Fixed/Single Speed Commuting

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Getting all excited this morning... I'm test riding the 56cm Tricross a little later, what an awful start to my day off (still getting my head round having a day off that changes by a day forward each week, along with Sunday)!

I believe the Tricross comes with a freewheel 18T. Would fitting a fixed 18T on the other side of the hub help me get used to tackling ~5% gradients?

As in, would the crank momentum help ascending? Seems a silly question to ask, but I've never done "fixed" before!


On a side note, I spotted a medium Mongoose Sabrosa 3x9 2008 for the amazing price of £299 at Evans the other night! :shock: :shock:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mon ... e-ec000887

With their eccentric bottom bracket, they could be easily converted to SS. but they have a lovely "floaty" feel as it comes (I test rode one back in March from Cycleworld LBS, missed out on the last large, the medium had my sitbones paerched right on the back of the saddle... but I wonder if that was partly down to my unfamiliarity to heavily bent arms in the upright position of hybrids/MTBs.

For a while, I contemplated getting this Sabrosa instead of the Tricross, but decided I would like to support a LBS this time and also get fitted; test ride; free service etc. Never the less, the Sabrosa is hell of a deal for anyone in the 5'7" to 5'11" ballpark.

wgwarburton

NitrousOxide wrote:

... I believe the Tricross comes with a freewheel 18T. Would fitting a fixed 18T on the other side of the hub help me get used to tackling ~5% gradients?

As in, would the crank momentum help ascending? Seems a silly question to ask, but I've never done "fixed" before!

Hmm... I think it's a psychological effect, more than a mechanical one, mind you that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist...
The usual setup is to have a freewheeled gear slightly lower than your fixed, as a get-you-home option, if you bonk on a long ride. I would think that you could generally run a lower gear on a SS than a fixed, because you don't need to be able to spin it while descending. If you're on the flat then similarly you have to keep a fixed spinning but can take a breather on a SS.
I think the SX comes with a 42x18 out of the box, which is a pretty low gear. You might want to put a smaller sprocket on the fixed side (42x16 is popular but it's a personal thing).

If you're new to FG/SS maybe your best bet would be to ride the SS side as it comes and find out how you get on with the factory ratio. You can then get a fixed sprocket to suit you when you've a better idea what you want?
You might want a stiffer fixed gear come the summer, anyway.... It's not unusual to use a lower gear through the winter than you might want come the glorious warm, calm sunny days of summer... :-)

Cheers,
W.

DevUK

I have 42/16 on my off the peg charge plug freestyler. I find it's been a good ratio to get me going.

I've also been told that having higher gear on the fixed side helps, as it's less spinney on the down hills etc. My LBS suggested to a mate he should consider 18/44 on his free wheel and 17/44 fixed. This seems to be working well for him.

Also, being geared the same on both fixed and free wheel I can totally understand the flywheel effect of fixed. It really does make hills a little easier, especially if you have the luxury of some momentum.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Thanks for the advice.

Lovely test ride, 63" ratio got me up Luccombe Road without getting out of the saddle, feels almost as light as my F5C (and makes the Pylon8 feel like a barbell).

...Bike came home with me, looks like I have just joined the SS club.

Edit: The other big shock was the handlebar height comparison between the Tricross and the F5C... The drops of the Tricross are higher than the bar top of the F5C! That would explain why on the test ride, I could comfortably use the drops...

Just hope the On-One 100mm 40 degree stem works out for the F5C (effective reach ~80mm, might make things a tad twitchy), would love to start using it agin regularly in the spring.

UndercoverElephant

Interesting, very interesting...

I'm currently preparing a little project, and on a test ride last night, I was able to get up the worst hill I come across on my commute ( > 8%) in a gear I can happily spin away at over 21 mph. It seems this was around 80 gear inches.

I work out this to be about 42:14, is there any problem with using a smaller rear cog like this?

I'm assuming that if I was to get an old racer's rear wheel and remove the cassette, I could buy spacers to offset the single cog and keep the chain nice and straight? Where would I get them from?

ride_whenever

you won't be able to fit a 14 on a standard thread, you'll need to go to microgearing with a massive ring.

You also, with the 42, end up with very poor chain wrap and could get slipping. try 54:18

UndercoverElephant

ride_whenever wrote:

you won't be able to fit a 14 on a standard thread, you'll need to go to microgearing with a massive ring.

You also, with the 42, end up with very poor chain wrap and could get slipping. try 54:18

I think it was 53:19 or so I was going up the hill in, but on the flat I was switching between 53:17 and 53:19 and couldn't work out which was best. I think 53:18 would be perfect for my legs.

Forgive my ignorance, what is poor chain wrap? Is it basically that having a front cog with the number of teeth divisible by the number of teeth on the back is bad?

Clever Pun

ride_whenever wrote:

you won't be able to fit a 14 on a standard thread, you'll need to go to microgearing with a massive ring.

You also, with the 42, end up with very poor chain wrap and could get slipping. try 54:18

really?

smaller cogs wear out faster, that's a fair guide

ride_whenever

I'm pretty sure there isn't a 14th single speed driver available without going to microgearing, but i'm happy to be proved wrong.

Chain wrap is the amount of the freewheel that you have connected to the chain.

gtvlusso

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Interesting, very interesting...

I'm currently preparing a little project, and on a test ride last night, I was able to get up the worst hill I come across on my commute ( > 8%) in a gear I can happily spin away at over 21 mph. It seems this was around 80 gear inches.

I work out this to be about 42:14, is there any problem with using a smaller rear cog like this?

I'm assuming that if I was to get an old racer's rear wheel and remove the cassette, I could buy spacers to offset the single cog and keep the chain nice and straight? Where would I get them from?

Try 48:16 or 48:15 - my usual gears on a normal track hub - 81" and 85". Although I am running 50:15 at the moment - hurts a bit on hills though, think that is 90". I only have two real climbs that gets to 5% max, so as long as I keep hammering I get up it okay the rest are just undulations of different distances - the b1tch is when it is windy.

wgwarburton

ride_whenever wrote:

I'm pretty sure there isn't a 14th single speed driver available without going to microgearing, but i'm happy to be proved wrong.

Aha! I reckon the confusion here is that you're talking about freewheels not sprockets. A fixed/track sprocket could be 13 or even smaller (as long as it'll allow the chain to clear the lockring but the ratchet mechanism means a freewheel won't be made that small.
In general, a bigger sprocket will last longer than a small one- lower chain tension and more teeth to take the load. It's allegedly marginally more efficient but that's not significant.

Chain-line correction options depend a bit on the components- you should re-dish a re-purposed "old racer's wheel" and you might find that that's all that's needed if you re-space the hub, too. You may have options at the chainset to get the line close to where you want it, depending on where you mount the chainwheel (eg inside or outside the spider of a double crank) and whether you want to change the BB axle anyway.
I posted a link to some 1mm spacers recently, but you can also use a BB lockring, if you have one. You can space the sprocket out a little or even the BB, if necessary (opposite correction to chainline), but it's probably best not to go too far.

Cheers,
W.

itboffin

I've found myself secretly desiring gears on the ride home in the evening :oops:

wgwarburton

itboffin wrote:

I've found myself secretly desiring gears on the ride home in the evening :oops:

sounds like a clear case of
MTFU!

Oddjob62

WGWarburton wrote:

Aha! I reckon the confusion here is that you're talking about freewheels not sprockets. A fixed/track sprocket could be 13 or even smaller (as long as it'll allow the chain to clear the lockring but the ratchet mechanism means a freewheel won't be made that small.
[/quote

I know EAI do 13T sprockets. Phil Wood do 12T i believe.

itboffin

WGWarburton wrote:

itboffin wrote:

I've found myself secretly desiring gears on the ride home in the evening :oops:

sounds like a clear case of
MTFU!

but my knee hurts and it's uphill all the way home

and it's dark v dark

wgwarburton

itboffin wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

itboffin wrote:

I've found myself secretly desiring gears on the ride home in the evening :oops:

sounds like a clear case of
MTFU!

but my knee hurts and it's uphill all the way home

and it's dark v dark

:-)... What gear are you running ITB? Maybe you should gear down for winter and work on your spinning technique... It'll be easier on your knee and your technique will be much smoother come the spring. You don't want to be grinding away on a big gear with cold, stiff muscles and joints...

Cheers,
W.

itboffin

Yes I remember your advise from last year, which I followed to great effect.

currently pushing a manly 48/17T it could also be because I've not had a break for 10 days plus weakness from the torn ligament.

In the car tomorrow I think, just to be safe.

barry_kellett99

I have joined the ranks and broke my duck this morning.

48 x 18 to start me off. And a wise choice i think. No point trying to be a hero at this stage. Or ever :shock:

vorsprung

The clock is ticking on my old single speed

I have all the bits and I am building the rear wheel for the replacement - geared - bike

It will be all over by Xmas

Skippy2309

I just ordered my fixed gear, has a flip flop hub, but i am going to keep it fixed, first ever time riding fixed tho....

It comes with a 48/16 gearing on the fixed side (either that or 18) I will eventually take it to a 12 or 13 on the rear, I am strong enough to push it just a bit unsure on how to ride fixed, what happens when your stuck at the bottom of a hill, mines coming with brakes which i am going to keep on, I am a bit nervous about taking off brakes - but how do you start up again if the position of the pedals is not exactly right

loads of questions to be answered, I guess i am a bit nervous about it but i know it will be fun

Oddjob62

Skippy2309 wrote:

what happens when your stuck at the bottom of a hill,

If you can't pedal up walk.

Skippy2309 wrote:

mines coming with brakes which i am going to keep on,

Even with fixed you need to have your front brake to be "road legal"

Skippy2309 wrote:

but how do you start up again if the position of the pedals is not exactly right

front brake, push bars forward to lift rear wheel, adjust pedals. Soon becomes second nature and you'll do it as you come to a halt.

Skippy2309

cheers, never had a problem with hills, been using my current bike as an SS with a 48/14 gearing and have been up the hill from Shepherds bush to Notting hill just worried about the stopping then starting again lol

attica

Random question, no real point to this, but...

Am I the only one on here riding 44:16

Lots of talk of 42 and 48 tooth rings and GTV with his 50.

I settled on 44 after 42 proved too short for my liking, I am considering going back to it for the winter though.

Oddjob62

51/18 most of the time here.

itboffin

I've dabbled with 42-60 over the years now I find it much better to stick with the 48 and change the rear sprocket, currently 17 but 18 when I get home, it's too much like hardwork in the cold and dark to be mashing big gears on the way home.

The best combo would be a two speed, flat/hill gear

biondino

48/18 and tbh I simply don't believe any of you who think you "need" a much higher gearing for purposes other than willy-waving.

attica

Nice work, didn't know they made em in odd numbers.

Somehow appropriate for you OJ

lost_in_thought

biondino wrote:

48/18 and tbh I simply don't believe any of you who think you "need" a much higher gearing for purposes other than willy-waving.

It's alright, we don't think you any less of a man for your mimsy wuss gearing...

biondino

Personally I like my achilles.

wgwarburton

Big gears mask poor technique.

Cheers,
W.