A blessed Holy Week to All

We need to give pause this week to the most blessed time of the year when we remember and commemorate the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not just a regular 'holiday' so to speak, others even call it "Spring Break". It is what gives meaning, purpose, value and eternal salvation to our souls. Our souls are no longer hap and stance, aimless meandering, biological goo, a political vote, a corporate title, a luxury car, an image, a popularity contestant - we have been sacrificed for, suffered for, died for. None other than by the God made flesh Himself, Christ Jesus. He said it, "I have come to bring life", He did it, "I shall suffer for the sins of many", He proved it, "And on the third day I shall rise again". We give pause because no other soul in history's past or present has said what He said, did what He did, and promised a future for those who believe in Him. We give pause, and we remember, we ask forgiveness and we repent. Have a good day, and God bless us, our families and our country.

SURLY FIXXER

ITS ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEE FEELS GREAT ILL POST SOME CLOSE LATER









finally trying the surly fixxer it converts most shimano free hubs over to fixed gear...

WHY DOIT??

Here is what i have found. the market for track equipment is very small. Meaning high prices on bikes and additional addons...like rims, handle bars, cogs, and crank setups.

So if you wanna be like chris hoy or a tleast attempt to have an aero setup. An inexpensive way is to convert a set off deep v road rims or buy a used set. and switch over to track with a sulry fixxer.

the fixxer costs average 75 dollars..+ you need to redish the rim about $20 bucks at your favorite bike store.

a set of used carbon road rims 300-500 dollars..OR if you have some I have a set of hed cx rims with a rear hed deep.

compared to a new set or track deep carbon rims for about 700+

and track disc costing 1200+

you can definatley save some dough..

Now i wont lie and say this is a cheap option but if you want some other than velocity or alex. this is the way to go.

I will post pics as the work is being done at witts bicycles in hayward. Clarence the shop mechanic wil be doing the work...

"First Siclista Fixed Gear Ride"

Fixed Gear Rules, "Commands"

Fixed Gear Rules, "Commands"
1. Read Sheldon Brown's fixed gear resource site. This is chuck full of fixed gear information, fixed gear conversions, safety tips, etc.
2. Riding fixed is not like riding a geared bike such as a 10-speed, 9 speed bike. The hub in a fixed is fixed, with no freewheel. It keeps pedaling as long as your wheels are turning, which brings us to the next two points:
3. Unclipping requires practice, that's if you're using clipless or clipped pedals. Since you cannot coast, you have to time your plant foot to unclip and plant - this takes practice. Others get it right away, and for me, it took me two to three weeks to get used to it.
4. And this continous pedaling motion means you cannot place your fingers near the drivetrain when the wheels are turning!! This means fingers away from the chainring, cog, chain, spokes. My advice - leave the bike stationary when tinkering with it. Don't even use a bike stand since you might get tempted to start cranking the pedals like you were cranking a roadbike - uh uh uh, nah nah nah, No, No, No. Just keep the bike on firm ground, clean it without turning the wheels or the pedals.
5. Re-read items numbers 1-4.
6. Be careful when going downhill. You will spin fast. Thus, use a set of brakes. The hipster notion of brakeless fixies is for me plain old "stupid". One time a truck cut in front of me from a blind intersection - he didn't see me. I was going downhill, fast. If I didn't have my brakes, and just used back-pedaling (I'll explain this later) to skid and stop, I would have hit the truck. There are many needless accidents that happen because a fixed rider didn't put brakes to look "cool". (And if you're dead, you're cool, too, and that's the uncool part of it).
7. Practice, practice, practice. I call the 3 P's. Also you can say Practice, Patience and Pedal. Backpedaling, which I mentioned earlier, is the idea of applying backward pressure to slow down the bike - you basically "stop" pedaling forward, and apply reverse pedaling motion. It does have its merits - when you navigate through a turn, you can apply some back pedaling, when you go on a downhill grade, you can apply back pedaling with your brakes. When you near an intersection, you can apply back pedaling to slow the bike down. For quick, cold, emergency stops - backpedaling has its limits. This is why you still need brakes. When you race on the track like Raymund, you don't use brakes - you'll be zipping through at 40mph like everyone else. But you won't see an SUV cutting through the lanes of a track velodrome where you'll need to stop immediately.
8. When using clipless (I recommend clipped initially so you can unclip fast), make sure you can clip out. I fell trying to unclip only to realize the tension on my clipless Shimano pedals was a tad too tight.
9. Be safe.
10. Be smart and read the resources provided by Jay, and others. Again - Sheldon Brown.

Fellow Siclista's - send me your emails.

Send me your emails so i can authorize you to post new blog entries, i.e., videos, pics, general info, etc. Send to msa2004@gmail.com - thanks!