Fixed gear riders are sick

[Tom]

There's a guy I often see if I head east from town in the morning headed the other way. I got out a little late this morning and encountered him after his turn. It's a little hilly and rolling out at that point, I followed him down a hill at about 30 and caught him on the flat before the next little up. I inquired his gearing and he said he was going with a 44x14. I was glad he turned left at the top of the hill because it was going to embarrass me to try and keep up with the fellow otherwise.

So I tried riding for a while in my 39x13 up down and sideways. That's really hard, and my gears aren't stuck to my back axle. I can see why people do it but I think unless you're a bike messenger or something it's kind of like beating yourself with sticks to make penance. That being said, I think I have to latch on to one of those things because I can see how it'd really help my other riding. I got the impression that if you got something wrong, like a right leg that if you don't stay all over it just shows up as a spectator, this kind of riding will expose and fix it.

[acotts]

You know whats even more sick?

Riding at 14X44!

Talk about leg speed!!!!

[HSTFixed]

So I tried riding for a while in my 39x13 up down and sideways. That's really hard, and my gears aren't stuck to my back axle. I can see why people do it but I think unless you're a bike messenger or something it's kind of like beating yourself with sticks to make penance.

The reason it was really hard is because your gears weren't stuck to your back axle. The effect of having your pedals and back wheel spinning in concert so to speak makes climbing hills in a bigger gear much much easier, because it's fixed. Can't be replicated on any freewheel bike single speed or multi speed. I commute on a fixed gear cause it's cheap and I love cranking up hills. If I had a couple hundred bucks laying around i'd consider getting some gears on the thing but I know it'd feel "broken".

[Human Epic Jolt]

.. because your gears weren't stuck to your back axle.

back axle does not rotate...

[bironi]

I would try a lower gear combo. That guy was mashing up the hills. I ride 68 gear inches, he was about 83.

[HSTFixed]

A Theory of Holonomic Scleronomous Gyrators, or The Virtues of Riding Fixed

[RudAwkning]

Go for it!

You just have to find your "happy" gear (the one that sucks as much going up a hill as it does going down a hill). Might take some experimenting. You'll probably change it over time too.

I push a 50x19 (71 gear inch) around most of the time. I can climb most stuff 9/10% or less without issue and my descending speed tops out at around 35mph (although someone says they were tailing me on DVF and clocked me at 37).

I dropped down to 57 when I attempted Death Ride a few weeks ago. And I'll probably go low 60s for White Mountain Double. There's a 6000' climb from 4k' to a 10k' right out of the gate!

I believe George Vargas and Terry Lentz were pushing low 80s when they did Furnace Creek 508.

And we've got a couple guys here on the board who've done some batshit crazy stuff. Steve S has ridden both the Devil Mountain Double and Terrible Two on his fixed and Peter B rode coast to coast on his fixie to raise money for Histiocytosis awareness (The Big Fix in '06).

[boundgear]

back axle does not rotate...

Well it does, but independently from the cog.

[shoney]

Is riding a century/double on a track bike actually enjoyable? Does the fun come from making something already challenging that much harder? I'm not trying to be a dick, it's a serious question from someone with no experience on a track bike. From an uninformed perspective, it kinda seems like playing tennis with a squash racket.

[Chance Legstrong]

Is riding a century/double on a track bike actually enjoyable? Does the fun come from making something already challenging that much harder? I'm not trying to be a dick, it's a serious question from someone with no experience on a track bike. From an uninformed perspective, it kinda seems like playing tennis with a squash racket.

track bike or fixed gear?

[shoney]

track bike or fixed gear?

fixed gear

[boundgear]

I've enjoyed a few fixed cent. Not done a double on one though. It's a tough day in the saddle, but I love it.

I'd rather have a sweet shifty bike though.

[znfdl]

Fixed gear centuries on flat to rolling terrain is actually quite enjoyable. I do not mind climbing with a fixed gear, but the long descents are quite hard. Therefore, I do not think that I would enjoy a mountainous century on a fixed gear. I ride a 48x17 which is my sweet spot.

[Disturbed]

I have a watch that's broken but it shows the right time twice a day.

[Human Epic Jolt]

Well it does, but independently from the cog.

oh yeah, its on a fixie right?

[visiondrawn]

I'm currently commuting on a fixed 42x16. I swear my legs are stronger and I'm even better looking that before.

[WadePatton]

really enjoyed dicking around on a pos centurion conversion @42x15. picked out a route with barely tolerable rollers and lots of flats. but i don't ride the ill-fitment anymore. will build a flip flop. way too many 15%+ climbs around here to be pure fixed when a cool freewheeling ss will let me tease 50 on the descent. two bikes yeah, two bikes in one-mo.

took the ss (atb) down the road the other day, hit 18mph spinning the flat where sheldon's calculator says i would be turning 120 rpm at 15. legs a blur, felt like 200 yo. (32x20x26/2.3)

[rustychisel]

It's just a different style of cycling. Not clever, not big, not weird, just different. It is not Zen-like. There is a tangible 'flywheel' effect in a good well adjusted drivetrain, and because you have to 'just get on with it' there might be a hillclimbing advantage, but I don't know about that. I'm crap either way. A road going fixed gear bike is not a track bike, though it can be, and they are not the optimum.

A note on single speed bikes, which are 'palped' by lots of the fashionable hereabouts. They give you none of the advantages of riding fixed gear, but are pretty easy to maintain. They also look the part, until the Tragically Hip forget to pedal. And you cannot mimic the style of riding fixed gear by rolling the 39 x 15, all that will do is give you an idea of which gear might be about right, but if you build one up you'll change that anyway.

What I found many years ago. I tried to do too much speed moderating with my legs and for the first 3 months or so thought my knees were going to give me trouble. They didn't, the aches associated with using different muscle groupings went away. Fixed gear riding will not blow your knees. Have a brake and know how to use it.

Have met a guy round here who did the last two Breakaway (public) rides of the Tour Downunder stages on fixed, including Gorge Road, Mengler's Hill etc. Respect, they were both very hilly centuries (in old money).

[AntLockyer]

I pwn a fixed gear bicycle. I used to commute on it but it started to really wear me down, by the end of the week (150 miles) I'd be effed and not looking forward to riding at the weekend. When I did get on my geared bike though I was pretty quick (in my own world you understand).

[harryschwartzman]

Nothing can smooth out your pedal stroke like a fixed geared drivetrain, and a smooth pedal stroke will make you faster and more efficient on any bike.