Who wants to ride my bicycle?
If you are looking into buying a new single-speed racing bike in the £500 range, you are most probably looking at the following five options, from left to right, in alphabetic order:
- Bianchi Pista (photo)
- Kona Paddy Wagon (photo)
- Lemond Fillmore (photo)
- Ridgeback Genesis Flyer (photo)
- Specialized Langster (photo)
All of them, except for the Bianchi Pista, are ready for the road. The Bianchi Pisa is a pure track bike, so it dosen’t come with any breaks and the frame is not drilled for a rear break. The Bianchi Pista is also the only bike that comes as a fixed geared bike as default, a freewheel/fixed gear flip flop hub can be installed.
Obviously I bought the Bianchi Pista.
Mostly for it’s beauty and simplicity.
Two questions I had, until I actually rode it home from the store today, was:
- Is only a front break good enough?
- Fixed gear… is it dangerous?
The answers are:
- Yes
- No
A lot of people I have asked about riding fixed have said it’s pure idiocy and a death wish. Obviously these people have never been on a skateboard, snowboard or rollerblades. Because if riding a fixed geared bike is a death wish, skateboard is suicide.