No Shifty

I am in exactly the same boat, and I lust after a Pinarello Catena. I have never ridden or even seen one beyond that link, though.

Since buying the bike is entirely out of the question at the moment, I haven’t even investigated where I might get one.

I’ve slowly been collecting parts for an eventual fixie myself (special thanks to Fraction Man for some awesome donations) but I am still not sure about the frame either. Being a Bianchi man I am also thinking an older Pista, but I’m open to ideas as well. Maybe we need to combine our whisky date with some fixie shopping? Probably in that order!

One of the things I like about FG bikes is that you can get them relatively light without trying very hard, not having gears (or brakes) saves a lot of weight. I prefer lighter frames made of carbon, aluminum or high end steel like reynolds 853. I used to have a chrome Pista (chromoly) and have a currently have a chromoly Fuji SS, neither were favorites (sorry). IMO they feel a bit sluggish and a bit dull. My favorite has always been the Reynolds 853 LeMond with a light wheelset, check my strava mileage between bikes. A lighter wheelset makes the bike feel fast, spins up and down quickly – which is more pronounced on a fixed gear because you’re constantly using your legs to modulate speed.

I’d like to go on a FG date with you guys.

Vintage Fuji fixie, $200
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/bik/4216802412.html

My folding bike has horizontal dropouts and can be set up fixed. It’s a bit of a harsh ride between the small wheels and chunky aluminum, but having done a lot more “no shifty” riding since I bought it, I sort of wish I’d set it up single-speed to begin with.

My FG is lugged Reynolds 725; I’ve enjoyed what I’ve managed to ride on it so far – certainly less harsh than my aluminum bikes. Don’t know about stiffness, etc. as I haven’t ridden it hard enough yet to gauge that. I got it specifically for more comfortable rides and it’s not track geometry but certainly still “road”/racing geometry, and without toe overlap. It’s the first time I’ve picked a bike based primarily on frame material rather than components and I’ve been happy with the results so far. (I think that’s one of the great things about a FG/SS bike – cranks, cogs, etc. are relatively easy to swap out, and easier to service than derailleurs, shifters, shifter cables, etc. so you do really get to focus more on the bike frame rather than SRAM vs Shimano levers, 10-speed vs x-speed, etc. not only when initially shopping, but also when it comes to maintenance, and of course, when riding.)

My SS is a converted flat-bar road/hybrid bike; fairly standard aluminum, not particularly thin walled or large diameter, with what seems like a heavy steel fork (I’m guessing standard CroMo). It is definitely stiff without much compliance, and feels fast but not particularly comfortable, although I do have it set up a bit aggressively (I don’t ride it fixed often). I have it 48/16 so if you’re feeling it, you can get up hills fast (my best time on Powhatan was on that although I think I had ShawnDread breathing down my neck!) It’s fun to ride around Hains Pt.

I think I’m still more comfortable riding SS overall (mostly when descending!) but I’m getting the hang of FG riding (haven’t ridden SS since I got this bike). My road bike, SS and FG each weigh about 19 pounds. Road bike is maybe 0.5-1.0 lbs lighter overall although I keep F+R brakes and freewheels and fixed cogs on both my SS and FG.

I am almost tempted to get this if I ever need a new road bike – I really like the look of straight tubes that aren’t super chunky, although I don’t know if steel bikes can be ridden as much in bad conditions?

I’d be up for a FG ride but I won’t be riding much through Dec/Jan and some of Feb.
dcv (on a FG), Bilsko and I (on a SS) did a 50mi loop back in Feb this year and it was one of my favourite rides of the year (of course, we stopped by the Canal Center).

Oh, that Catena looks niiice.

@OneEighth 71972 wrote:

Nothing wrong with a conversion, but there is something nice about horizontal dropouts.

Agreed, that’s one reason I sprung for a dedicated “no shifty” frame. (Other reasons include a better fitting bike, and wanting to try a nicer steel ride.)

@vvill 71974 wrote:

I am almost tempted to get this if I ever need a new road bike – I really like the look of straight tubes that aren’t super chunky, although I don’t know if steel bikes can be ridden as much in bad conditions?

That does look awesome! If you treat it with frameprep and generally deal with exposed metal (paint chips), I would imagine it will be just fine. Personally, I would probably put a carbon fork on it and deep carbon wheels — I think the juxtaposition of small-diameter, straight steel tubes with carbon trimmings is bling.

And someday I will built a FG, when I have space for more than 3 or 4 bikes. I used to commute on a 48:16 steel SS bike and loved it, but switched it out for the cx bike when I needed a more practical choice for pulling the trailer too.

Don’t tires last longer if the ratio is not exactly 3:1?