Single speeds: what am I missing?

_Brun_

stickman wrote:

Anyone know the sort of percentage of riders who fit a rear brake for fixed?

Pretty low I reckon, 5-10% tops. Not really necessary, legally or otherwise.

lost_in_thought

itsbruce wrote:

So how do you avoid striking the road with your pedals on a fast, tight turn, Oddjob, or do you just not lean that far?

Not digging; genuinely interested to know. Will definitely be trying a fixie at some point.

Well, a fun fixie experiment is the best way to show it off...

1. Put your fixie in a 'pedals at 12 and 6 o'clock position'. Lean it over until the bottom pedal touches the ground.

Wow. That's a long way over. Blimey.

Ahhhhhhh but my shoes! My shoes will hit the ground! Aha! Yes! Shoes! Definitely!

2. Get a couple of friends. Strong friends. Patient friends. Good friends. Not children.

Sit on your fixie, clip in (or don't, flat pedals are a pain to clip into). Trundle away from any breakable objects, children included.

Make sure you're not holding any breakable objects, or balancing any breakable objects on any part of your anatomy.

Get yourself in a 'pedals at 12 and 6 o'clock' position. Get your friends to hold the bike so you don't fall over.

Lean. Lean some more. Lean a bit more.... more.... more.... until your bottom pedal/foot hits the floor. Get your friends to lift you back up. It's scary down there.

If you're really good at trackstands you could do part 2 by yourself. Really, really good. :shock:

Pedal strike on fixies: it's all in your head.* **

(*OK maybe you could do it. Maybe. But it'd be the least of your worries 'cause if you leant that far over you'd already have fallen off)

(** may not be true for conversions)

lost_in_thought

_Brun_ wrote:

stickman wrote:

Anyone know the sort of percentage of riders who fit a rear brake for fixed?

Pretty low I reckon, 5-10% tops. Not really necessary, legally or otherwise.

Now, I disagree. I really like being able to signal both ways while braking. With a proper brake.

Rear brakes = good.

_Brun_

al2098 wrote:

all this talk of low maintenance is rubbish.
Doesn't take a genius to lube and clean a mech..
Chances are a singlespeed will break a chain more often than the alternative anyway.
How many singlespeed cars do you know of?
Simple.. none..
Single speed motorbike?.. None

One of the most stupid things I've ever read on the internet.

Aidy

lost_in_thought wrote:

Well, a fun fixie experiment is the best way to show it off...

[Words of much amusement ]

(*OK maybe you could do it. Maybe. But it'd be the least of your worries 'cause if you leant that far over you'd already have fallen off)

(** may not be true for conversions)

Hmm, I seem to think I can corner a bike sharply enough that having the inside pedal down is a real problem. I'm damn sure I've hit it on the ground on a couple of occasions where I wasn't paying enough attention and had a pretty rude wake up call.

Does a fixie that's designed to be a fixie (as opposed to something that's been converted to be a fixie) have a higher bottom bracket to mitigate?

_Brun_

lost_in_thought wrote:

_Brun_ wrote:

stickman wrote:

Anyone know the sort of percentage of riders who fit a rear brake for fixed?

Pretty low I reckon, 5-10% tops. Not really necessary, legally or otherwise.

Now, I disagree. I really like being able to signal both ways while braking. With a proper brake.

Rear brakes = good.

Only because your gear is so massive that slowing through the pedals isn't practical. Am sure I'm not the only one here who can slow themselves down while sticking their right arm out.

David555

_Brun_ wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

_Brun_ wrote:

stickman wrote:

Anyone know the sort of percentage of riders who fit a rear brake for fixed?

Pretty low I reckon, 5-10% tops. Not really necessary, legally or otherwise.

Now, I disagree. I really like being able to signal both ways while braking. With a proper brake.

Rear brakes = good.

Only because your gear is so massive that slowing through the pedals isn't practical. Am sure I'm not the only one here who can slow themselves down while sticking their right arm out.

And how many gear inches is not so massive - what do you ride my friend?

_Brun_

I'm on 71 at the moment. Think LiT is running something like 48:15, or ~84 inches.

wgwarburton

Aidy wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Well, a fun fixie experiment is the best way to show it off...

[Words of much amusement ]

(*OK maybe you could do it. Maybe. But it'd be the least of your worries 'cause if you leant that far over you'd already have fallen off)

(** may not be true for conversions)

Hmm, I seem to think I can corner a bike sharply enough that having the inside pedal down is a real problem. I'm damn sure I've hit it on the ground on a couple of occasions where I wasn't paying enough attention and had a pretty rude wake up call.

Does a fixie that's designed to be a fixie (as opposed to something that's been converted to be a fixie) have a higher bottom bracket to mitigate?

I understand that's not uncommon. I've also read recommendations to use slightly shorter cranks, and low-profile pedals don't hurt.

The same issue comes up with criterium bikes, which may be designed to allow pedalling through corners on a tight course.

I've had a couple of pedal-strikes, One of them quite nasty. Happened on a conversion, with standard cranks and big pedals, so breaking all the "rules"... the danger area is a tight turn at speed with an adverse camber, where the road is angling up as well as the bike leaning down. It was fairly unpleasant- the bike smacked upwards, then the back end shot away from under me dumping me onto the tarmac: grazed hip, knuckles and torn the shoulder on my shirt. Fortunately, I wasn't wearing a helmet, so I didn't suffer any damage above the shoulder :-).
You learn quite quickly to watch out for kerbs and things that might catch you out, just like looking out for slippy patches (diesel, grit, ironware...).

Cheers,
W.

TommyEss

al2098 wrote:

Next you lot will be on about rigid forks and 29" wheels...

Not likely - this is the Commuting forum - hop on back to MTB and find yourself a nice classic Rockhopper to strip down and rebuild! "Cantilevers? How quaint?!"

Clever Pun

_Brun_ wrote:

stickman wrote:

Anyone know the sort of percentage of riders who fit a rear brake for fixed?

Pretty low I reckon, 5-10% tops. Not really necessary, legally or otherwise.

bikes sold with flipflop hups should have the rear brake. I've 2 fixed gear bikes an otp condor pista 48-16 (soon to be 15) which has a rear and my bling money pit A.F.Mills 50-17 which doesn't

If it's been built by that person rear brake most likely wont be there, it's all personal choice though

TommyEss

Remember, that purely from a legal point of view - you need the lock ring on your fixed sprocket in order to negate the rear brake - no lock ring = rear brake necessary (legally - and sensibly - get a lock ring!!)

biondino

itsbruce, I've been thinking "what an excellent new poster" and then you try and stir up trouble because of a tongue in cheek comment (with a smiley!) which may well have a ring of truth to it!

I have a fixed wheel bike with 165mm cranks, narrow track pedals and I can corner pretty aggressively on it without any danger of pedal strike. I've had pedal strike a couple of times when I've been riding my roadie recently and I've basically forgotten that I need to freewheel if I'm going to lean over that much, but that's with a lower BB and 175mm cranks.

As LiT says, it's not a problem unless, as Buns discovered, there are unusual circumstances such as as bumps or camber or a set-up that doesn't lend itself to fixed.

owenlars

lost_in_thought wrote:

Now, I disagree. I really like being able to signal both ways while braking. With a proper brake.

Rear brakes = good.

+1 also I quite often scrape a pedal on my fixed going round corners but only very lightly, you just need to ease up if it happens

TommyEss

owenlars wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Now, I disagree. I really like being able to signal both ways while braking. With a proper brake.

Rear brakes = good.

+1 also I quite often scrape a pedal on my fixed going round corners but only very lightly, you just need to ease up if it happens

Seriously?! How far do you lean? You're only commuting, not racing - so be sensible - that and fit some 165mm cranks!

MonkeyMonster

Awwww, don't be like that tommy - I lean over a lot to keep the speed up and may well have skipped on my pedals more than a few times

That is my biggest problem I think I will have with fixed...

It may only be a commute but really... that's like saying SCR is a game no one plays...

Agent57

TommyEss wrote:

find yourself a nice classic Rockhopper to strip down and rebuild! "Cantilevers? How quaint?!"

I still commute on one of those daily. (MTB commuter link in my .sig.) It's never been stripped down and rebuilt though. The cantis are fine.

The Rookie

Well having been inspired by this thread and the Decathlon cheapy SS, I've decided to rebuild the old townsend 'MTB' I have knocking around as an SS and see what all the fuss is about, Ok it won't be that light, but with my budget of £0.00 (plus the £5.86 the bike cost on ebay plus my 'Box-o-Bits) I'll see what I can do!, If I want to go fixie I'll weld up an old free wheel and try that.

As its currently a six speed I'll have a few ratio's to try, cut up some old chains for the different ratios, sorted!

Simon

lost_in_thought

Aidy wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Well, a fun fixie experiment is the best way to show it off...

[Words of much amusement ]

(*OK maybe you could do it. Maybe. But it'd be the least of your worries 'cause if you leant that far over you'd already have fallen off)

(** may not be true for conversions)

Hmm, I seem to think I can corner a bike sharply enough that having the inside pedal down is a real problem. I'm damn sure I've hit it on the ground on a couple of occasions where I wasn't paying enough attention and had a pretty rude wake up call.

Does a fixie that's designed to be a fixie (as opposed to something that's been converted to be a fixie) have a higher bottom bracket to mitigate?

Yep.

Please note my second disclaimer...

lost_in_thought

_Brun_ wrote:

I'm on 71 at the moment. Think LiT is running something like 48:15, or ~84 inches.

88, daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahling. :P

lost_in_thought

_Brun_ wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

_Brun_ wrote:

stickman wrote:

Anyone know the sort of percentage of riders who fit a rear brake for fixed?

Pretty low I reckon, 5-10% tops. Not really necessary, legally or otherwise.

Now, I disagree. I really like being able to signal both ways while braking. With a proper brake.

Rear brakes = good.

Only because your gear is so massive that slowing through the pedals isn't practical. Am sure I'm not the only one here who can slow themselves down while sticking their right arm out.

Yeah, I can slow myself down, but using a brake is soooooooo much more effective. And I like riding on the hoods, so 2 brakes = good.

I am toying with the idea of bullhorns though.

ride_whenever

on the ss motorbike/car front, don't most motorbikes run a singlespeed drivetrain from the gearbox?

The reason I run them is for cheaper maintenance, my geared bike needs about £150 of parts to replace like for like, my singlespeeds are about £40-£50 because I like middleburn chainrings.

andy83

just ordered this



not sure whether or not to have it fixed or singlespeed, guy in shop said I can flip the hub or summin, never had one before so should be fun. also good way to get another bike, also getting new wheels and speedplays for current bike with c2w voucher

edit: sorry cant get it any smaller, well prb can but not sure how

TommyEss

Asprilla wrote:

al2098 wrote:

all this talk of low maintenance is rubbish.
Doesn't take a genius to lube and clean a mech...

True, but, when the Ultegra or 105 cassettes start to shark tooth it will cost me £50 for a new one and a 10 speed chain is around £20.

Because I don't need to change gears on my fixed I can allow for greater ware on my fixed drive train and when I need to replace a rear cog it's less than £10 and a chain isn't much more.

It doesn't take a genius to clean and lube, but after an hour and a quarter in the saddle each way in the middle of winter when it's raining and windy I frequently just want a shower and my supper. My fixed copes much better with that kind of treatment than any of my other bikes.

If you use the "C" word again I shall have to wash your mouth out with soapy water - it's a SPROCKET!!![/i]

TommyEss

MonkeyMonster wrote:

Awwww, don't be like that tommy - I lean over a lot to keep the speed up and may well have skipped on my pedals more than a few times

That is my biggest problem I think I will have with fixed...

It may only be a commute but really... that's like saying SCR is a game no one plays...

But your commuter at the moment probably has 175mm cranks and a relatively low bottom bracket - a track bike with 165mm cranks and track bottom bracket no lower than 11" (minimum BB height for Manchester velodrome etc) - Track standard is closer to 11.5" I believe... Seriously - I reckon you'd graze your elbow before you struck your pedal.

And how many tight fast turns do you actually have to take?!

You're over blowing it - and if you're catching your pedals on a fixie, you're either crap at reading the road, riding a poor man's fixie with the wrong dimensions, or just leaning over like a loon... :roll:

asprilla

Only if you explain the difference and then go edit the Wikipedia section on bicycle gearing to reflect the difference.

If there is a difference then I'm sorry and I'll mend my ways.

Pross

I don't really see the point of a single speed other than maintenance but having ridden on a fixed on the track I can see the benefits in the workout you get as long as the terrain is reasonably flat with your legs having to work as much when slowing down as they do when accelerating. What really astonishes me are the people I have seen riding in city centre traffic on fixed with no brakes. Now this is a benefit on the track as no-one can slow down unexpectedly but in heavy traffic where cars are likely to pull out in front of you surely a brake is a necessity (as well as, presumably, a legal requirement)? I've even seen someone riding a non-braked fixed down Park Street in Bristol - sheer madness!!

MonkeyMonster

Blimey charlie Tommy... no need to try rip me a new one when I used the phrase
"That is my biggest problem I think I will have with fixed... "

Haven't been on a fixed yet at all. I know I free wheel and lean into corners a lot so stands to reason I might have a problem with it on a bike that if unfortunate timing occurs I might have a crank at the lowest possible point while leaning round a corner is all.

Leaning over like a loon however might well apply... My brother does say I ride like a nutter.

Oddjob62

Asprilla wrote:

Only if you explain the difference and then go edit the Wikipedia section on bicycle gearing to reflect the difference.

If there is a difference then I'm sorry and I'll mend my ways.

From Wiki

"A sprocket is a profiled wheel with teeth that meshes with a chain, track or other perforated or indented material. It is distinguished from a gear in that sprockets are never meshed together directly, and differs from a pulley by not usually having a flange at each side."

"A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprocket

_Brun_

biondino wrote:

...I've basically forgotten that I need to freewheel if I'm going to lean over that much...

I'm relieved to hear it's not just me who's suffered from this recently. Stupid legs always wanting to pedal.