how many people actually ride fixed in the winter?

robbie the roadie

I'm always reading about how great fixies are in the winter except I hardly ever see people riding them. So how many of you ride a fixed in the winter?

scapaslow

I ride my fixed all year round. In the summer i alternate with the geared bike as well but usually put it away by end of October and just use the fixed till April. I never use the geared bike when there may be salt on the roads or wet weather. In spring i get a new chain for the fixie if required.

Blonde

I ride fixed to work all year round although it actually gets more days out in summer since the weather is better. It is ideal for daily urban commuting, because less maintenance is required and there is no need to change gear every few 100 meters as you would usually when stopping/starting at lights and junctions - this in itself produces less wear which is exactly what you want in a bike if you're riding it every day in all weathers. My commute is fairly flat; there's a lot more down hill on the way to work and more uphill on the way back but no steep hills. Even hilly rides are perfectly possible on fixed though - you just need to get the gearing right for you and become comfortable spinning a high cadence on the descents. I only ever ride my geared bike on hilly weekend rides and on holidays (which also tend to be hilly/mountainous). Regarding seeing fixed bikes - it probably depends where you commute to/from. In larger cities you will see them, because riding fixed is particularly well suited to city riding. Manchester city centre is full of fixeds and I see them every day. They are not all ridden by couriers either!

jpembroke

I sold my fixie



Why? Why? WHY?

BUICK

I do ride my fixed bike throughout the winter, but also in the warm weather so if you meant is it a clean switch between gears in summer and no gears in winter, then no! Tend to ride with gears more on long hilly rides (more than 30 miles)

explosifpete

I have a fixed road bike that I use all year and have a geared atb aswell

robbie the roadie

Yes what I meant was when people switch over their winter bike do you reach for the fixed. Do people who ride fixed tend to ride more on their own as I'm not sure how much fun it would be on a club run trying to keep up with people on geared bikes?

scapaslow

I'm not a club cyclist, but the guy that runs my LBS is, and tells me that it is becoming ever more popular with his club for fixies in the winter. He is one of them and a very good rider, i think the rest of them have a job keeping up with him.
If the route doesn't have severe hills and the fixie has appropriate gearing there is little to stop you keeping up - perhaps that is part of the challenge for fixed club riders?

bahzob

I often ride fixed when weather bad. Dont find it hard keeping up with club run but ours runs at a pretty sedate 15mph average pace.

Blonde

Fixed is no slower than with gears. You may find you go past people on ascents but they then pass you on descents. The average speed should be about the same though. I ride at aprox 20-21 mph to work and back (13 miles each way). Don't know if this tells you anything, at all, but anyway, on longer rides at weekends and on gears my pace is lower than that - about 15-18mph (depending on terrain) on 60 mile rides. You might find that you start to ride differently on fixed; perhaps not accelerating as fast as you did on gears and maybe looking further ahead and not riding as hard up to red lights (so that you don't have to unclip/stop). You could find that you then ride your geared bike in this way and more smoothly, after riding fixed for a while. It's certainly helped improve my road awareness, riding skills and riding habits but it's hard to explain how it helps if you've not tried it! I ride my geared bike better now though. Regarding riding with others - it is no problem to adjust your speed in order to ride with others, in fact it's easier because you use your feet, not the brakes so group riding becomes easier. You can slow down a bit quicker (without skidding, since you are less reliant on the brakes) and can easily adjust speed when riding closely behind another wheel, without using your brakes, which is probably even safer/better for all concerned. I'd say fixed gives you greater control over the bike than you get with a free-hub.

MrHulot

I ride fixed to work daily from Spring to Autumn. Through the winter and on bad days I've a couple of old sacrificial geared bikes I use. At the moment the fixed to too nice to trash over Winter!! Simplicity etc is still true during the Summer but without the salt and wet.

LeighB

I built my fixe to ride in the winter but have ended up using it all year round for my mid week training rides. I train alone so don't know how it would be riding in a group.

couscous

I ride fixed in the winter and gears during the summer, generally when I start and stop Time trialing as my TT bike is geared.

I ride almost excluisively on my own, I'm a member of a club but I don't do club runs not becuase I ride fixed but because I can't be doing with all the crap. You need full mudguards with flap down to the road so that no-one's Assos kit will get a spot of mud, not to mention the whistle :twisted:

Haynes

ive got 2 bikes, carbon geared bike for dry days and a kona fixie with muduards, lumicycle lights etc, for wet days. Ive been using it for commuting 170miles a week over the past 3 years, ideal as its so low maintenance and takes the abuse of winter riding. Never taken it on a club run though, think it would be scary mixing it with geared bikes.

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

I ride fixed all year round, but ride my geared bikes more. The fixed is generally used for short commutes (up to 10 miles), riding to the pool or track, or just nipping down to the shops - it's the only bike that I'd leave locked up out of my site!

I'll be riding it a bit more over the next month, as I'll have a wee dable at grass track racing at my local highland games again - a whole heap of fun - as long as it stays dry!

I've known a few guys ride fixed on the club run, but frankly it's a bit irritating, as they tend to be out of step with the rest of the group on uphills and downhills alike. You need to be a pretty strong rider to maintain the same speeds on a fixed up the hills as a group of geared riders.

Cheers, Andy

nolf

Echoing Andy, fixies aren't really suitable for group rides.

Would love to get one for just bombing around on though. Do a few flat rides on them and commuting on it would be good, but don't really see the training benefits.

Bronzie

Tend to use mine October-March only and generally only on short chaingang rides as I find club runs can be awkward on fixed if the tossers decide were going down the steep hill near where we meet straight out of the blocks (this always seems to happen when they see me roll up on the fixie )

Have done a few longer club runs on fixed - tend to only have a problem keeping up on long fast downhills - short sharp ones are not so bad as everyone is braking anyway.

BMCCbry

couscous wrote:

I ride almost excluisively on my own, I'm a member of a club but I don't do club runs not becuase I ride fixed but because I can't be doing with all the crap. You need full mudguards with flap down to the road so that no-one's Assos kit will get a spot of mud, not to mention the whistle :twisted:

That's a bit harsh. It's not great in the winter when your face is covered in water and mud from the wheel in front.

And (as I discovered at the weekend when I went for a club ride in Sussex with a different club) the whistle is a godsend. Maybe you should give it a try.

Taffy Tart

BMCCbry,

Is there any truth in the rumour that Couscous real reason for not doing club runs is that he struggles to keep up?! :shock:

I think we should be told!

Taffy

cougie

I dont think you can say that fixies themselves arent suited for club runs - that does depend on the rider. Many a time I've ridden with our club for many miles and only realised one or two of them are riding fixed - these vets can spin the gears out like nobody.

I ride fixed in winter cos my hack bike is fixed. I tend not to ride with the club too much, mainly one or two others - but I can outclimb my riding partners on it. Its only the downhills that they have the advantage over me.

Mark Alexander

jpembroke wrote:

I sold my fixie



Why? Why? WHY?

Quite :shock:
quick, get another.

I ride min e almost every day