Road/Track bike riders, I gotta question.

[patthickey]

Bought myself my first bike since grade school at the end of last year. It's an eighthinch scrambler. (Standard road bike, fixed gear) I got a little bit of extra money in my pocket recently and want to make and upgrade. I only know one other person who knows anything about bikes and he gives me suggestions, but I am looking for more tips from others.

 

I was thinking about heading to bike forums, but I wanted to learn at least a little before heading in there. Googling around and reading them gave me a ton of bias, and so here I am.

 

I know a lot of peoples first upgrade is the wheel/spokes and I know aerospoke is the most common upgrade. But after looking around, I see a lot of people hating on it and say it is "way over hyped." And I don't really know where to go from there.

 

So, please.

Heeeeelp.

Should I grab a different wheel/spoke?

Suggest a different/lighter frame?

Anything. 

[thebiglebowski]

I had to look up what a track bike was so I'm not gonna be any help.

 

You really gonna ride a bike with no brakes? Where? What is the point of buying this over a road bike?

[IanRees]

Track bikes are meant to be ridden on a velodrome

[patthickey]

I guess I specified wrong. I mean, I ride mine on the road and was under the impression they are the same thing.

And yes I use breaks.

[patthickey]

let me put this out there the total loser way.

I ride a fixie. 

 

can you see how much help I need?

I don't really have IRL friends who are much help at all. 

[IanRees]

I have a bit of experience in the cycling world. I do marketing for a big bike shop in la and used to work in house for Masi/Haro.

I'm on my phone but will give you some help when I'm on a computer

[patthickey]

That would be fantastic!

And take your time, I am doing homework anyway so I really shouldn't be on here. haha

[icecream]

what are you looking to do with it just get around town or something for longer distances.

and purely out of curiosity why did you end up getting a fixie ?

[patthickey]

Just riding around town for now. I would absolutely love to treck long distances, but my body isn't ready for that yet.

It's just a single speed with the flip/flop. I just thought that it was cool.

As corny as it sounds, I really liked the idea of keeping my body in sync with the bike. 

[icecream]

Nothing wrong with that but you would be surprised what amount of ground you can cover on something like a 9 speed

I think I was up to 60 miles almost every day last summer and I'm not super fit by any means.

 

with the right saddle and adjustments to your height you can get some great sight seeing done.

If you end up getting a different ride research the basic mechanics on youtube and look for bikes on craigslist.

otherwise i'd just sugest getting something new to be reassured. 

[dangerben]

no need to get aerospokes. massive waste of money and basically asking for your bike to get stolen.

 

as most people will say - make sure you get the bike adjusted correctly for your height (set the saddle height correctly / adjust the height of the handlebars)

 

make sure everything is oiled up nicely and make sure you put some brakes on the thing - at least a front brake.

[dangerben]

upgrade wise... does the bike you purchased come with a toe cage for the pedals? if not, that's a good start - eventually you might want to ditch the current pedals and go clipless - its not for everyone, but its a pretty smart progression.

 

other upgrades will be noticeable over time.... changing the tooth size of the crank and free / fixed cog will help you out if you are finding it too much of a pain getting up hills with the current set-up you have.

 

end of the day you have a pretty bare-bones set up with one of those bikes - not much you do is going to "improve" the ride. it is what it is. just ride heaps - all the time. bikes rule.

[Guest]

I don't do any exercising past riding my bike 4 miles to work every day and I rode my bike 900 miles to Toronto in 2 weeks. You don't need to be in shape to ride your bike far.

[Guest]

Oh yeah, I didn't mean to make that sound like I was talking down to you, so sorry if it sounds that way! What I mean is that ANYONE can ride their bike real far with relative ease and they should do it because its FUN! I've been doing annual bike trips with my friends for the last 5 years and its the highlight of my year. GET A COOL BIKE AND GO FOR IT!

[goodfriendbadhabit]

I only lurk here, but I'll throw my opinion in there as well..

 

A change in pedal/clip/strap combo is always good start in my eyes. I don't know what yours came with, but getting new toe clips + double straps will hold your feet in tight (plus some MKS sylvan tracks or whatever your feet fit in comfortably.)

 

Another option is your gear ratio. I have never personally liked gear ratios that come stock on bikes. When I was younger and rode a fixed gear I rode 47x17. I also had a brake.

 

Like the others said.. don't bother with the aerospoke/hed3 .. leave that for the velodrome. With any sort of wind those things toss you everywhere, anyways.

[riddle350]

Not to mention that aerospokes have the bad habit of cracking easily.  Not made for street riding and not worth the money. 

 

How much are you looking to spend?

 

Velocity Deep V's are nice, and strong, rims that also have the flashy look. 

 

Sugino and All City make nice cranksets.

 

Phil Wood and Dia-Compe are the two big names that get thrown around a lot when it comes to hubs and bottom brackets but they set you back a good chunk of change.  There's a lot of debate about whether or not they are actually worth the money/better than other brands but I will say Phill Wood stuff lasts forever.

 

IRD and Chris King headsets are solid.

 

Honestly there are so many brands making components now a days it's tough to keep up.  I'd recommend going into a bike shop that specializes in fixed gear stuff and ask them a ton of questions.

[ronniegwilliams]

I agree with the crank and pedals being the first upgrades that you make; if you don't have them, as stated above, toe clips/cages will make a world of difference.

I ride a single speed, which can flip-flop into a fixie, but I still don't get the point of a fixed gear (no offense, it's just not for me).

[IanRees]

personally i hate cages/toe clips, for fixed gear riding i suggest straps. Thats just my personal preference. This company makes the best ones, hands down.

 

http://holdfastordie.com/store

 

I also prefer BMX style pedals, my old fixie that i custom built had Premium Slim Pedals. They come in metal and plastic, the metal are pricier but definitely built to take a beating. I used the plastics

 

http://www.danscomp.com/465046.php

 

I don't buy into the aero spoke hype unless you are racing on the velodrome, for normal street riding you want something sturdier that can take a beating. I like deep v's. I had the Brev M wheelsets on mine but i will admit they were a bit heavy. They are definitely better if you're playing bike polo or something since they are built like a tank.

 

For other upgrades i recomend parts by Brev M. Its a fixie parts company started by Masi/Haro, so im a little biased since i had a hand in creating some of the products but i think they are
very good.

 

http://www.brevm.com/

 

If youre looking for a frame upgrade, again im biased, but i highly recommend Masi.

http://www.masibikes.com/framesets/coltello this is more of a track style though so id maybe recommend looking into a nice aluminum frameset.

 

Agreeing with Riddle though, there are so many companies out there now. Your best bet might be just going into your local bike shop and asking some questions and seeing the bikes first hand.

 

I agree with the crank and pedals being the first upgrades that you make; if you don't have them, as stated above, toe clips/cages will make a world of difference.
I ride a single speed, which can flip-flop into a fixie, but I still don't get the point of a fixed gear (no offense, it's just not for me).

 

I ride both fixie and road. Currently i only have my carbon road bike but when i had my fixie (sold it cause the frame was too big) i rode it fixed with no brakes. I personally don't see a point to riding fixed gear either other than its just fun once you get the hang of it. While it took me time to get used to riding fixed and controlling my speed with my pedaling i would keep a front break on.

[patthickey]

Woah, thank you everyone!

I guess I should have mentioned, but didn't, that I was already planning to buy straps.

I had had my eyes on the holdfast straps, but I really like the look of the YNOT straps.

And now that I know that aerospoke isn't worth it, is changing the rims going to make any difference at all?

 

I need to look up exactly what ratio my gears are (typing this on my way out the door) but I know it does have 1/8 inch teeth,
and I like the way it rides with it.

 

I will type more later, gotta make it to the post office to mail some records! 

[ronniegwilliams]

My main beef with fixie is the fact that the majority of people that ride them tend to be assholes on the road.  If you're going to ride your bike in the street (which you should), you better abide by all laws and rules of the road, i.e. brakes, lights, stopping at stop signs.  You don't get to make up your own laws as you go dicknuts.

[IanRees]

It's not just Fixies, cyclists in general are dicks. I'm sure this is magnified for me living in so cal.

[goodfriendbadhabit]

Nah. It's everywhere, Vegas isn't bike friendly by any means, nor are the cops, so cyclists here feel like it's justified to ride like an asshole and be aggressive for their share of the road. I've been hit by a car before and I got lucky. Most aren't. I don't see the purpose of people (my friends included) feeling like they can blow through red lights. It's just a ticking time bomb. Also.. wear a helmet! Protect your head.

 

To the other question.. wheels don't necessarily need a huge upgrade since you're riding it on the road. It's the hub that can make a difference. It also just depends on what you're doing with your bike. If you're doing tricks (not my thing but everyone's different), a thicker profile wheel would be a good upgrade. They can take the hits better.

 

PS 1/8 is the way to go.. Stick with that.

[Guest]

Oh man, I wanna stress that too! WEAR A HELMET AND STOP AT RED LIGHTS! PEOPLE LIKE YOU MORE WHEN YOU DO THAT! ITS A FACT!

[dangerben]

you might all enjoy this light reading.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/angry-driver-punches-cyclist-in-face-20130218-2emub.html

 

Investigators have been told the 30-year-old cyclist was travelling north along St Kilda Road when he was nearly hit by a vehicle turning out of Albert Road about 7.20am.

The male driver of the vehicle, believed to be aged in his 40s, pulled over near a tram stop, approached the cyclist and an argument took place.

Police said the man then punched the cyclist on the chin and left the scene in his vehicle.

 

Don't know what its like in America, but here in Australia if you are on a bike, you have a target on your back.

[IanRees]

you might all enjoy this light reading.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/angry-driver-punches-cyclist-in-face-20130218-2emub.html

Don't know what its like in America, but here in Australia if you are on a bike, you have a target on your back.

It can get sketchy for sure, a few years ago a dr in Hollywood mowed down a couple cyclists and killed one on purpose.