Ridiculous Fixie Question

Greg T

Il Principe wrote:

50x16 SS, the only gear you need.

Not forgetting the freewheel for when "the only gear you'll ever need" exceeds your ickle legs ability to feed it and you need to have a moment to recover your composure and stop panting like a fat dog in a sauna.

il_principe

Greg T wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

50x16 SS, the only gear you need.

Not forgetting the freewheel for when "the only gear you'll ever need" exceeds your ickle legs ability to feed it and you need to have a moment to recover your composure and stop panting like a fat dog in a sauna.

I suppose I could follow your lead, MTFD and run a GI of 58.4 instead...

Feltup

LiT - been off road fixed on my Singlecross a few times. It is scary as hell as you cannot put the pedals flat to clear objects and always end up with the inside pedal at its lowest point just as a tree root comes up. Riding off road singlespeed is fine though.

Il Principie - 50x16 huh, would be nice for getting down the hills around here but no chance of getting up them unless you are called Big Mig.

Oddjob62

Il Principe wrote:

I suppose I could follow your lead, MTFD and run a GI of 58.4 instead...

Dunno... if you can hit >30mph on that gear it's pretty impressive.

biondino

SS - the worst of both worlds. Don't really get the point...

jonginge

biondino wrote:

SS - the worst of both worlds. Don't really get the point...

*shrugs* Not being able to MTFD on hills whilst not having moments in traffic. I quite like mashing round RP in 52x16

Greg T

Il Principe wrote:

I suppose I could follow your lead, MTFD and run a GI of 58.4 instead...

Hey - you can stick a dustbin lid up front, coke bottle lid on the back and have a four digit GI.

Doesn't mean you can turn it big boy. That's what your freewheel's for....

simonaspinall

It strikes me as very odd that fixie bikes are legal with the points mentioned above...and not going mental with frustration at having to go slow in case of traffic lights, cars exiting junctions too eagerly etc.

Think i'll stick to my standard road bike - 12/27 cassette and 39/53 crank and freewheel + wicked brakes.

Although, I do consider myself more fortunate to know about fixies now - I did enjoy the velodrome on one though I was guilty for forgetting about the fact that you can't freewheel and nearly ripped my knees off!

Mmmmmmaybe not for me though when it comes to city centre activity.

Harry182

Quote -- Il Principie - 50x16 huh, would be nice for getting down the hills around here but no chance of getting up them unless you are called Big Mig. -- unquote

I did Ditchling Beacon with a 50x17 (= 77 GI) after riding from London. Can I be "Medium Mig"?

gtvlusso

simonaspinall wrote:

It strikes me as very odd that fixie bikes are legal with the points mentioned above...and not going mental with frustration at having to go slow in case of traffic lights, cars exiting junctions too eagerly etc.

Think i'll stick to my standard road bike - 12/27 cassette and 39/53 crank and freewheel + wicked brakes.

Although, I do consider myself more fortunate to know about fixies now - I did enjoy the velodrome on one though I was guilty for forgetting about the fact that you can't freewheel and nearly ripped my knees off!

Mmmmmmaybe not for me though when it comes to city centre activity.

Seems a bit daunting at first, but you sioon get used to it. Funnily enough, I am faster on my short distance commute on my fixie than I am on my roadie - I guess I work harder.....and enjoy it more.

Oddjob62

simonaspinall wrote:

It strikes me as very odd that fixie bikes are legal with the points mentioned above...and not going mental with frustration at having to go slow in case of traffic lights, cars exiting junctions too eagerly etc.

Why would you have to go slow (assuming your bike is road legal ie not brakeless)? I don't any slower than I did on my geared bike, and in more congested areas where I do have to go slow, I prefer the control I have with a fixed.

Clever Pun

oh yes it's not fixie, it's fixed

_Brun_

simonaspinall wrote:

Think i'll stick to my standard road bike - 12/27 cassette and 39/53 crank and freewheel + wicked brakes.

There's nothing about your road bike's brakes that makes them better than those on a single speed. A single front brake is more than adequate 99% of the time, and is generally the only one you need to use on a road bike anyway.

simonaspinall

Oddjob62 wrote:

simonaspinall wrote:

It strikes me as very odd that fixie bikes are legal with the points mentioned above...and not going mental with frustration at having to go slow in case of traffic lights, cars exiting junctions too eagerly etc.

Why would you have to go slow (assuming your bike is road legal ie not brakeless)? I don't any slower than I did on my geared bike, and in more congested areas where I do have to go slow, I prefer the control I have with a fixed.

What I meant/assumed was that a fixie at full pelt cannot stop in the same manner as a standard freewheel bike.

If you have continuing forward motion with a normal pair of brake callipers it stands to reason that you would not brake as well.

For this reason you would sensibly go more cautiously on a fixie to compensate for this.

In terms of having more control...what do you mean? If you have a freewheel you can immediately stop the forward exertion and apply brakes whereas on a fixie would it not be the case that you would not stop as quickly?

I am assuming quite a lot here - More of an information about fixies. If a bike can't stop properly then why use it....or can it? :?

Greg T

simonaspinall wrote:

What I meant/assumed was that a fixie at full pelt cannot stop in the same manner as a standard freewheel bike.

False assumption.

A fixed bike with brakes fore and aft (as most have) with the added benefit of rear wheel braking via the gearing will stop just as fast, if not faster than a freewheeled bike.

Fixed bikes don't "have" to be brakeless, hardly any are.

gtvlusso

Never had an issue with stopping - quality front brake only and plenty of back pressure on the pedals, serves well.

Generally, I use the front brake more anyway on all bikes (except my mountain bike).

probably only have to brake twice in my entire journey anyway....not bad for a 20 mile round trip. I tend to anticipate and slow up slightly for lights and round-a-bouts so that I don't have to stop or get stuck behind slow numpties.....

cjcp

Greg T wrote:

simonaspinall wrote:

What I meant/assumed was that a fixie at full pelt cannot stop in the same manner as a standard freewheel bike.

False assumption.

A fixed bike with brakes fore and aft (as most have) with the added benefit of rear wheel braking via the gearing will stop just as fast, if not faster than a freewheeled bike.

Leaving the rider thinking "So, this is what rodeo is, eh?".

lost_in_thought

Greg T wrote:

simonaspinall wrote:

What I meant/assumed was that a fixie at full pelt cannot stop in the same manner as a standard freewheel bike.

False assumption.

A fixed bike with brakes fore and aft (as most have) with the added benefit of rear wheel braking via the gearing will stop just as fast, if not faster than a freewheeled bike.

Fixed bikes don't "have" to be brakeless, hardly any are.

+1

Also, I don't see why a fixie's momentum is any different to that of a bike with a freewheel... Mind you I do only have the one google physics degree

simonaspinall

Ahhhhhhh I see.

So is the only real drawback the low cadence of going up a hill? When you're going down a hill is it a case of having to go at either 200+ rpm or having to try and slow the cadence by applying resistance with your legs to slow the rpm?

I really am a rider of a bike you know, although it does sound like i'm the sort of person who throws rocks at the moon.

I've heard so much about fixies, people who are passionate about them/people who detest and are cynical about them etc.

So a fixie is a track bike with brakes! (available with different ratios, drop bars or flat bars and so forth)

ride_whenever

anyway, shortest stopping comes from an endo right to the balance point, or even slightly past, followed by letting the bike spin back underneath you.

Presumably the ability to do skid-stops means stopping the rear wheel when it isn't in contact with the floor is fairly easy.

lost_in_thought

simonaspinall wrote:

Ahhhhhhh I see.

So is the only real drawback the low cadence of going up a hill? When you're going down a hill is it a case of having to go at either 200+ rpm or having to try and slow the cadence by applying resistance with your legs to slow the rpm?

Well, you can slow yourself down a bit like that, my preferred approach is to just relax the legs and let the pedals carry your feet around. It's quite a pleasant sensation - kind of like shaking out a stretch. If I want to slow down I've got brakes...

simonaspinall wrote:

So a fixie is a track bike with brakes! (available with different ratios, drop bars or flat bars and so forth)

BAM. You've got it!

lost_in_thought

ride_whenever wrote:

anyway, shortest stopping comes from an endo right to the balance point, or even slightly past, followed by letting the bike spin back underneath you.

I could stop quicker than that. Amateur.

Whether or not I'd walk away from crashing into a wall, that's another matter.

jonginge

simonaspinall wrote:

Ahhhhhhh I see.

So is the only real drawback the low cadence of going up a hill? When you're going down a hill is it a case of having to go at either 200+ rpm or having to try and slow the cadence by applying resistance with your legs to slow the rpm?

I really am a rider of a bike you know, although it does sound like i'm the sort of person who throws rocks at the moon.

I've heard so much about fixies, people who are passionate about them/people who detest and are cynical about them etc.

So a fixie is a track bike with brakes! (available with different ratios, drop bars or flat bars and so forth)

On the bike strength training. S'all good

simonaspinall

Ta mi dear!

Ah marevellous, the mysticalness of the fixie is now solved.

Still think i'd prefer it on a track, but the option is always there.

I do 14 miles to work and back up the Yorkshire hills so would probably find it pretty tough going on a fixie. Though maybe swapping between a freewheel and a fixie would be the optimum for fitness.

ride_whenever

I find i'm faster up hills on my singlespeed, because i daren't let my cadence drop to low, and if you really relax and let your mind wonder, you can slip into a really smooth flowing standing up mash where the hill dissappears from in front of you and you find yourself at the top, barely out of breath.

This however falls apart as soon as you see the hill, bit like flying in hitchhikers guideto the galaxy...

biondino

Clever Pun wrote:

oh yes it's not fixie, it's fixed

It's that kind of snobbery that makes fixie-wixie riders such ponces

biondino

_Brun_ wrote:

There's nothing about your road bike's brakes that makes them better than those on a single speed. A single front brake is more than adequate 99% of the time, and is generally the only one you need to use on a road bike anyway.

Yeah, but it's the 1% of the time when not braking fast enough = certain death that I could really do with the extra brake...

simonaspinall wrote:

So is the only real drawback the low cadence of going up a hill? When you're going down a hill is it a case of having to go at either 200+ rpm or having to try and slow the cadence by applying resistance with your legs to slow the rpm?

Well, assuming your cadence doesn't go down to zero! And when you're going down the hill, you either go at 200rpm or, um, use the brake... (passively resisting the pedals will help a wee bit but actively resisting them will f*** your knees up pretty quickly)