Fixie gear parade continues

Here is my new (1978) Le Tour fixed gear:

It is a blast to ride, especially with the addition of a brake for emergencies

Your crankset looks very low, how is the cornering clearance.

I've never ridden a narrow tire road bike, but even my all terrain bike will lean far enough to grind the pedals, very badly If it were a fixie.

Holy hell. Are you a giant? That looks like a 65+ cm.

Would've originally had 27 inch wheels, raising the BB a little, but on road bikes it's all about the BB drop.

Personally...I'd never ride such a huge bike...I've always been a fan of more seatpost, more stem, less frame.

The bike makes the tires look really small, which means it must be a huge bike.

On the other end of the spectrum, I had a friend who was 4'10" or so and had a bike sized for her. That bike was comically small!

Is your chain tight enough? Looks a little loose in that picture

Chain tension is on the bottom of the chain because the pedal is resting on a a can, but it does need a bit more tension overall

I am fairly tall 6' 3" with legs and arm of a 6' 5" man

ya the bike is a 67 cm, my mountain is a 65 cm. I tried my wife's bike with a long set post and it was the most uncomfortable 6 mile ride I have ever had. I think her bike is a 57 or so. Like riding a clown bike.

Ground clearance is ok. I may go to a 165mm crank, but want to see how this 170 feels. I am not leaning over like I do on the geared bike. I am very aware of pedal strikes.

Plus the pedals are very small, which adds to the ground clearance. Usually you will hit the edge of the pedals and not the crank arm, so I got a few mm out of the small pedals

last weekend I was riding my mountain/road bike in a draft line with some dudes on some roadbikes. I swear their bikes were half the size of my bike. Their shoulders hit me about abdomen high. I bet they appreciated my large body fight the wind for them. I never think of myself as big, but I guess I am. LOL 6'3" 240 I figure that is a nice size for a cyclist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2885aR6o6s

I just got back from vacationing in Portland, theres an insane amount of cyclists in that town. Most of the fixie riders seem to have a death wish as well.

Shawn

Nose down saddle is just wrong. If your position is correct, any conventional road saddle can be perfectly level or nose up by a few mm. The idea is that you should tend to slide aft where your sit bones align with the corresponding areas of the saddle.

In 15 years in bike shops I'd see the nose down deal very often on big bikes for some reason. Generally a combination of long top tube/stem - short torso. The tendency is to slide forward onto the nose of the saddle with the subsequent pressure on the perineum and resulting inability to feel anything in certain parts of the male anatomy. Not good.

Chronic cycling injuries can take a long time to develop as they require 1000s or 100s of 1000s of repetitions to occur, but you should sort your fit out sooner than later. Messing with your taint isn't good...

Nose down saddle is just wrong. If your position is correct, any conventional road saddle can be perfectly level or nose up by a few mm. The idea is that you should tend to slide aft where your sit bones align with the corresponding areas of the saddle.

In 15 years in bike shops I'd see the nose down deal very often on big bikes for some reason. Generally a combination of long top tube/stem - short torso. The tendency is to slide forward onto the nose of the saddle with the subsequent pressure on the perineum and resulting inability to feel anything in certain parts of the male anatomy. Not good.

Chronic cycling injuries can take a long time to develop as they require 1000s or 100s of 1000s of repetitions to occur, but you should sort your fit out sooner than later. Messing with your taint isn't good...

EDIT: Also, I did time for the Schwinn chain in town in the early 80s. The Le Tour had 27x1-1/4 wheels and the 27" frame had a pretty low bottom bracket. Real track bikes have low bottom brackets, but velodromes have steep (like 30+ degree) banking and real track bikes have 165mm cranks.

In an urban environment fixed gear, long cranks, low BB is a recipe for roadrash. Please be careful.

Thanks Bro ya the saddle had to be readjust. A the time I was trying to find a way to get pressure of a spot that was irritated from a 30 mile ride on a different bike. Well the nose down didn't work well. It slid me forward putting pressure on my hands.

I tried this forward tilt after reading Sheldon Browns info on seat angle. I did the opposite of what he suggested, becuase I was already doing it they way he suggested. Well it didn't work so I had to go back to the proper way.

Good eye though.

Rode this morning with saddle in normal position. Much better. Oh ya here's what Sheldon says that supports what you are saying: "I can't claim any medical expertise, but it is my opinion that these problems in most cases are related to poor adjustment or poor choice of saddles, such that the rider's weight is not being carried properly by the "sit bones." In particular, having the saddle too high or tilted down too far, will lead to the rider sitting on the narrow part of the saddle, which may block these arteries, and also possibly do nerve damage. This sort of mismatch can also create pressure on the prostate."

I will watch the pedal/crank strike.

motomoron wrote: Nose down saddle is just wrong. If your position is correct, any conventional road saddle can be perfectly level or nose up by a few mm. The idea is that you should tend to slide aft where your sit bones align with the corresponding areas of the saddle. In 15 years in bike shops I'd see the nose down deal very often on big bikes for some reason. Generally a combination of long top tube/stem - short torso. The tendency is to slide forward onto the nose of the saddle with the subsequent pressure on the perineum and resulting inability to feel anything in certain parts of the male anatomy. Not good. Chronic cycling injuries can take a long time to develop as they require 1000s or 100s of 1000s of repetitions to occur, but you should sort your fit out sooner than later. Messing with your taint isn't good... EDIT: Also, I did time for the Schwinn chain in town in the early 80s. The Le Tour had 27x1-1/4 wheels and the 27" frame had a pretty low bottom bracket. Real track bikes have low bottom brackets, but velodromes have steep (like 30+ degree) banking and real track bikes have 165mm cranks. In an urban environment fixed gear, long cranks, low BB is a recipe for roadrash. Please be careful.

Jumping in to add to the parade:

I don't own it anymore but I like showing it off because it was such a pretty bike.

That is pretty Where is it now?

California somewhere. I got everything in that picture for $40 and sold it for $200.

In hindsight I should have charged more because those frames are worth that much and the wheels were probably at least $50 worth.

It's a Vitus by the way. Bonded main tubes from aluminum, really light, also described as the "French Noodle" because powerful riders thought they were flimsy as they got older. I weigh 210lbs and I'm a masher, so I decided I shouldn't keep it.

PHeller wrote: Bonded main tubes from aluminum, really light, also described as the "French Noodle" because powerful riders thought they were flimsy as they got older. I weigh 210lbs and I'm a masher, so I decided I shouldn't keep it.

Trek used this technology on their mtn bikes back in the day.

I have an old 9000 that I still ride occasionally, I'm 250lbs and I haven't killed it yet.

Shawn