A few new things for the fixie (not that I've had a chance to ride it for the past 3 weeks).
First, a Surly Chain Tensioner.
This bike is a conversion (meaning it didn't have fork ends for the rear wheel, just horizontal drop-outs) and the first time I asked a bike mechanic about using one of these Surly's, he said that it wouldn't work on horizontal drop outs, they had to be used on rear fork ends. Well, I went and bought one anyway and what do you know, it worked (so far). I guess the real test will be when I actually take the bike out for a spin with this on it. The reason that I wanted one, is because I don't have brakes on this bike and rely heavily on skidding to stop. Skidding by the way is by far the funnest way to slow down a bike!! The problem is that after a hard day of riding (and skidding) the rear wheel has moved forward and my chain tension is saggy. Gross. This should help that out so I can skid happy and skid often.
Second, is an aggressive rear wheel.
I actually bought this rear wheel in conjunction with a Schwable snow stud front, but ended up returning the front for a 26" Schwable tire and bought another one for my commuter bike. I decided against using the fixie for commuting in the snow, as it's still too new (to me) for mucking up. I've ridden to work a few times with the fat rear tire and haven't found it too bad. It was also only $6, so I can skid this to the threads and not feel bad. Man is skidding ever fun!!
First, a Surly Chain Tensioner.
This bike is a conversion (meaning it didn't have fork ends for the rear wheel, just horizontal drop-outs) and the first time I asked a bike mechanic about using one of these Surly's, he said that it wouldn't work on horizontal drop outs, they had to be used on rear fork ends. Well, I went and bought one anyway and what do you know, it worked (so far). I guess the real test will be when I actually take the bike out for a spin with this on it. The reason that I wanted one, is because I don't have brakes on this bike and rely heavily on skidding to stop. Skidding by the way is by far the funnest way to slow down a bike!! The problem is that after a hard day of riding (and skidding) the rear wheel has moved forward and my chain tension is saggy. Gross. This should help that out so I can skid happy and skid often.Second, is an aggressive rear wheel.
I actually bought this rear wheel in conjunction with a Schwable snow stud front, but ended up returning the front for a 26" Schwable tire and bought another one for my commuter bike. I decided against using the fixie for commuting in the snow, as it's still too new (to me) for mucking up. I've ridden to work a few times with the fat rear tire and haven't found it too bad. It was also only $6, so I can skid this to the threads and not feel bad. Man is skidding ever fun!!
