure.

[@brosettastone7520]

@onehandwashestheother why does my comment upset you so much? (See I can assume you’re upset too guy)

[@J167_v]

Pro tip: Ride appropriate gear ratios. There is no need to blow your knee caps riding 50 + teeth chaining.

[@gregorysteffensen3279]

What I've done at age 30 to continue riding/commuting fixed multiple days per week without ruining my knees: 1) 19 tooth cog. Makes hill climbing so much more tolerable, and going downhill still isn't too sketchy. 2) Dual brakes. I don't need maximum fixie points, I am going fast downhill way too often, and my hoods are cozy af. 3) Fitment from my local bike shop *before* building the bike. Everything just works. If you give up a few fixie points in favor of a bike that actually works for riding on the street, it simply keeps your knees in that much better condition

[@nicopalustre8407]

What's your chainring tooth

[@gregorysteffensen3279]

@@nicopalustre8407 46, might step up to 47 or 49 whenever I do a crank upgrade

[@jamesjenkins8373]

As much as fixed gear is fun, I’ve switched over to singlespeed mountain bikes. What a blast

[@sunofnihl]

I remember when i started learning to skid. I was loading my knees at first, but then realized I could load the hips more to alleviate the knees and never had knee pain again.

[@nate-city]

Oh man this episode really speaks to me. I don’t wanna give up fixie. I don’t skid so my knees are not so bad, yet. However after 25yrs of commuting on a fixie, my left knee has symptoms that are concerning. This dude had a good collection but even his roadie collection is dope af. Really good words. Thanks bros!

[@pauloduarte3095]

I am 43 now and I started ridding a fixed gear 2 years ago, I set up my bike to be a go for small rides on my days off around London so I can enjoy the city and explore and improve my photography game, and to use it as a commuter bike to go to work. I have been super happy with it, but to be fair i have bought brakes and cage pedals. No problem with my knees from riding, all my pains come from my job as a butcher lol. Keep up the great work brother

[@birbgamg]

I have the same thing with him. I'm a bike courier and rode 8-10hrs everyday. After many months doing deliveries, it started to hurt my left knee. Right now I have a front brake and the pain is gone. I will still ride fixed gear but I won't be taking off my brakes anymore. *It also made me ride more recklessly since I have the brakes*

[@andomare]

Does your knee hurt from pulling up or pushing down? I usually skid by blocking my knee under the top tube, and it fells like I almost don't have to pull the front pedal. I also only do the kind of skids where you lean to the sides, because if I try to do a long skid while moving straight forward I feel like I'm about to fuck up my hip joint.

[@sketchy0078]

Yeah I can agree with that statement. I’ve got three fixed gears and the one bike I have breaks on i ride a like a hooligan.

[@i3zd]

I'm dying to quit riding fixed lmao, gotta cross too many bridges these days as a messenger to ride fixed forever.

[@birbgamg]

@@andomare It hurts from pulling up. I'm an ambidextrous skidder. I didn't really thought that it will hurt because in my mind I'm just putting even force and stress between my left and right knees. I don't skid all the time (mostly hop-skid) but for me I think it did hurt by putting back pedal pressure all day. Also I have to mention that in my first months of riding fixed gear I wanted to try bigger gears and end up using 54:14 set up IN THE STREETS to look cool. Trust me I regret it. So yeah that might also be the cause of my knee pain. Right now I ride 46:17 with brakes - happiest day of my fixed gear life.

[@birbgamg]

@@i3zd Me too but I just couldn't let go of it. It feels like this is my kind of tribe. I guess I'm in the stage of my fixed gear life where there is love-hate relationship between me and the bike. I miss it when I'm not riding fixed but I also fucking hate it every time I get home too tired of resisting the pedals.

[@587583922]

When I got into fixed gear, I started by taking a track racing class. We did talk about knee damage, and the funny thing is that it doesn't really happen to track racers. Because track racers don't skid. Brakes save knees. And you can actually stop when you need to. Literally all of the braking power on a bike comes from the front wheel, and that whole thing about people being afraid of "going over the bars" just means they don't have a clue how to control a bike. You could take the rear brake off my (geared) road bike, and I wouldn't notice unless the front brake broke. I have zero problem riding brakeless ON A TRACK, because you literally never need to stop quickly...you just calmly slow down and take ~2 laps to do it. If you need to avoid a crash, you don't use brakes, you steer to the top of the banking. Always. Neither of those things are true on the road, which is why I have a second set of bars and a front brake that I can swap on/off depending on where I'm riding. It's not that complicated.

[@justvanhxd]

wut? dude even have a track racing class😭😭i wish i had one

[@587583922]

@@justvanhxd yeah....sadly there aren't that many velodromes around.

[@spencerhackwell4299]

I have rode bicycles and motorcycles my whole life and I only run front brakes on my fixgear and I can stop at any speed full front brakes without going over the bars. Just dont lean forward and go into a parking lot and build good movement patterns and neurological reactions because it should be instinctive not reactive.

[@587583922]

@@spencerhackwell4299 yup. Rear brakes are an emergency backup; even on a motorcycle, it's that and control for very tight low speed stuff, not a quick stopping strategy.

[@nathanzhou2065]

Bro we need more videos of this dude he’s hilarious please record some of y’all rides together

[@thebigfish9041]

Agree this guy was goated with his bikes

[@Michael-Z-314]

It's hard to imagine what would cause me to give up fixed gear riding. The most drastic thing I would do is put a SS freewheel on my Kilo TT. I've put in a lot of money and time making my bike as healthy for me as possible. I've sold all of my other bikes because fixed gear has me for good. I wish I found fixed gear riding much sooner. When I rode my first fixed gear as an adult, my body immediately remembered that feeling from riding BMX as a kid. I was hooked. BTW, Zach... I really like your content, friend. Your recommendations and advice have helped tremendously.

[@jrnamida5470]

Am almost 79 years old and moving north to West Portland, Oregon area. I am tired of 117 °F summer days here in Vegas, hate riding when it is 90 °F before sunrise. I have done Seattle to Portland 5 times in the month of July and was amazing temps for the events. 4 x2 day rides, one single day ride, enjoyed the 2 day ride a lot more. looking forward to fixed gear 10 mile coffee rides in the near future. Understand I will be on the rollers until late spring until I learn to ride with a waterproof poncho 1000 miles north from Vegas...

[@event4216]

You you giving me big hopes. Keep moving!

[@randyslab]

word. Ride forever.

[@gregortega2767]

congrats on getting out of vegas. I heard it's getting expensive & it's a total shit hole!

[@christopherwebb3517]

His beater bike is my favorite one.

[@letsgetdoing]

Definitely agree with this guy! My option was to have several other bikes though and have one fixed. It's SUPER fun but yea that knee pain becomes a real issue. In reality you can push far harder on a freewheeled bikes with brakes.

[@matserdingud]

Justin seems like such a chill and nice guy

[@markjolyonsinclair]

I’m 65 ridden fix for ever. It’s the best and so cool 😎 especially for an oldie like me! I’m fixed for life!

[@imoscared]

love this guys energy

[@ShoulderValley]

RIP PATTY! 3:00

[@notl33t]

nothing feels like a fixie! but i am also living that freewheel life, not because of my knees, but due to all the bonehead car drivers, just easier not to die on a single speed.

[@alienrefugee51]

A lot of times knee pain can be attributed to incorrect saddle height... i.e. too low. You put extra stress on the knee. This is how I messed up my non-dominant leg/knee, even before riding fixed. I would sometimes climb hills on a single speed sitting down to try and work different leg muscles, but my saddle was way too low. The cartilage is all messed up and you can hear it crunch when I walk up stairs. Thankfully so far, I don't really have a lot of knee pain because of it, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I never had an issue with my dominant leg/knee, even though that one was pulling the majority of skids. YMMV, but to me, saddle height is super important, especially for efficient pedal strokes.

[@Mclovinthedank]

Bikes are fun. If someone is giving you crap for riding a bike, they are wrong.

[@Vic-cn4fe]

Fixed gear cyclist and peddicabber here. I don't skid but the backpedaling did hurt my knees. Biking so much and trying to get into running and workouts that involved my knees resulted in overworking my hamstring muscles and gave me hamstring tendonitis which causes knee pain. I haven't rode my fixed gear bike in almost two months because I let this pain linger for so long without doing anything about it and now the doctor told me that is going to cause my recovery to take longer. Once I feel like my tendons are strong enough to get back on the fixie I will definitely put a brake on it. I'm only 24, I should not be having this grave grave and persistent knee pain!

[@tomcruz3774]

That bridgestone is awesome

[@marvincastwestcoastflicks4091]

It's mine now 😂😂😂 shout out Justin

[@professortachanka]

@@marvincastwestcoastflicks4091give me my anchor back lol

[@professortachanka]

@@marvincastwestcoastflicks4091give me the anchor back

[@godismeme272]

Nicee, I'm 49 and also came from a parallax. Went nuts on single speeds and gravel. By chance I set up another bike for fixed gear. I didn't realize how much I missed it. And the benefits, it just adds polish to your pedaling. And I like it better for overall exercise. But definitely with the break😂

[@vinnieb977]

bro was so dedicated to brakeless that he quit altogether before succumbing to brake life. respect.

[@christopherwebb3517]

Fixed gear enthusiasts look at a bike with a rear derailleur with the same sense of disappointment as an animal control officer looking at a male dog with his testies still intact.

[@tomasdecamino8522]

I'm turining 55 this year, been riding fixed gear for years, skidding, going uphill and dwnhill, never had a knee problem... Important: bike fit

[@pinoygal6232]

I'm wondering how important crank arm length is in this equation, if at-all.

[@tomasdecamino8522]

@@pinoygal6232 should be

[@najin0446]

I dont know if I fully agree... Dont get me wrong, i respect the decision and ride a healthy mix of fixed and road. BUT: from the dates given it looks like he only rode fixed for about 1-2 years which is not a lot, especially if you consider he build around three bikes in that timeframe as well. Has he talked to a professional bike fitter? I had knee problems myself for a long time and it turned out the issue was something completely different and I managed to fix it through cycling and gym work. Soo Justin if you see this... I think it might be possible for you to keep a fixed gear around! Maybe get one built so it fits you or at least get it checked out so you know what exactly causes the problems. Cheers

[@kevinfrikitona]

almost 10 years into cycling, 7 of them riding fixed gear and although nowdays I train in both road and fixed gear bike, I recognize fixed is way more fun ❤ i hope I can continue to ride fixed for a lot more years

[@thebigfish9041]

Thanks zack this was good content , justin is hilarious as well

[@een_schildpad]

It's not fixed, but for someone looking for something easier on the knees but who still wants the clean look and reliability of fixed I'd recommend an internally geared rear hub. You can get one with three gears to help with hills or headwinds and they are totally bomb proof (no external derailleur or fussy adjustment, last forever). Your chain line stays clean with just a single cog in the rear and you can even run a 1/8" chain still! I have several bikes with 3spd internal hubs and love them. I'd love to build up a vintage track bike frame with one sometime, seems like it would be a cool combo! Actually, Fyxation sells a ready made 3 speed as well!

[@Heldermaior]

I love my fixie. Gorgeous bike and when I take it out it is awesome. I use an e-bike for commute and I have a road bike for longer rides. Fixies are fun but honestly I am at an age where I need to think about long term impact of injuries andnstuff.

[@roberteastern2397]

Great video!

[@johnnieabreu7030]

I've been writing fixed here since I was 14 right now. I'm sixty five I never Skid and my knees are good sill

[@roopetamminen6199]

I used to ride fixed but as I live in Finland and as a nordic country and we have cycling integrated in to the infrastructure and you must obey automotive traffic laws as a cyclist. Therefore my bike being a fixie just felt extremely inconvenient after the initial hyped up feeling. Everyone here rides coasters for a reason what I have come to realise and i will be converting mine to a coaster when spring arrives. Fixie is fun but the environment where you’re riding does have a huge impact on wether it’s enjoyjable.

[@LordVarkson]

Is that the guy who always bonks?

[@kipcc3918]

So harsh but yeah. Hahaha

[@LordVarkson]

@@kipcc3918 I'm just going off what Zach said in the nutrition video 😅 peace brother

[@kipcc3918]

@@LordVarkson It’s the harsh reality people who take up cycling needs to face. Hahahaha. It’s all good bro.

[@richsaenz01]

Justin's seat is too high, causing him to pedal toe down. Maybe moving his seat lower and "ankling" more will help his knees?

[@kipcc3918]

Also, Clips on the race-y side is so uncomfortable, I went to neutral or beginner set and it did wonders for foot tingling.

[@godismeme272]

His cranks look long too. He probably do better with 165

[@WredFawks]

Too high is relative, he didn't look like he was rocking in the saddle and seeing as he wasn't complaining about saddle sores it probably wasn't too high.

[@event4216]

To me it seemed like his right toe look outwards a bit. Maybe that's a cause of knee pain and physio would get sorted this issue.

[@WredFawks]

@@godismeme272 short cranks can help with keeping good pedal control and keep from getting cramped hips, I don't think he looked choppy though?

[@carlosochoa9388]

I understand i went from road to fixie to old 90s mtb the knees and age still have three fixed gears hanging on the wall for 6 years time flies also single speed mtb is fun and bounce of everything unlike the normal

[@Jaysee2164]

I was ready to give him crap but major respect to him for recognizing the frames potential

[@sarge_on_wheels]

IDK what it is, but I just don't enjoy skidding much at all, so I guess that'll keep me riding my fixed gear longer! But for real Justin's Cannondale CAAD 13 with AXS is a sick road bike. He's gone from fixie points to super high roadie points with that one.

[@TheFloridaBikeVlogger]

watching this even before actually riding fixed.

[@WCIIIReiniger]

I am in a similar situation. However I have not yet given up on fixies. I am riding 40/18 gear, so that I am able to climb without completely killing it. It is also quite windy where I commute. I am working on my bike fit frequently (recently I switched to 165mm cranks) and I started to do knee workouts. I had knee problems since I was young, therefore I am sure riding fixie is not the root cause.

[@najin0446]

I was in the exact same situation. Gym work and cycling fixed my knee issues eventually!

[@WCIIIReiniger]

@@najin0446 Great to see that you found a solution for you. Makes me positive that I can do it as well. Are there any specific exercises that can be done at home, that you think help the best? I found a few on youtube for example the "sissy squat".

[@garygary6032]

i finally bought a nice old track bike after just knowing how to ride fixed and i already have a dodgy right knee from bmx (at the ripe old age of 18 my body should be youthful but i guess not) i realised me ever riding brakeless is a no-go unless i develop a stronger knee from riding fixed. also riding a smaller ratio is good for me since i live in a super hilly area (52-19 isn't the smallest but its a good middle ground). a front brake also allows me to slow down if i ever find myself going way too fast down a hill and i have to put my feet up on the downtube to not die. I have to make a few sacrifices (in some people's eyes) but for me i'm completely okay with it since riding fixed is fun af and i'll sacrifice a few things to keep me on the bike

[@gregvassilakos]

Am I seeing this correctly? It looks like the Cannondale has SRAM eTap AXS with rim brakes. I didn't even know that was an option.

[@richardbently7236]

Good job on the interview.

[@oefzdegoeggl]

Yeah you have to be careful with knees from a certain age on. I'm 45 and I do only very soft slowdowns with knees. Everything else is done by (good) brakes.

[@tomcruz3774]

I will use this video as a reminder to lower my saddle height lol

[@jackserna3440]

Yes! Or have a higher stem and fork tube! Or a shorter crank arm! Like you can't complain about your knees when your bike is setup like a track bike. You're just asking for it .

[@cccycling5835]

I quit riding fixed because i discovered going 40mph on my Cervelo road bike is more my jam. However, I still want an urban fixed for commuting on the train, thus still follow fixed trends. Someday.

[@benjaminstevens4468]

I’m sorry but you can fully skid on a geared bike, at least with disk brakes, you just lock up the brakes, rather than locking up the drive train.

[@leanlobster69]

Its quite easy on rim brakes as well, just have to lift up your back wheel a bit

[@timhunt9879]

You CAN skid on any bike, but it's not "cool" to do when you can slow down much more efficiently (and cost effectively) using your brakes properly. Skidding on a fixed gear bike with no brakes is considered "cool" (by fixed gear folks) because it takes more skill than just squeezing a lever and is your fastest way to stop.

[@mikuramsay]

it is actually often easier to skid on rim brakes as they have more leverage along with less modulation compared to disc brakes, which is why trials bikes still use hydraulic rim brakes. And even if they do use disc brakes, it often features huge rotors. Though, hydraulic disc brakes nowadays will make up for that difference in leverage through sheer power alone. Heres my observations, Bad rim brakes > Bad disc brakes Good disc brakes > Good rim brakes Poorly maintained rim brakes > Poorly maintained disc brakes

[@event4216]

@@timhunt9879 Skidding is slowest way to stop, if I'm allowed to add my 2c.

[@danielphilipnavarro4061]

It's sad,but whatever suits you, go for it

[@ipfv8331]

That bridgestone 🔥🔥🔥

[@johnsmithers284]

that caad13 is the dream. nice

[@joyemitter]

yea i loved riding fixed but i got stress fractures real bad from overdoing two summers ago, put me in a walking boot for the better part of 2023. still recovering from them tbh but now in an active recovery phase. love fixed and hope to come back to it one day but for now its >10 mi single speed rides and tryna get my hands on a geared bike for this coming summer

[@johndanielramirez7631]

When you see the parallax on track labs 😢😢😢😢 I thought to myself who let there baby go !!! Then the video drops 😫 If only it was a 57-58

[@MisterSal9895]

You rarely see fixed geared where I'm from like once in a blue moon. It's understandable because I live in a hilly area. Most two wheelers here use ebikers or gas moped. I quit fixed gear too because of the hills. I enjoy climbing but too many hills and then it starts to get brutal. The descending with just front brake is a little scary but no brake descending is scary. As of now I converted my fixed gear to freewheel and added brakes but I always have the tool to turn them back to fixed gear incase I move somewhere that is flat.

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

I had a nice time watching this dialogue :)

[@spoudaois]

I use foot straps to deal with toe rub on the front wheel. So, I just pull my foot back when its a super tight turn.

[@Weepecket]

The Bridgestone is my favorite of them all

[@cosmicredeemer3109]

Music to my ears. Its time to either run Shimano's Ultegra, Dura Ace or 105 11 speed groupsets or SRAM's Force, Rival or Red 11 speed groupsets. Your pick?

[@if_not_fixed_its_broken]

5 years ago, I quite fixed gear, and now I am back 😂

[@jakubpu]

I ventured out from fixed gear only lifestyle because riding downhill really fast is fun.

[@lons5472]

I wanted to be a Fixie, but my arrow to my knees said noooo lol.

[@mikediscocyclomaniacs3833]

Só I here alit guys who ride fixed when they begin to age they kind of give up riding FiXeDgEaR or not as much. So I watch your channel and your one of the reasons why I started riding FiXeDgEaR back in 2014 2015. So my age was around 49 50 when I started riding fixed. I'm 59 now and I ride FiXeDgEaR more than ever now. I got three FiXeDgEaR bikes and just got a 4th. So every once in a while my knees hurt here and there but that's because I had an accident when I was a kid and I started riding a gear ratio of 55-13 for several years. Since I've geared down a bit and played with different ratios I still haven't found that sweet buttery smooth as you say ratio I want. But as far as seniors riding FiXeDgEaR and do you know any. I'm about to hit sixty in September and in my town of Tampa FL I think I'm the only senior my age riding FiXeDgEaR. So would you be able to do a segment about age brackets and riding FiXeDgEaR. And I don't mean seniors who have breaks on them I mean seniors who ride brakeless and skid and track stand or maybe they could do a fish n chips. With that being said do 50 + seniors ride fixed or do they trade them in for 3 wheeled tricycles. And don't forget to RIDE YOUR BIKE EVERYDAY AND BE REASONABLY DANGEROUS 🌀

[@wunones]

There’s a freewheel with a breaks on the cranks when pulled backwards. No idea what it’s called, but that would be perfect for him!

[@BenWilliams-ie4wc]

A coaster brake

[@Cybber0077]

Terugtraprem

[@Solarsystem50]

Cant wait for the collaboration with Phil Gaimon, where Zach try go do a long long climb on a fixie.

[@pinoygal6232]

I threw a White Industries freewheel on my bike 7 years ago. Never went back.

[@MrHatchiFuto86]

Turning 31 this year and I’m getting back into breakless fix gear riding again I quit for like 4 years after I got my car and got into taking it to the track I ended up buying a nice GT road bike but yeah it’s like once you e ridden a track bike for so long road bikes don’t feel the same now I’m in the market looking for another track bike to buy cause I miss it that much

[@NathanLaBee]

I see a lot of people talking about weight of their bikes and stuff and now I’m second guessing my set up. I ride a 1978 Schwinn suburban that weighs 41lbs and it’s so much more comfortable than my newer trek road bike that’s like 24lbs. Also, when I get it up to speed I feel like I can keep it going faster for longer because the weight helps my momentum. Idk haha But I’ve never thought it was super heavy or anything but perhaps I’m just inexperienced cuz I just started about 6 months ago.

[@Johann-4354]

I'm just starting fixed gear at age 77 y.o. Whew!

[@shirtlessGraveler305]

You can see my fixed gear in my profile picture my Canondale Capo. I don’t have any brakes on it but I don’t do any skidding. I just do slow down backpedaling and I’m very vigilant on how fast I go to mitigate any situation where I can’t stop quickly but I’m not giving up riding my fix gear it’s not my only bike anyway it’s kind of maybe a weekend bike and I haven’t been on it and maybe two weeks because I ride other bikes, too for my main fitness. I just wanted to ask on this form I’ve been following you for maybe a couple years what chain do you recommend? KMC‘s stretch.

[@GanjaMenaz]

Hi so I got a mafia bomma but its to hard to pull it up and I was thinking make the chain and stars bigger is it a good thing to do?

[@shreddersaurusrex323]

Yeah I still ride fixed but for work I’ve been using freewheel. Distances for deliveries have been going up and ppl want food fast so it was only logical to switch back to freewheel and geared bikes.

[@shamfur]

Got a fixed gear 2 years ago. 2 years later, after 3 accidents with painful injuries, changed to single speed 😂

[@marklewis1884]

I’m 62 and I’m wonting to carry on as long as possible now I use fixed for food delivery s what I have learned is been mindful of how I takl curbs and bracking is something you shouldn’t force yourself bringing it down on speed into my legs ℹ fishtail it down on the speed wireless relaxing the knees it works good for me and last resort I use my front brakes that’s why emergency brakes are good

[@electrocit673]

not into the scene but I do ride fixed and geared bikes. to save my knees I use brakes. front and rear and I have a very low gear ratio to spin more because I got knee pain my ration is 40/19, I can ride comfortably at 18mph and sustain 22mph. I can climb with that gear ratio. Granted I use my brakes and my body weight going down hill to go down slow. It all depends on if you can be disciplined with a setup that is good for you. For me I stay away from BMX because I just find I ride to hard and start to hit jumps and ride in a way that is not save for me anymore.

[@rickthatch3556]

Why can't you put a front brake on? Is this antithetical to fixed gear riding?

[@Heavyperro]

We have a joke amongst our group. We started ridding fixed back in 2010 and we would skid all over the place for fun and what not. We now joke and say that none of us skid anymore because we’re soooo good that we automatically just know how to slow down. No skids needed. …but we’re just old now and don’t want to shred our knees lol.

[@event4216]

You probably also ride much better tires now which aren't fun to shred down just to stop or show.

[@MABCME]

he should reassess his seat height. even on his new cannondale road bike it seems like he is overextending his knee. you can also tell because his ankle is dipping slightly on the lower third of the stroke. i.e. the seat is too high.

[@gregmarcus3064]

For a minute there I thought you were gonna be a Rivendell, crust, surly, etc. Hipster ala Parh less pedaled. Most fixie riders who give up fixed eventually become that type of rider.

[@ABCRapster]

Been riding fixed for a decade now, I used to have two brake calipers installed on my bike and now I just have the rear one. I’ve learned how to stop efficiently using my weight and how to apply my brakes evenly over time. I’ve probably have been riding with one break for 4 years now. This guy seems like he just dove straight in fixed gear and hurt himself in the process lol. It’s not for everyone. Also don’t over do it and mess up your knees lol I’m so fortunate to not have any knee pain.

[@event4216]

Rear brake is a wrong one. Front is the brake to have as only one.

[@myburneraccount669]

I literally installed a brake on mine just last night

[@VELOHIM13]

age: 52 - years fixed: 17 - knee issues: none... pro tip: engage full body when locking [it's a chi thing]

[@rickthatch3556]

You are car free?... Just wondering how many miles you cover in a day /week in your routine?

[@dormitivevirtue]

You should look into shorter cranks .

[@cripplingdepression3184]

If he's gonna be back to fixed or single speed I say he should use a coaster brake hub Its not the same as fixed but it had the things he might want to help with his knee problems

[@event4216]

coaster brake hub isn't fun to ride, especially for someone who has got feeling of smooth bikes.

[@cripplingdepression3184]

@@event4216 well to be fair atleast he can ride without destroying his knees too much

[@event4216]

@@cripplingdepression3184 Handlebar mounted brake levers would strain his legs even less. And still work if chain gets dropped or breaks....

[@cripplingdepression3184]

Obviously brakes would help him and he does have a front brake but I was pointing out that the coaster hubs will give and recreate that similar feeling of using back pressure to skid a fixed gear gives but less the knee damage . Chain drops or chains being broken can happen to every bike. If it were to happen you can still put your feet on your rear tire to stop if you're brake less.

[@kokongjava]

as years pass I added a front brake, as years pass more.. I added a free wheel.... As more years Pass, I added 11s cassette

[@ZapRowsdower-tq2qg]

out there in california burbs riding a cinelli track bike is whack

[@AnthonyAguilar-gl3uh]

no way man

[@siddharthmotwani8178]

I’m way too defensive of a cyclist for fixed gear riding, but you’ll catch me single speeding all day long.

[@gungfuriceboy]

i love u fixed gear 'Dare-devils'!! U guy's are Experienced Crazy Riders!! ( coasting is fine...)...enjoy the view boy's! ..U can still have FUN..on Single speed!....

[@nerigarcia7116]

Quit if you want. Ride whatever you want. Just ride. The whole lumping yourself into a specific thing and judging people on it is so high school. Who cares! Ride!

[@juanrodriguez6864]

I got those enve wheels all the way in Puerto Rico. Bought them off Patrick recently 🤣

[@randyslab]

this sucks to hear. but just keep riding whatever you can, that's the takeaway.

[@cluelessnoaciertos4050]

_ stare at the parallax… u gotta go 🤣🤣

[@erictruong4114]

Homie has been to Uniqlo recently hahaha

[@professortachanka]

Waiting for the MGS drop

[@pinoygal6232]

I like the Bridgestone.

[@leebridgwater]

Sad day to hear this

[@KillerFishFromTampa]

He abandoned his poor parallax 😢 that makes me sad, I'd never abandon my bianchi super pista, you'd catch me throwing brakes and a freewheel on that thing before I sell it❤

[@TL243]

I know it’s sacrilege but add brakes to the fixed. It is a lifetime bike!

[@MangoJim90]

3:34 "....I think....."???) What was the word....😅?

[@kyroky]

„When I remember correctly“ this guy is doing double time. Quit fixed gear, started rapping