Well that’s it I’m a total convert! I got a Langster in steel, have only rode it fixed since picking up and now I don’t know what I was worried about. Fixed is just the best way to ride on the road. I’ve listened to my best friend Jonathan wax lyrical about riding fixed, the “sense of being at one with the bike” and all that and to be honest I thought he mad (not the hacking your limbs off with a machete mad, more the “would like more fried squirrel with your hamster sandwich type mad). But here I am talking the same way with a fixed grin (pun intended) every time I think of riding my Langster. I opted for the feel of steel in the end; aluminium is just too harsh for my back these days. After a few hours riding around Plymouth in the sun trying out various coffee shops I packed it on the train and headed for Bristol. Jonathan met me at the station for leisurely ride back to his place through town (more coffee shops) my Timbuk2 filled with a weekends supplies. Considering I’d never ridden fixed until the Friday I found myself hammering through traffic and enjoying every minute of it. It seemed like we had only just got started and suddenly we were bad to his place and the ride was over. Definitely got the bug.
Now I find myself looking for any excuse to get out on the bike, and then I find myself checking my watch to see if I have enough time to go the long way every time I go out. I love the bike, Specialized Langster in steel. Retail is £499 but I just bought it through the NHS bike scheme and it works out to cost me around £340. That’s a real bargain for what is a really nice bike. I know there will those out there that turn their noses up at an off the peg fixie but this was always intended to be a cheap bike to commute to work on, I didn’t expect to be so affected by it. So now the mountain bike is locked up in my storage unit out of town and I find myself riding fixie everywhere and loving it.