15 of My Fixed Gear Hot Takes! 

My fixed gear experience will not be complete until I get myself a sweet silk scarf that matches my frame.

Cool!! When are going to show us how a Wabi is made start to finish? You've shown us bits and pieces but never the whole thing. I would love to see every aspect of the process. From raw tubing to them put on a container.

Ha. You’re one of the few bike channels I watch as well.

My 2 (OK, 5) cents based upon 36+ years with a fixed gear bike in my quiver; YMMV, do what makes you smile; 1) I have at least 1 brake when riding in public, obviously none when riding on track. Cars, dogs, pedestrians, deer and squirrels can outperform my anticipation and sub-jedi reflexes. Knock wood, formula's helped keep me riding 36+ years. 2) Never have been comfortable with anything other than shoulder width handlebars. I like compact drop bars for street use as they are, again, more comfortable. Track bars on the track, especially when riding 50 degree indoor velodrome. Height set to get forearms parallel to direction of travel if I'm really pushing. 3) Alloy/steel components are more cost effective and certainly more damage resistant than carbon fiber composites. If buying carbon because it makes you happy or you're competing, learn how to inspect for damage/flaws. At the very least, learn how to inspect for the "ring of death" on a carbon steer tube. 4) I'm absolutely copasetic mixing fixed gears with road bikes in a paceline or group ride. I have my brake lever, so I can quickly stop when they do. You can usually tell when a geared bike rider has fixed gear background, they are smooth as they know how to soft pedal and pedal through turns. Keep up the good content Zach.

You are one of the few cycling channels I watch, everyone is on road disc bikes, they make cycling complicated... thanks for keeping it real.

Zach looks like he's hiding hickies 💀

Fixed gear content is cool and all, but your fit is absolutely amazing

My bike already had a carbon fork and back tri-spoke and after subscribing to Zach I'm paranoid af, lol. PS. Zach, make the content that makes you happy! You're creative and entertaining, we don't constantly need bike content. True fans will stick around.

Try our very own hand crafted Ave Maldea Frame/Frameset here in 🇵🇭 some of fixie rider overseas used it and they got hook by it.

When did Bea Arthur start hosting the show?

This year I started cycling again, riding a fixed conversion lugged steal bike I built years ago. Signed up for a century this fall, training rides are currently up to 60-70 miles and I've been going with a local club for some of the longer ones. The reactions once people start to notice my drivetrain in the pack have been a great ego boost, not to mention it's mostly a sea of carbon and ti. I run a brake, there hasn't been much if any of a clash in terms of bike incompatibility, mostly just my frustration that they don't charge the flat before the "hills"(midwest hills, which are just overpasses), and I have to be careful starting from stopped because they all push-coast-clip in and then pedal from a low gear while I'm just going from the moment I push off. Anyway my fixed gear has road bars and hoods, the lock mounted in the triangle, and a grab bag mounted to the bars come at me bro. I even rocked full fenders for a time.

Some pretty great takes, though everyone should watch Terry B. Also, this scarf looks great!

I agree with the American made frames, so many popping up making Ti frames for like 5k and it seems like some dude with a welding machine thinking he makes some top notch stuff.

Hot take! Back in '09 when I got my Kilo the most noticeable upgrade was ditching the steel fork for a carbon fork. Felt like the bike lost at least a pound and the rough LA streets got smoothed out significantly.

Carbon fibre is not just to shave grams. Hello stiffness and reactivity 👋 | But agree on the longevity

So true about manufacturing quality in Asia, they are made to specs. e.g. iPhones. Also agree with you on shaving a few grams of weight, wind is my biggest enemy. Great episode.

6:44 Hilarious. I run the Soma Major Taylors on my 84 Merckx and JUST got nearly the exact brown bar tape to what you had on your Kilo TT here. I have similar tan (cream) walled tires (GP 5000’s) and was unsure if I should leave the black saddle on or switch to a brown zwift I have. The black saddle works with the brown tape much better than I expected. Also, I’m running the Miche Pistards that have 28 mm black rims so it’s another hit of black. Unintended consequence of watching this today… settled that debate for me I think.

PREACH on the bottle position of the Big Block. Drove me nuts when I had one.

I go so much nostalgia from this video. The flashy bikes are something

15. Do you also assume people on a brake less group ride will be on the same page about bike setup/maintenance? A loose lock ring or worn chain can cause a much worse crash than a brake.

I think the best fork is a steel fork with rake. Lots of your points are leaning towards practical. That is a good thing!

I just put a wider riser on my Fyxation, 750mm. I just prefer the handling for my conditions. I drive on terrible roads, over fields, up hills at times and narrow bars just make things twitchy. As for the pedals, I use clippless. I've use clippless for 10 years and have no issues unclipping. My shoes are fine for walking too

Stems should be slammed or have a max of 20mm of spacers imo Stem angle and length are the best way to adjust the fit while maintaining look and stiffness. If you have more than that you are riding the wrong size bike or the wrong bike for you. Find a bike that fits you without huge adjustments and it will be a lot more fun to ride appart from looking better

Brakes are good, Zach!

Track and high end parts on casual bikes - I recently dropped idea of Shimano track hubs as they would look silly on bike which never sees real track. I'll spend that money on decent tires and food/water to actually ride my bike. I'll let someone other look silly with Rotor cranks on street.

Hot take in our country: #1 Gear Ratio (Bigger = Look Stronger) 😅 #2 The battle between Clipless/cleats VS Straps/Toecages #3 Obsession on a pursuit geometry #4 Carbon Compo #5 Rider it self hyped by premium rush or by manwa's windbreaker, they ride like one even though they're newbies, not much experience and low skill set rider. Take note they don't ride with straps or atleast they have one. (that's why many casualties 😅)

Outfit is very Little Richard in this one. Cheers

Where can we get those bamboo forks though?!?

SPDs are so much more comfortable than any strap. It’s Ok To be afraid Zach just admit it.

I got my first fixed gear last week, it's a classic build and the handle bar is this! 6:33

Dude, I love the videos. I've been watching for a couple of years, and I've learned a lot, but wtf are you wearing, bro?

Pathlesspedaled and Spindatt are 👌👌 Good taste

fixed gear rider since 2008, here. i need a brake because i can't skid without aggravating my janky ankle. never had a problem in group rides tho. wider bars are easier to climb with and control the bike in an emergency situation. clipless are better than straps, but that's because street shoes and straps give me hot spots and spd mtb shoes have stiffer soles and are still easy to walk around grocery stores in. carbon forks on a steel frame is the business. pursuit bars are the business; even though i have risers on right now because i got hit by a car and don't ride fast enough to justify being aero af. i also dig 130bcd cranks, but mostly because i ride a massive ratio and finding 55+ tooth chainrings in 144 is hard.

the shade at weis M f g lol

I ride a bike with track drops and there are 4 hand positions i use.

are short flat bars still aero?

I'd love a fixie, but where I live is just too hilly and I already have knee issues as it is :( Love your channel for the hype and spirit though :)

130bcd is good, find chainring in 1/8 in Europe it's very difficult in small size

dat scarf game tho

#4. I have Wabi’s classic, special, and thunder, but not interested in their lightning because of this.

his fit is crazy!

The pen pineapple guy is lookin good.

hold up, can we talk about your fit??????

9:12 You mean we are all fat? 🤨 Lol Nice video

Is that ascot cycling or scooby doo specific? Asking for a friend lol

I have my bottles on both tubes and do ok with both.

Wabi frames are absolutely perfect if anyone is on the fence.

Wider bars are for stability…now you don’t need to ride broomstick sized handlebars but wider bars do create better stability

I don’t think ird is still around. Sugino for the win!

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself. I am large; I contain multitudes.

Having a super negative stem and still having spacers under it is just stupid. You could've achieved the same position with a more sensible stem and no spacers. When you have no spacers and the front end is still too high that's when you need a very negative stem. My bike has 2 brakes, compact drop with proper drop bar brake levers and is mostly ridden on the freewheel side so I get 0 fixie points.

A lot of rules for something that should be the most rule-free activity a person could ever do: biking

130 BCD crank gang here!

Zach you can't recommend other channels without linking 'em on up

👍

You ever tried spd cleats

BASED

for me, its clipless brakeless

Taiwan is the best bike manufacturer. It's been for many years now 🤣🤣🤣

I've never wanted a Wabi cycle more in my life than since watching Zach's videos

I disagree about the down tube being the best place for a water bottle on a fixed gear. I say the best place is behind the saddle.

Zach, carbon fiber is not the carbon fiber we had in the 90's... if you buy carbon fiber parts from a trustable company, it's totally safe, solid and reliable. Yes, it may break if you seriously fall or throw your bike off a bridge or under a car, but it's totally safe for a normal daily ride, even if it falls off from a wall

Skill issue, I can reach my seat tube bottle easy (っ˘ڡ˘ς) I do wish it was on the downtube though why surly why

Track bars look inappropriate when cafe racers ride grabbing them near stem. They are sloped for a reason. Wide MTB bars on FG also look meh, maybe trick riders need them to reach more easily. They aren't needed to actually steer bike.

dao ming su 😂

Bro stay reasonably dangerous

Lol my take, just say NO to carbon fiber forks! And it’s NOT a steel bike with one 🤦🏻

Track drops mad ugly 😂

Track bars suck! I like a short, straight riser. Get the perfect stem geometry for your custom angle. Set-it and forget it.

Track drops look horrible

Prepare for the day that sky will turn blood red. As the blood of humanity will soon fill the oceans. Prepare for the liberation of souls.

This guy is talking rubbish. Riding without brakes is stupid - you cannot stop efficiently without them. He actually confirms this when he says he doesn't like to ride behind a rider with brakes.

Are you going LGBTQ?

Is this guy for real? Carbon is the best material ever used for cycling.