fixie. . .single-speed. . .plain old multi-speed road bike?

[mattonabike]

i've asked friends and checked out answers in other forums. but, since portland is my home (or the home i'll return to), it makes sense to find out what other portland cyclists think.

when i move back from japan, i'm gonna leave my road bike behind (*whimper*). so, with bad knees and a red-light-running habit, should i avoid a fixie? should i build a flip-flop with a single-speed on one side? or, should i just stick with what i know and continue to deal with deralieurs?

likely commutes from NE to SW, and out to gresham. come on, portland! whatcha got?

thanks.

[Awetistic]

Try this link: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/articles/lee/lee.pdf

i got it from the fixedgeargallery.com. There's lots of good info there. Me, I'm not having any real issues with a fixed gear and tend to agree with the points made at the symposium. I just spent a week in San Francisco and rode all over, up and down some insane hills, telling myself not to walk it. I never did dismount and really only noticed some soreness after one day where I fought plenty of tough descents. In Portland it is much flatter. The bigger your gears the harder it will be to stop yourself, thus the harder it will be on your knees. Sticking lower, say 42x16 ought to be a decent balance. If you got a flip flop, you can solve that issue if you think you need a break.