FWIW, I don't buy into the fixed gear/exploding knee theories. I've been riding fixed for about 80% of my commuting needs (150 kms week?), since I had knee surgery for a slight tear of my anterior cruciate and mild athritis two years ago. My knees have never felt better. I used to be a masher and prefer about 80" gears so I try not to spin too much...if that makes any sense. That's where I feel most comfortable.
Classic content...some of those km's are done on my 30's CCM Road Racer...clearly a nice example of a path racer. It always gets interesting comments...couriers are nuts about it.
Warren Young
Toronto
>The thread last week about path racers started me thinking about
>fixed gear bikes for non-track oriented riding. Up until about ten
>years ago fixed gear bikes in general were for the track or trainers,
>except for those "crazy people that are tearing their knees to
>shreds" as they used to be referred to regularly. As we've seen the
>last few years they're the coolest hippest thing again (classic
>content on the way) and all kinds of non-trackies and non-crazy
>people are riding them. Everybody say's it's to improve the spin,
>breathing, and bike handling. . . I ride one because I don't live on
>Seattle's Capitol Hill anymore and they're fun.
>
>(Classic content follows) If fixed bikes we're so popular in the form
>of path racers into the 60's why did their popularity go away? Was
>it the invent of the reliable rear deraileur? Boredom with things
>"old hat?" or were people's knees exploding constantly? I wasn't
>around for the death of the path racer, but I was around for when
>only "crazy people" rode them on the road.
>enjoy,
>Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
>SB, CA
>
>PS: For those humor impaired folks on the list replace the term
>"crazy" with the term "trend setter."
>--
> ++++++++++++++
>"Nobody can do everything, but if everybody
>did something everything would get done."
>--Gil Scott-Heron--
> ++++++++++++++
>Elfie and Monkeyboy's Wurld uv Wunder
><http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~mkirklan/>
> ++++++++++++++