First ever fixed ride today

spasypaddy

Wow what a weird feeling, just a short 7 miles but thrilling in a new way that im not used to! I shall be recommending it to everyone who i know who rides, its absolutely fantastic!

Realistically how far can they be ridden? I know this will boil down to fitness but if im used to riding 15 miles ss could i realistically do the same 15 miles on my fixed with the same gearing

meagain

Depends on the route/terrain/gearing/fitness!
Lots (well, a few) ride long, LONG, distance fixed. I rarely do much more than 40 milers, fixed or geared - but just about all my c.50s done on fixed. But pretty gentle terrain.
And most find can handle slightly HIGHER gearing on fixed than single free.
And tell everyone that it's really hard work - else where's the kudos? We don't want just anyone thinking that they can do it!

flashes

I've done a few 75 mile rides which included bits of Bristol and the Mendips. Welcome to the Dark Side..................

mamos

I regularly ride 50 miles on a single speed but I have only just got a fixed speed so I will let you know.

They are addictive. I haven't ridden a geared bike for nearly a year now and I find it really strange riding a geared bike now.

keep up the good work

mamos

GarethPJ

Really your first fixed ride? I seem to remember mine was when I was about three. My son is three and got his first fixie this year. Most of us start fixed then rediscover it later in life.

mamos

Good point, well made

mamos

barrybaines

I have had my Touche for about 6 weeks now, after a few weeks doing the commute on it I happily take it out on the club run, one of which was a round trip of just under 80 Miles only really had one big climb in it in fairness. But just get out there and give a distance ride a bash once you have concoured the fear of burning out on the first one, you (well I do ) will just want to keep riding fixed!

Thought I'd chuck in my longest to date fixed route....... http://connect.garmin.com/activity/1451622

the_prophet

barrybaines?? bristol?? small world dude, its sheephead. nicks old work mate.

glad to here your stil riding.

singlespeedexplosif

first fixie ride at 3 years old? ace.
My first singlespeed one was around that age, sure, but not a fixie. Damned parents..;)

flashes

Barry,

If you're in Bristol please go to www.fixedbristol.org.uk

Pete

GarethPJ

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

first fixie ride at 3 years old? ace.
My first singlespeed one was around that age, sure, but not a fixie. Damned parents..;)

I think kids actually find it easier to ride fixed at first. Mainly, I suspect, because they find the concept of brakes hard to master at first.

You tell them that to go forwards they should pedal. It is, therefore, a logical progression for them that to stop they should stop pedalling.

My lad grasped that fairly quickly and even though I'd explained the brakes to him many times you should have seen the look on his face when he discovered he couldn't stop himself with the pedals when heading downhill! It wasn't a steep hill and it was easy enough to stop him by taking hold of the bars, but it still rattled him. We are now working on the concept of braking. Next comes pedalling back up hills, currently he expects me to push him up.

I think most adults who take up riding fixed wheel do OK as long as their brain keeps working. It's only when panicking or when totally relaxed that they tend to forget. In a panic situation automatic responses take over. Cruising along at speed if you try to freewheel simple momentum will keep your feet moving, it's at low speed you often see the newbie fixer fall. Pulling up at a junction is favourite. I swapped bikes with a friend once and he was absolutely fine until we stopped at a junction after a couple of miles. Just before he stopped he tried to spin the cranks backwards into a good start position. He fell and was so surprised that he failed to unclip in time. Unfortunately I laughed so hard I fell too!

meagain

I find that the "whoops, tried to stop pedalling" moments occur only if repeatedly swop between fixed and free. When I've been on fixed daily for a week or two, I'm fine - but then when back to free I suddenly realise that I DO need to pull a lever for gradual slowing!
Overall I do about 50/50....keeps me alert I suppose.
While I know that this is tempting fate to a dangerous degree, I don't recall ever coming off because on fixed. I suppose I may have done when I first rode one when I was about 13, but hey I can't remember 47 years back.

blorg

I've done up to 125km (flat) and 115km with 1,250m of climbing on fixed.

Terrain does make a big difference, the flat 125km was fine while the hilly 115km took a hell of a lot more out of me than the same route does on a geared bike and I felt it afterwards.

Compared with single speed it will be mostly the downhills you will notice.

As meagain says about the higher gearing, I do think there is a definate freewheel effect that helps you up the hills, I would say it is easier to get up a hill fixed than SS for any given ratio. You will also appreciate the higher ratio on the way down.

If you can do 15 miles comfortably SS I think you will be fine doing it fixed.

GarethPJ

I met an old guy riding a single speed road bike this summer. His take on riding long distances fixed was that modern riders seem to have lost the art of getting of and pushing.

When he was young he said he would ride to the coast every other weekend, sometimes riding back the same day. Brid, Scarborough, Filey and Whitby from the Pontefract area would be anything from 60 to 80 miles one way. Holidays would take him further afield. This he says was achieved at a decent pace but involved getting off and walking on the harder climbs. Sometimes crossing the Wolds you can't avoid climbs like Garrowby and North Grimston and we all know how steep the Moors can get. This tactic, he said, kept him much fresher on longer rides. I agree totally that exhausting yourself riding a big climb might get you up the hill faster than walking, but it will blunt your performance for the rest of the ride.

He said that modern riders are too obsessed with speed to get off and push. That is, I think, a charitable opinion. I am more inclined to the view that there is too much obsession with image. It is simple bravado that prevents many riders getting off and pushing when the going gets tough.

Whatever. Respect to the guy, almost eighty and still riding single speed. Why not fixed? Well according to him free wheel is just more relaxing and his only reason for riding fixed back in the day was that freewheels sixty years ago were not as reliable as they are today and cost a lot more than a fixed sprocket. Funilly enough he said he'd had the same freewheel for three years and had paid under a tenner for it. The shop had wanted twice the price for a fixed sprocket. Times change and fashion is a funny thing.

edhornby

fixed is brilliant isn't it - there's nothing better than rolling along on the flat at just the right speed so that the weight of your legs spin round the gear like a natural harmonic

meagain

"His take on riding long distances fixed was that modern riders seem to have lost the art of getting of and pushing."

80 I'm not and almost certainly never will be, but I have no qualms whatsoever about using the 24" gear when necessary. There perhaps does come an age where what others might think is of no import.

And yes, all respect to the man.

GarethPJ

edhornby wrote:

fixed is brilliant isn't it - there's nothing better than rolling along on the flat at just the right speed so that the weight of your legs spin round the gear like a natural harmonic

I'll let you know as soon as I find a flat road.

Just stuck my regular 10 mile quick training loop into bikely and discovered theres 775ft of climbing involved and that the elevation varies from 300 to 800 feet. And I thought of it as being a relatively flat ride.