Any SS commuters that do 10+ miles each way in here?

monkeysm8

Just curious if any of you guys SS of fixie this kind of distance day in day out? What bikes, ratios etc do you run? What kind of route is it? All answers are mucho appreciated

dombat

I used to do 11 miles each way on my Pompino running a 48x18. There were 2 mild hills but bearing in mind I'm about 3 stone over weight!

My new job which I start soon will be the same distance but hillier, so might go to 48x20 until I'm used to it (and lost all those extra pounds)!

Christophe3967

My commute is 28-30 miles daily on a 48x16 gear. No hills as such (Notting Hill is hoping to become one eventually). It's OK for Richmond Park anti-clockwise - I haven't tried going up Broomfiled Hill yet.

lost_in_thought

Hmmmm, my basic is 7 miles in 7 miles back, usually a tad further due to detours for drinks/food/shopping.

I have a giant bowery on 46/14 (88.7"), but it's london so basically hill-free!

Oh and I nearly made it round RP on the way home last night - dark hill got me! Next time... :twisted:

Feltup

10-13 miles each way depending on the route I take and with about 600ft ascent. I have a Spesh Singlecross running fixed on 42x16 with cyclocross tyres which are a bit draggy. One of the hills has a steep 10% section but the rest are less severe.

Dropped my car off for a service this morning which means if I want to get back by the shortest route there is a solid 10% hill in the way which I am not convinced I will get up, I may have to flip my wheel and use the 18T freewheel.

jonginge

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmmm, my basic is 7 miles in 7 miles back, usually a tad further due to detours for drinks/food/shopping.

I have a giant bowery on 46/14 (88.7"), but it's london so basically hill-free!

Oh and I nearly made it round RP on the way home last night - dark hill got me! Next time... :twisted:

Top section? Accelerate like mad through the middle, flatter section and carry the speed into the final kicker.

woodyonthebeach

Feltup wrote:

10-13 miles each way depending on the route I take and with about 600ft ascent. I have a Spesh Singlecross running fixed on 42x16 with cyclocross tyres which are a bit draggy. One of the hills has a steep 10% section but the rest are less severe.

Dropped my car off for a service this morning which means if I want to get back by the shortest route there is a solid 10% hill in the way which I am not convinced I will get up, I may have to flip my wheel and use the 18T freewheel.

which hill is this. feeling in a sadistic mood tonight and roughly what time will you hit it, need some scalping action thats worth a challenged.

Winter Hill by any chance

lost_in_thought

JonGinge wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmmm, my basic is 7 miles in 7 miles back, usually a tad further due to detours for drinks/food/shopping.

I have a giant bowery on 46/14 (88.7"), but it's london so basically hill-free!

Oh and I nearly made it round RP on the way home last night - dark hill got me! Next time... :twisted:

Top section? Accelerate like mad through the middle, flatter section and carry the speed into the final kicker.

Yeah, I was too slow off the roundabout in the first place, so my speed off the first uphill was too slow, which made the acceleration in the middle too little etc etc.

You're right though, the secret of big-gear hill climbing appears to be to carry as much speed into the hill as you can muster, then try to keep it, then stand up and push!

Feltup

woodyonthebeach wrote:

Feltup wrote:

10-13 miles each way depending on the route I take and with about 600ft ascent. I have a Spesh Singlecross running fixed on 42x16 with cyclocross tyres which are a bit draggy. One of the hills has a steep 10% section but the rest are less severe.

Dropped my car off for a service this morning which means if I want to get back by the shortest route there is a solid 10% hill in the way which I am not convinced I will get up, I may have to flip my wheel and use the 18T freewheel.

which hill is this. feeling in a sadistic mood tonight and roughly what time will you hit it, need some scalping action thats worth a challenged.

Winter Hill by any chance

Fraid not, Hedsor Hill going from Bourne End up to Clivedon. I shall be going between the hours of shhhh and not telling 8) Winter Hill is OK apart from the hairpin where the pedalling goes a bit square!

jonginge

lost_in_thought wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmmm, my basic is 7 miles in 7 miles back, usually a tad further due to detours for drinks/food/shopping.

I have a giant bowery on 46/14 (88.7"), but it's london so basically hill-free!

Oh and I nearly made it round RP on the way home last night - dark hill got me! Next time... :twisted:

Top section? Accelerate like mad through the middle, flatter section and carry the speed into the final kicker.

Yeah, I was too slow off the roundabout in the first place, so my speed off the first uphill was too slow, which made the acceleration in the middle too little etc etc.

You're right though, the secret of big-gear hill climbing appears to be to carry as much speed into the hill as you can muster, then try to keep it, then stand up and push!

...and hope it's not too long
Got caught in a traffic-jam going up dark hill t'other weekend. I was in my habitual 50x16 and the car in front was going a couple of miles an hour: less than ideal*

* could have changed down, couldn't be ar$ed

Christophe3967

lost_in_thought wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmmm, my basic is 7 miles in 7 miles back, usually a tad further due to detours for drinks/food/shopping.

I have a giant bowery on 46/14 (88.7"), but it's london so basically hill-free!

Oh and I nearly made it round RP on the way home last night - dark hill got me! Next time... :twisted:

Top section? Accelerate like mad through the middle, flatter section and carry the speed into the final kicker.

Yeah, I was too slow off the roundabout in the first place, so my speed off the first uphill was too slow, which made the acceleration in the middle too little etc etc.

You're right though, the secret of big-gear hill climbing appears to be to carry as much speed into the hill as you can muster, then try to keep it, then stand up and push!

Standing up - I didn't think girls did that sort of thing :shock: I always spend too much time worrying about the cracks in the road at that bit. Its quite deceptive there, you think its easy and suddenly you're wishing you'd picked a lower gear. :?

woodyonthebeach

Feltup wrote:

Fraid not, Hedsor Hill going from Bourne End up to Clivedon. I shall be going between the hours of shhhh and not telling 8) Winter Hill is OK apart from the hairpin where the pedalling goes a bit square!

Now thats just not cricket........

monkeysm8

Keep the inspiration going!!! I am almost sold on getting an SS commuter lol.

lost_in_thought

Christophe3967 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmmm, my basic is 7 miles in 7 miles back, usually a tad further due to detours for drinks/food/shopping.

I have a giant bowery on 46/14 (88.7"), but it's london so basically hill-free!

Oh and I nearly made it round RP on the way home last night - dark hill got me! Next time... :twisted:

Top section? Accelerate like mad through the middle, flatter section and carry the speed into the final kicker.

Yeah, I was too slow off the roundabout in the first place, so my speed off the first uphill was too slow, which made the acceleration in the middle too little etc etc.

You're right though, the secret of big-gear hill climbing appears to be to carry as much speed into the hill as you can muster, then try to keep it, then stand up and push!

Standing up - I didn't think girls did that sort of thing :shock: I always spend too much time worrying about the cracks in the road at that bit. Its quite deceptive there, you think its easy and suddenly you're wishing you'd picked a lower gear. :?

My Bowery isn't nice enough for me to worry too much about road surfaces!

But yeah, as I ground to a halt up the second part, a little bit of me said 'I wish I had a lower gear'.

Next time I'll make it round...

Fixedweasel

22+ miles each way, usually 4 days a week depending on work travelling requirements.

Run a Cotic Roadrat as a fixed, geared 48x17, on undulating terrain and a couple of hillocks add for interest.

bigease

I do 28 - 30 miles a day on a Specialized Singlecross running fixed with 42x15. No hills as I live in Cambridge!

attica

monkeysm8 wrote:

Just curious if any of you guys SS of fixie this kind of distance day in day out? What bikes, ratios etc do you run? What kind of route is it? All answers are mucho appreciated

I do 15 miles each way on my SS Paddywagon - some hills but nowt too challenging.

I'm running 42:16 which was really hard work to start with now I'm finding it far too easy and I'm spinning way too much, I've got a 44 Chainring on order - in fact I have had it on order for well over a month now, mutter mutter.

<wanders off to phone LBS and whinge>

spen666

I do between 25 and 50 miles a day ( depending on time constraints) usually on my 73" geared fixed wheel bike.

It is London however, so it is flatish, but 73" works fine for me

tom3668

Funnily enough I was just wondering if I could get from Oxford to Didcot on my fixed gear... will give it a go sometime I'm feeling athletic....

prawny

This is quite handy I was thinking about getting SS or fixed this week, do any experts reckon this is doable with one gear?

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/He ... Birmingham

Any thoughts welcome

il_principe

Waaaaaaaaa I WANT A LONGER COMMUTE! 7 Miles a day for me, not long enough! Puts me at such a disadvantage training wise I reckon! CJ, Christophe, JG etc - you all get nice long commutes to supplement weekend rides, NOT FAIR! My only extensions come from pootling up to the GF's in Willesden or dragging myself out of bed 6:30am for a lap or RP, problem is it takes 20 mins just to get to RP, so 1 hour there and back with one measly lap and morning traffic to contend with. Grrrrrrrrrr.

prawny

jashburnham wrote:

Waaaaaaaaa I WANT A LONGER COMMUTE! 7 Miles a day for me, not long enough! Puts me at such a disadvantage training wise I reckon! CJ, Christophe, JG etc - you all get nice long commutes to supplement weekend rides, NOT FAIR! My only extensions come from pootling up to the GF's in Willesden or dragging myself out of bed 6:30am for a lap or RP, problem is it takes 20 mins just to get to RP, so 1 hour there and back with one measly lap and morning traffic to contend with. Grrrrrrrrrr.

You could swap with me if you want, my legs hurt I've had to take a day off the bike today my knee's twanged a bit. 2.5 days commuting = 101.08 miles

sjeffer

I do 12-14 miles each way on a Specialized Langster running 42 x 16 on the SS (I am not mad enough to swap to the fixed side yet). The terrain is rolling with a 10% hill of about 200 metres in length and this is doable, as mentioned elsewhere on this post the best technique is to keep the pedal speed high until your ears bleed then fall off. This is my winter steed which keeps the fitness ticking over when I can't see the HRM to do any intervals becasue of the dark.

vorsprung

15 miles each way, some hills do it about 4 times a week

In 2007 I was doing (on SS) a 35 mile across Exmoor each way, but only once or twice a week

georgee

28 miles a day

80's Peugeot Vitesse 12 Speed (converted, not a cop out like those who have bought one from a bland manufacturer of from society drop outs over by Brick Lane)

42:14 on 172.5 cranks

Bit to low for the flat, but reasonable for getting over Kingston Hill or around the park.

il_principe

georgee wrote:

28 miles a day

80's Peugeot Vitesse 12 Speed (converted, not a cop out like those who have bought one from a bland manufacturer of from society drop outs over by Brick Lane)

42:14 on 172.5 cranks
.

ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh

itboffin

georgee wrote:

28 miles a day

80's Peugeot Vitesse 12 Speed (converted, not a cop out like those who have bought one from a bland manufacturer of from society drop outs over by Brick Lane)

42:14 on 172.5 cranks

Bit to low for the flat, but reasonable for getting over Kingston Hill or around the park.

Well done on the distance but isn't that bike erm well...... French :shock:

I on the other hand ride a lovely British built 80s Raleigh 48/17 ATM although after yesterday bout of retail therapy I will shortly be building myself a nice FGSS TT (GI yet to be decided) bike for the 34 mile country leg of my commute, the Raleigh will be MTFU to something in the region of 52/16 for the London leg only 4 miles but pancake flat, all will fear my MASSHOOF RING

Woooohahahahahahaha Ha! :twisted:

kevinn123

I do 10 miles each way. I have a Spesh Singlecross running SS on 42x18 with Marathon Pluses.

It's a countryside route with hill - a few sharp straight ups and few long drags - not really a problem - only occassionally out of the saddle to reach the top.

I've just ordered a 16T cog - so I can go fixed

Gazzaputt

I do 31 miles per day on a 50-15.

Flattish run into central London and two bumps in it.

Wrath Rob

jashburnham wrote:

georgee wrote:

28 miles a day

80's Peugeot Vitesse 12 Speed (converted, not a cop out like those who have bought one from a bland manufacturer of from society drop outs over by Brick Lane)

42:14 on 172.5 cranks
.

ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh

I'm only doing 9 miles each way but on my dad's old TT bike, again converted to SS. 46:16 I think. When I say old, its 40+ years old though its got some history as he cracked the hour for 25 miles on it back in his distant youth. Unfortunately the bike hasn't learnt from his example and I don't average 25 for my commute! It would put me at 21 mins instead of the more regular 38

greg66_tri_v2.0

7.5 miles e/way. 53x16. London, so flat except for a small uphill at each end.