New fixed gear rider - loving it!

[king boonen]

Hi all,

I got hold of a second hand Lemond Fillmore for a bargain price of £200 in basically brand new condition (the guy had a place in Croatia and it had pretty much sat in a shed for 3 years or occasionally pedalled to the shops). I started off on the 66" freewheel gear it came with and enjoyed riding it but have now moved onto a 70" fixed wheel and I'm loving riding it. I'm finding climbing isn't too hard as long as you're sensible about where you go (did the Crow Road from Lennoxtown and Queens View from Croftamie side for anyone around Glasgow) and was fine. I find that as long as you don't sit and mash and get out of the saddle you get past the 12-1 phase much easier and the knees are less of a factor. Descending is a bit hairy, I can manage 50kph but then it gets too fast, would like to add 2-4" to the gear if possible...

I'm enjoying riding it more than my geared bike at the moment, planning to ride to my cousins wedding (Chester to Nottingham across the Peaks) on it. Saddle needs to be changed and I need some unpadded bar tape to replace the cushion stuff on their currently but other than that it's brilliant!

So, no questions or anything, just wanted to say hi. Here's the bike:

[Jonah]

 

Hi all,

I got hold of a second hand Lemond Fillmore for a bargain price of £200 in basically brand new condition (the guy had a place in Croatia and it had pretty much sat in a shed for 3 years or occasionally pedalled to the shops). I started off on the 66" freewheel gear it came with and enjoyed riding it but have now moved onto a 70" fixed wheel and I'm loving riding it. I'm finding climbing isn't too hard as long as you're sensible about where you go (did the Crow Road from Lennoxtown and Queens View from Croftamie side for anyone around Glasgow) and was fine. I find that as long as you don't sit and mash and get out of the saddle you get past the 12-1 phase much easier and the knees are less of a factor. Descending is a bit hairy, I can manage 50kph but then it gets too fast, would like to add 2-4" to the gear if possible...

I'm enjoying riding it more than my geared bike at the moment, planning to ride to my cousins wedding (Chester to Nottingham across the Peaks) on it. Saddle needs to be changed and I need some unpadded bar tape to replace the cushion stuff on their currently but other than that it's brilliant!

So, no questions or anything, just wanted to say hi. Here's the bike:

[Tom B]

I bought one of those in 2007
It rode really nicely but sold it after a couple of years cos I was going off drop bars
The best bike I've ever had for ease of rear removal and replacement

Happy riding!

[phantasmagoriana]

Nice! I keep meaning to attempt the Crow on fixed but I don't think I'd manage the steep bits at the bottom...never tried the Queen's View from that side either, only from the south. You'll have to do the Tak from Kilsyth next!

[king boonen]

Cheers guys.

Tom B, I love it, fantastic bike and yes very easy to fiddle with. I keep looking at old track framesets but just think why bother, this is excellent and more than enough for me.

Nice! I keep meaning to attempt the Crow on fixed but I don't think I'd manage the steep bits at the bottom...never tried the Queen's View from that side either, only from the south. You'll have to do the Tak from Kilsyth next!

I was a bit worried but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, get out the saddle early, lean over the bars and push. I was heading towards Gartmore for the pipetrack but wasn't quite feeling it and knew I had Queens to do so cut off the A81 to Drymen. Queens was actually worse than the Crow as it just drags on and on and my legs weren't great.

The Tak is on the list, problem is I usually do it on 44" for the steep bits... Pretty sure I'm going to fall over! That's the idea though, I didn't on the Crow so need to find somewhere I do...