I mean I don’t ride MTB flats to compare but I’d say they’re at least a step above the free resin flat pedals that come with a bike, and given what I want the bike for when I’m wearing street shoes that’s plenty for me!
Edit after re-reading your question: riding fixed on flats is fine as long as you keep all the movements predictable. The danger of attempting a skid stop or similar without being attached is that it breaks that smooth connection between speed and cadence so if/when traction locks in again your brain might struggle to make sense of the changing forces fast enough to get you moving with the cranks again. And you don’t have the option of coasting to keep the pedal in a stationary position while you find it again, so things can get messy really fast.
I’m sure there are really experienced fixie die-hards that have no issue with this, but I don’t have the confidence to attempt it unless clipped in and the fixie guys I know have told me they won’t either.
Just take it easy as you get going and you’ll be fine - if you’ve been riding other kinds of bikes for a while then your brain and body will tell you what you need to do to stay safe!
Awesome thanks. I might try the pedals you suggested, and then I can see which side I prefer at least then can always swap to pedals that take straps at some point (if these ones can’t use straps). And I can obviously just use the current pedals for now to get used to it. They are shimano PD-GR500s. Not the best but not the worst either.
When I rode fixed w/flats (usually used straps or cages), if I needed to skid I would put my front forefoot under the front pedal and pull up there while pushing down on my back foot. You can get pretty smooth with it with some practice. I found I preferred having my feet strapped in for when I was descending — my feet would float too much with flats.
I used to ride my fixie with mtb shoes. I doubt I could hack flats these days, being in the habit of lifting the foot upto 2-3 o’clock to push off. With the fixie I also got into habit of lifting the bike slightly too to let the wheel move round to a complimentary position. I got spd pedals with a cage though to give me the option of other shoes not that I wore shoes other mtb shoes much. I have not used straps in years but I found them to erratic when it came to release. Probably because I did wear different shoes.
A true track bike will have very quick handling and a lot of saddle-bar drop. Might be fun for sprinting around traffic, but probably less than ideal for commuting.
The cheapest fixies are cheap for a reason - check frame material and component specs to see if it’s ok.
Not a fixie, but the All-City Nature Cross is a pretty nice bike. It’s SS as sold, but you could add a Paul Fixed Disc Word hub to make it fixie. I have one, ride it SS, love it. Rides nice, weight is reasonable, etc.
Wabi Cycles has some pretty nice looking, reasonably priced fixies/SS. Geometry is closer to road than track, which is probably what you want.
State Bicyles 4130 is probably the cheapest bike I’d get.
I think the Fuji track/feather offerings are better than state. I thought I’d go with state and test ride those and they handle way better in the same price range. Put on some nice tires and different bars (they come with track drops) and off you go. I ended up ordering some narrow bullhorns from some Keirin supply store that ships to the US. But then I don’t mind an aggressive position on my commuter since it’s mostly just using to work, grocery store, or the pub and neither is far away.
