Stripped Down Summer Challenge

I went down an interesting path as I pedalled the nine miles to work the other day. The canal towpath and golf course that is all bar two of those nine miles are wonderfully peaceful places. Mostly away from traffic and fumes and offering a chance to think a little more freely than you can whilst scouring the horizon for pushy or lazy drivers and their equivalent pedestrians.

The subject on this particular day was the very bike I was riding. It was designed for the purpose, with all the right engineering and equipment included to get the job done efficiently and securely. Add the panniers and their associated contents and I can ride to work, shower, change, work, eat my home-cooked leftovers, work some more and return home for a daily outlay of zero pence. The maths work so long as I am avoiding paying for new tubes to replace the occasional puncture and counting the lunch cost in some other bucket, but it feels about right so I’ll carry on.

All was going swimmingly until I found difficulty changing gear over the weekend. I should add that this is the back set, all nine of them, that get changed a lot so I am pedalling just so, rather than the three at the front that I have never been truly happy with. I started fiddling with the cable adjuster and just made it worse. The ride that day was great. Coming home in shorts, early on in the BST period is such a wake-up to spring. Yet I was niggled by the clunky gearchange and my mind drifted to a bike I saw over the weekend.

The ride in question was a stripped down single speed fixed hub road bike. Not even with brakes, let alone gears and suspension. The beauty of it all was the pure simplicity and mechanical robustness of the minimalist machine. The question is how well it can do the job asked of it. And this is what set my mind racing – curiosity on how best can I get one or try one out without spending a fortune. Just to see, you know?

The unanswered questions are many. What is it like to ride one of these in the first place? How do they work without brakes? Are they only good for road or would it work on the towpath as well? What is it like at the ends of the riding spectrum from uphill grind to fast descents (without a freewheel)?

I intend to answer some of these questions this summer. It could be a whole new minimalist discovery, or could be just too much like hard work. It should also be inexpensive yet if possible be immensely stylish and physically satisfying. A lot to live up to, but worth a shot, now where can I get a cheap, unloved, large framed bicycle in need of a bit of care and attention?

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