what fixed

jbindman

if you TT at 77rpm I am sure you will need a high gear on the fixed. I use 46:17 on the flat but it is quite spinny, and getting up a 1:10 is quite feasible. I agree with those saying 39:16 or 42: 16 are very low.

why not try riding your geared bike in 1 gear only and see what you can cope with. its not quite the same, mind you, allow for a couple of inches more for the fixed than a 'spinny' gear on geared i think? especially if you ever need to go down hills

definitley need to clip in, i use looks.

nmcgann

Mark Alexander wrote:

Another Q.

what is would the difference be between a 49x18 on a fixed/free than the same cogs on a 'normal' bike?

Nothing, a gear ratio is the same whether on fixed or SS or geared.

There's no magic mojo that will make fixed gear hill climbing easier either, there's just the lack of any bail-out options meaning that you just have to get on with it.

Neil

Mark Alexander

tthanks, I wasn't sure if the deraileur changed things somewhat, obviously not.
the frame has arrived looking befy swish I must say, as has the rear hub, I'm just waiting for the other bits to arrive at the shop.
watch this space........
i've gone for 39x16 by the way

peejay78

39:16

really? that's tiny. way too small.

Mark Alexander

I am finally picking this up after a long time and I have taken your advice and gone for 42x16

I'm looking forward to my first ride tomorrow!!

Mark Alexander

I AM ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY
2 months after it was ordered i've nearly got the bike and am itching to get it done and to start using my on-one
the f888ing frame is the wrong size and I can't ride it they sent a large and I'm a medium
it'll now be months before i can get it and am considering a refund then order something with kless character but at least i'll have it :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

peejay78

does it come in a large or medium? i thought they were all sized in CM...

blessing in disguise if you ask me, on-one is the ugliest fixed bike around. apart from the wrongster.

gkerr4

yeah - i agree with peejay - cancel it and get a langster.

Dustine

I like the look of the Pomp personally, but its all in the eyes of the beholder. Did you know what size you were after before you bought it??? I got advice over the phone when i bought a Superlight, and though i had undersized, but i sorted it with a change of bar and stem. Now its spot on.

Mark Alexander

they give geometry and relate them to small, med large xl
I did like the quirkiness of it. I have now spoken to them and they're happy to replace it

Dustine

Ive always found them very reasonable, customer service wise, and ive had quite a few bits off them, including 3 frames over the years. If you had a discussion with them and took their advice, quite right they swop it if it isnt right, since they only do mail order, you cant go and try them in a shop somewhere. I think thats just something web-based retailers have to accept really, a proportion of returns.

Mark Alexander

I am persevering due to the help they have given me. I always judge a company by how they deal with problems rather than when things go swimmingly

daowned

Had a look at one of thoes Charge Plugs in Evans (thats the bike not the staff) very nice bike for 400.



If I had a choice I would go for the Pearson Touche, a bit more at 550.00 tho.

peejay78

the charge plug does look nice, but the wheels have massey-ferguson printed on them if you look closely.

th epearson is a much better bet.

Mark Alexander

They are sending the new one out. it is in the post! This means that my mate only has to transfer the parts so it won't be another month............ :?

peejay78

cool, all's well, etc

Mark Alexander

whatch this space 8)

Mark Alexander

I've been thinking :shock: do any of you use cadence meters, if only for a laugh?
Also, is the
re an advantage for rear drop outs over downward ones (not sure about the terminology

peejay78

no, i see no point whatsoever.

i don't race. i ride a hell of a lot, but i have no need for cadence meters. if it feels right then it probably is right.

Mark Alexander

Well, I had my forst ride on my new steed today. just riding it back from the shop but it had it's ups and downs. That's hills bu=y the way not falls.

As my first forray in fixed it felt great.very forgiving compared too my normal bikes on the same tripsome adjustments are needed but at the last minute i went for 48 x 17. not bad, and I didn't have difficulty on the 1 fast decent and nor did I have probs getting up the hills not that's ever been my problem

1st impressions.....

Mark Alexander

Just to say thanks to you all. I'm hooked

peejay78

that's cool. fixed is ZEN. you don't get it until you do it, then you see waht the fuss is about.

Dustine

Re: cadence meters. I only use one on the bike i ride TTs on, but a friend sent me a simple programme which allows you to put in the wheel size, gearing, and then using a calculator, i can work out the rpms at whatever average or max speed i rode to work on (my fixed is a commuter). My fastest max speed had me spinning at 130 or so rpm, which felt like the bike would just shake itself to pieces as it flew down the hill.... To be honest, as someone else posted, i just ride my fixed and get all Zen-like. I only like to know about my max revs for comedy value...

Horizontal (the rear or forward facing drop outs) and vertical (the ones which point down): you can only run a fixed if you have horizontal drop outs, since you need to set the chain tension. The programme mentioned above can also be used to calculate the chainstay length for a given gear combination, so theoretically you MIGHT be able to find a chain length that would fit a gearing with vertical drop outs. However, you would have no choice about the gearing, and i find my chain stretches real fast, so it wouldnt fit for long, unless you changed the chain real often. You can run vertical drop outs with fixed if you have an EBB (eccentric bottom bracket) but their arent many of those about, and its primary there so that people can run singlespeed with discs.

Mark Alexander

I have tightened the chain and it isn't as bad but on a 25m ride (my first proper ride of 08) but it did come off twice. could this be an alignment issue and how can I resolve it?

andyp

Dustine wrote:

Horizontal (the rear or forward facing drop outs) and vertical (the ones which point down): you can only run a fixed if you have horizontal drop outs, since you need to set the chain tension. The programme mentioned above can also be used to calculate the chainstay length for a given gear combination, so theoretically you MIGHT be able to find a chain length that would fit a gearing with vertical drop outs. However, you would have no choice about the gearing, and i find my chain stretches real fast, so it wouldnt fit for long, unless you changed the chain real often. You can run vertical drop outs with fixed if you have an EBB (eccentric bottom bracket) but their arent many of those about, and its primary there so that people can run singlespeed with discs.

There is also the option of a White Industries Hub which is an eccentric hub that will allow you to convert a frame with vertical dropouts to fixed.I had one on a previous conversion and it worked really well.

Dustine

For your info, the ENO hub is available from Hubjub.co.uk. I had thought of one of those ENOs for a (horiz' drop out) TT frame i was going to build up, but ended up going for gears. Glad to hear they work, though. Might go down that route in the future.

Mark Alexander

I think that i've sorted it out.
I went to my matres shop It had been falling off again. I have realised that although I was tightening the chain, I was not aligning it properly. I've now been shown how to do this and fingers crossed I probably won't need to until I forget!!

I wasn't tightening the nuts progressively and was pulling the wheel out of line :oops:
I managed 30 miles after this trouble free

meagain

"although I was tightening the chain, I was not aligning it properly. I've now been shown how to do this"

Eh? Alignment nowt to do with "how" you tighten the wheel - unless you actually position the wheel non-symetrically in the frame and even then the sprocket would only be marginally mis-aligned! Did you/the mate's shop alter the CHAIN LINE, either by moving the chainring in- or out-board or by altering the position of the sprocket relative to the 'ring?

Mark Alexander

I think I was refering to the "position of the sprocket relative to the 'ring" which sounds right.