How can I find people to road bike with?

good kids road bike image

Mrtheroost

I don't think I'm fast enough for group rides, but I can't find anyone to ride with. I'm 14 and everyone I know rides BMX. My mom won't let me post on CL to find another rider. I ride mainly with a friend of mine, my dad's friend and my friend's mom. There is one kid I know that road bikes, but he's a pervert and he's gay so I think I'll stay away from him.

Answer
If you parents agree, a bike club is a great place to learn to ride in a group and meet similar interested people. If your parents think you are two young it may be worth them talking to the leaders of a local club to get reassurance. Most larger clubs I know offer a range of group rides suitable for people of different abilities. I avoided clubs for years thinking I wasn't fast enough to join. Don't make that error if you want to be a better cyclist.

Another way to find riders is to post a note at school or at a bike shop etc. I moved to a rural area a few years ago and that's how I found a small group of local riders.

Good luck.

What is the difference between fixed gear and single speed road bikes?

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The only thing I know is that you can coast on single speed, and you pedal continuously on a fixie. I haven't ridden a bike (I live in the suburbs so I mostly drive) since middle school. Only rode a road bike a couple times.

Here are a few questions:

What is the difference, feel-wise, of riding them? For example, does one go faster, or smoother than the other?

I hear fixies are dangerous but only because a lot of people who have fixies ride brakeless. Can I install brakes on fixed gear? And if so, what brakes would be best? I rode a bike as a child but it was not really a road bike, just a generic kid's bike, and I am used to pushing down on the pedals to brake.

Which bike would be better for riding in the city of Chicago? I've rode in traffic with my friends but had borrowed someone's mountain bike because I don't own one, and that was a workout trying to keep up.

Which one would be easier to maintain? I'm a beginner so my boyfriend could help me with maintenance, but I don't want to spend too much to keep maintaining my bike.

Thank you so much! All the help is much appreciated. I'm moving to Chicago in the fall and would like to start riding. Thanks!
Oh, and can I always change the gears? Like could I start off with a single speed and then once I'm used to that, if I ever want to try fixed gear, could I change the whole thing into that? As I said, I'm a beginner so I have to learn everything about bikes and I don't really know much lol.

Answer
They're both crap.

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