Is a fixy worth it?
techase
Posts: 15
I am a novice, but keen cyclist. I am thinking about making up a fixed gear bike (no freewheel) for training. Is it worth doing for training purposes (smoother cycling etc) or is it all a lot of rubbish and I should stick to me normal geared road bike?
What do you think?
What do you think?
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I would say yes
I have bought a specialized langster recently and it has added variety and fun to my training. on the relatively small slopes around the fylde coast it forces me to take the hard route - i.e. out of the saddle power-climbing whereas on the geared bike i'd simply change down a couple of gears and keep spinning.
On shortish (20-25 mile) training rides you certainly feel it in the legs more than on the geared bike.
also - it's a lot of fun the whole fixed thing and the bike has opened up other doors to me - such as using the bike more for going to work and nipping to the shops - mainly because I have put MTB style spd pedals on it rather than the pure road pedals on my geared and also I am not as fussed about locking up the fixed than my geared bike (which I would constantly wonder if it will still be there when I get back)
so if you can afford to get a bike as an 'alternative' trainer - then I would say yes, do so.0 -
yep its 1 of those things you must try
alot of fun.
although my fixed is a conversion (rat bike) i disagree about being not being bothered about locking it up..i love it! - gkerr4 ur bike must b crying its little eyelets out, show it some affection!!!Good Luck and Be Fecund0 -
Been thinking of doing the same sort of thing myself, seen Langsters for about £350, anyone any other suggestions?
Want to use it for the commute mainly, am a bit put off by the one big hill I have to go up, though kow someone who does it every day on a fixed so no excuse!
Can you fit mudguards and a rack to a langster do you know?You can lead an elephant to water but a pencil must be lead0 -
Riding a fixie will improve your leg-strength (especially if you force yourself to do as much seated climbing as possible) and it is supposed to give you a lovely smooth pedalling action (the fabled "souplesse" that old-school roadies talk of with a glint in their eye) - although I'm not sure mine has improved much, but then I only did about 750 miles on mine last winter. Definitely noted the improved leg-strength though.
You need to consider the gearing carefully as I think the Langster has a very large gear supplied as standard - I ride 42x17 on mine (67") - which is fine for all but the steepest climbs (which I avoid) and long fast descents (which I have to brake down unless I'm feeling brave).
The On-One "Pompino" is often cited as a good fixed-wheel trainer although I haven't tried it myself. I use an old (60's) 531 steel frame (with forward facing horizontal dropouts) that I got re-sprayed and converted into a winter fixie - ended up costing more than if I'd got a Langster, but was fun to put together.Ashley_R wrote:anyone any other suggestions?
Be more concerned with any big hills that you have to come down............at least until you get the hang of it!Ashley_R wrote:am a bit put off by the one big hill I have to go up
I was looking at getting a 2007 model before I decided to do the re-furb - from memory I think it does have rack bosses and mudguard eyes, but the clearance on the back wheel is pretty tight.Ashley_R wrote:Can you fit mudguards and a rack to a langster do you know?0 -
Ashley_R wrote:Been thinking of doing the same sort of thing myself, seen Langsters for about £350, anyone any other suggestions?
Want to use it for the commute mainly, am a bit put off by the one big hill I have to go up, though kow someone who does it every day on a fixed so no excuse!
Can you fit mudguards and a rack to a langster do you know?
you can fitr a rack, but not mudguards.
race blades for me - although the rack on the back works as a half decent mudguard too - unless you are following me that is!!
I paid £350 for my 07 model langster - the rust colour is a like it or loathe it colour, but I like it.0 -
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ah - that is a tough choice then...
if it gives you any comfort, check out how much langsters go for on ebay! - then think about how you could get one, decide if you like it and if not then sell it for not much less money. if you like it then keep it and then next year decide whether y ou need to sell it to raise capital for the summer bike or not.
if you bought an 07 now for £350ish an, but then have to sell it next may having enjoyed it etc, you would lose at most about £100
(p.s. markets can change and bikes can decrease loads as well as decrease a little - don't come back to me - or send your wife looking for me with a breadknife - if this financial strategy doesn't quite pay off!!)0 -
Be more concerned with any big hills that you have to come down............at least until you get the hang of it!
know what you mean, was passed by a friend on his fixed, I was comfortably doing about 30mph, he looked like one of those speeded up scenes from a benny hill show!
he did admit it was a bit scarey
still tempted, need to work out where to put it in my garage first though!You can lead an elephant to water but a pencil must be lead0 -
Fuji also do cheap fixed bikes.0
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I'd give another vote for a Langster (£360 from Evans at the moment). I'm really enjoying mine and fine it's giving me a great workout compared to a geared bike.
I looked at the Fuji bike but the wheels get very bad reviews so changes there and the addition of at least 1 brake make it no cheaper than a Langster.
I think Winstanley Bikes have Kona Paddy Wagons for £399 which was also tempting and there is also the new Charge Plug for £399.
Gav.Gav2000
Like a streak of lightnin' flashin' cross the sky,
Like the swiftest arrow whizzin' from a bow,
Like a mighty cannonball he seems to fly.
You'll hear about him ever'where you go.0 -
I don't think there any really any advantages of using a fixed for training purposes. You could just ride your geared bike in one gear without changing gear for the duration of the ride. It all depends on what you are looking to get out of your training.
Some of the advantages are - its fun, its different and easy to maintain through the winter. Its also a bit of a challenge which we all like from time to time.
Going down steep hills can be very scary at first. As others have commented choose your gearing carefully as its a difficult balance between being able to get up hills and coming down the other side with you legs still attached Its easy to alter though - just change the sprocket.
You will find that you have to power up the hills mostly out of the saddle which may make some of your leg muscles stronger. But when spinning easily downhills or even on the flat you may not use any effort at all which may be a training disadvantage as you are not producing any power. I don't know whether braking by attempting to stop the cranks going round is good for you at all - i suspect not.0 -
scapaslow wrote:I don't think there any really any advantages of using a fixed for training purposes.
Well, my legs are always knackered after riding the fixie, at least for the first few weeks after getting it back out of the shed for the winter - whether this is because you are forced to use a bigger gear than normal up the climbs or whether it's spinning down the other side, I'm not sure. Your calves do burn like merry hell spinning down a hill following a steady climb.
Definitely something different and worth a try - the low maintenance issue is also a bonus - no faffing with cleaning gears and mechs, just wipe the chain after a wet ride and your good to go next time.0 -
What about a singlespeed rather than a fixie? Training benefits are similar, but you can freewheel down the hills.0
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Bronzie wrote:
.Well, my legs are always knackered after riding the fixie, at least for the first few weeks after getting it back out of the shed for the winter - whether this is because you are forced to use a bigger gear than normal up the climbs or whether it's spinning down the other side, I'm not sure. Your calves do burn like merry hell spinning down a hill following a steady climb
I agree absolutely. However, on a steep hill often you are just grinding very slowly out of the saddle just to get to the top when on a geared bike you could probably spin up faster. I don't see where the training advantage is apart from working some muscles a bit harder some of the time. I personally feel riding the fixie has helped me get fitter but i can't offer any scientific evidence to back it up.
Gussio wrote::What about a singlespeed rather than a fixie? Training benefits are similar, but you can freewheel down the hills.
Why not consider a flip/flop hub? Fixed one side, freewheel the other and get the best of both worlds.0 -
Think the Langster comes with a flip-flop hub as standard I think - so you can fit the rear wheel in the other way round to convert from fixed to singlespeed.scapaslow wrote:Why not consider a flip/flop hub? Fixed one side, freewheel the other and get the best of both worlds.
Know what you mean about grinding up steep hills on fixed - not sure there is any benefit there although I remember seeing a documentary on Graeme Obree where he would ride up hills in the biggest gear he could to develop strength.
More benefit I think to ride hills seated in a slightly bigger gear than you would normally (ie not steep hills) to develop strength in your legs and lower back. When you convert back to gears, you do feel stronger on draggy climbs.
The other benefit I found relates more to track racing than anything else - being able to generate power even at high cadences is quite handy when it comes to the end of a track race!0
