Single Speed

Wallace1492

Well, 3 weeks into the Single Speed commute. 2 flats, 1 because of pot hole, andother big bit of glass, however still have old Kenda tyres on the converted Raleigh Elan.... need to get the purple handlebar tape on and some replecment hood covers (Not tracked any down yet)

However, I am really enjoying it, finding that I usually go faster, though not timed myself as have a bike computer fail.

My legs feel stronger, though pulling away from junctions uphill is a bit of a pain. When up to full speed, it feels lovely,and I hardly spin out (got a 48-14 fitted). Also enjoying the SCR on Maryhill Road, as more and more are coming out of hibernation. Had a great battle with a chick in jeans with two large panniers the other night, she was fast, and a roadie even stopped to pay her compliment. (Turned out she knew me through the MTB club I am in)

So question is, does a SS make you fitter/stronger? It feels like it to me.

gtvlusso

Yes, yes it does.....

Clever Pun

fixed will do so more as there's no respite.

but you will have to mtfu on hills and going faster just means pumping the legs more... so yes I think it'll help make you stronger

pastryboy

Yes, 100% sure of this.

SimonAH

Having run SS for about eighteen months now, and fixed since last summer I shall be justifying a high end geared roadie this summer on this very basis.

wgwarburton

Clever Pun wrote:

fixed will do so more ...

+1: With SS you can never escape the sneaking suspicion that you may be a Wuss.

Cheers,
W.

Canny Jock

48x14, impressive.

EKE_38BPM

I think I'm pretty fit and (on my geared roadbike) I feel confident that I can ride 100 miles in a day with little prior notice, but I'm new to this fixed malarky.

I can say, with no fear of contradiction, that riding fixed is much harder than riding geared. I rode SS through winter (and all of the snow) so I thought that would be a good intro to fixies (being in one gear) but even when I got the gearing right on the fixie it is still bloody hard work.
I am 100% positive that riding fixed will make me fitter & stronger and a better cyclist generally.

On Tuesday I had a few errands to run and this resulted in me riding about 25 miles (7 in the morning, the rest after work). When I got home I collapsed in a heap on the garage floor. I felt like I did after doing the Dunwich Dynamo (150 miles). Seriously, that bad.

On the plus side, my fixie is seriously quick. I can't ride it slowly, even up hills.
Scratch that. Especially up hills!
Fixies force you to fly up the hills and its that which wiped me out on Tuesday. A roadie commented me on my fast spinning (and I still had something left in the tank) up a hill.

The other downside is the massive target I now have painted on my back. I MUST be the fastest cyclist on the road. Every other cyclist is a potential victim, none are perceived as threats. I am at (or at least very near) the top of the food chain.

So far (only a week) I am unscalped riding fixed, but it does hurt at the moment.

mudcow007

im interested in the fixie malarky....i personally dont think i have the lgs for it yet but i a can of MTFU will sort that out

do you not even have a freehub on a fixie? so you cant freewheel?

to brake do you do so by slowing your legs per revolution of the crank?

.........so many questions

SimonAH

A lot of people build up fixies with a 'flip flop' hub so that by flipping over the wheel you have the option of a fixed cog and a freewheel - this is what I did. However I've not used the freewheel side since building the bike.

Heroes brake with their legs, many run with no normal brakes on their fixies at all. These people are also known as 'organ donors' especially in an urban environment.

In practice most people run with a minimum of a front brake (also a legal requirement if you worry about such things). I do leg brake a lot, in fact it's one of the mind games I play to see if I can get through my whole (fast) commute without touching the lever - but I always know that I've got Uncle DuraAce sitting over my front rim like an alloy gorilla fist if I need to haul up in a hurry.

snailracer

Wallace1492 wrote:

...So question is, does a SS make you fitter/stronger? It feels like it to me.

You could get the same effect by riding your normal bike harder, or not changing gear, fitting knobbly tyres, or riding an immensely heavy BSO. By all means appreciate the mechanical simplicity and different feel, but the "makes you fitter" argument seems bizarre IMO :?

mudcow007

http://www.fearlessgearless.com/2004/02 ... xie-part-i

sweet im going to start finding parts to make Frank-n-Bike

Gussio

Canny Jock wrote:

48x14, impressive.

Very. Assuming 700c wheels that is around 90" gearing.

rolf_f

snailracer wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

...So question is, does a SS make you fitter/stronger? It feels like it to me.

You could get the same effect by riding your normal bike harder, or not changing gear, fitting knobbly tyres, or riding an immensely heavy BSO. By all means appreciate the mechanical simplicity and different feel, but the "makes you fitter" argument seems bizarre IMO :?

Yep - 32 lbs of draggy braked MTB is a lot more MTFU than a prissy light fixie

Besides, all this talk of 'hills'. Yeah, right! In Yorkshire, MTB gearing gives the same effect as SS in London :twisted:

gtvlusso

SimonAH wrote:

A lot of people build up fixies with a 'flip flop' hub so that by flipping over the wheel you have the option of a fixed cog and a freewheel - this is what I did. However I've not used the freewheel side since building the bike.

Heroes brake with their legs, many run with no normal brakes on their fixies at all. These people are also known as 'organ donors' especially in an urban environment.

In practice most people run with a minimum of a front brake (also a legal requirement if you worry about such things). I do leg brake a lot, in fact it's one of the mind games I play to see if I can get through my whole (fast) commute without touching the lever - but I always know that I've got Uncle DuraAce sitting over my front rim like an alloy gorilla fist if I need to haul up in a hurry.

+1 - I don't run flip-flop hub at all, just run fixed and front brake - light and quick.

suzyb

I don't know how anyone can ride without gears in this country lol

Good that you're enjoying it

rick_chasey

snailracer wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

...So question is, does a SS make you fitter/stronger? It feels like it to me.

You could get the same effect by riding your normal bike harder, or not changing gear, fitting knobbly tyres, or riding an immensely heavy BSO. By all means appreciate the mechanical simplicity and different feel, but the "makes you fitter" argument seems bizarre IMO :?

But for the mentally weak, such temptations as a gear change or a freewheel are too much to resist.

roger_merriman

Rolf F wrote:

snailracer wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

...So question is, does a SS make you fitter/stronger? It feels like it to me.

You could get the same effect by riding your normal bike harder, or not changing gear, fitting knobbly tyres, or riding an immensely heavy BSO. By all means appreciate the mechanical simplicity and different feel, but the "makes you fitter" argument seems bizarre IMO :?

Yep - 32 lbs of draggy braked MTB is a lot more MTFU than a prissy light fixie

Besides, all this talk of 'hills'. Yeah, right! In Yorkshire, MTB gearing gives the same effect as SS in London :twisted:

well indeed my MTB is a okay ish bike from a few years ago so 30lb at lightest plus it has seriously heavy duty ( as in makes marathon plus feel light weight ) mud tyres riding that at any speed on the road is simply shattering!

my old commute bike was 50LB so my new SS even with paniers etc is light.

this said the SS is a faster bike and wants to be so i do push it more, as it's more fun.

EKE_38BPM

gtvlusso wrote:

SimonAH wrote:

A lot of people build up fixies with a 'flip flop' hub so that by flipping over the wheel you have the option of a fixed cog and a freewheel - this is what I did. However I've not used the freewheel side since building the bike.

Heroes brake with their legs, many run with no normal brakes on their fixies at all. These people are also known as 'organ donors' especially in an urban environment.

In practice most people run with a minimum of a front brake (also a legal requirement if you worry about such things). I do leg brake a lot, in fact it's one of the mind games I play to see if I can get through my whole (fast) commute without touching the lever - but I always know that I've got Uncle DuraAce sitting over my front rim like an alloy gorilla fist if I need to haul up in a hurry.

+1 - I don't run flip-flop hub at all, just run fixed and front brake - light and quick.

Same here. I like it.
I think it was GTVLusso who said they also have their front brake on the left so that they can indicate right and brake at the same time. I have copied that idea and I like it too.

wgwarburton

Hi,
This talk of workouts and using heavy bikes as training aids etc.

While the effort involved in climbing a hill on a heavy bike may be the same as for climbing that same hill at twice the speed on a fixie, I know for sure which I find more fun.

I ride my bike for transport and for fun. A light bike is more fun... it's much more pleasant to crest a hill at pace than to lumber to the top spinning away at a heavy, leaden bike with tractor tyres... The reward is higher for the same effort.

I'm not dissing the use of heavy bikes for training, if that's what you want, but it's not what I want. I like to enjoy my commute and I enjoy it more on a fixie than on anything else I've got available... and part of that is the knowledge that I'm not trashing an expensive drivetrain while doing it. Cheap fun is good. Fixies work for me and I'd encourage people to try them. Not for everyone, though...

Cheers,
W.

suzyb

Who needs a heavy bike when you have a fat @rse :P

snailracer

^^
But my @rse is not fat, it's carrying extra training ballast so I can get a more intense workout

rolf_f

WGWarburton wrote:

Hi,
This talk of workouts and using heavy bikes as training aids etc.

While the effort involved in climbing a hill on a heavy bike may be the same as for climbing that same hill at twice the speed on a fixie, I know for sure which I find more fun.

I ride my bike for transport and for fun. A light bike is more fun... it's much more pleasant to crest a hill at pace than to lumber to the top spinning away at a heavy, leaden bike with tractor tyres... The reward is higher for the same effort.

I'd be very impressed if you can crest the hill outside mine at pace on a fixie and not end up ripping your legs off on the same hill on the way back in the evening. I don't think stopping every 6 pedal strokes to retrieve my kneecaps sounds like fun! (see route in sig - maybe I could stash a fixie somewhere for the last mile and a half in to work......)

itboffin

Nice gearing, where did you get a 14t freewheel? I was under the impression that 15 was the smallest available.

EKE_38BPM

itboffin wrote:

Nice gearing, where did you get a 14t freewheel? I was under the impression that 15 was the smallest available.

Here

EKE_38BPM

14T not high enough for ya, try here for a 13T!

itboffin

Cool thanks for that, last time I checked 15t was the smallest unless you use the smaller BMX thread wheels.

EKE_38BPM

itboffin wrote:

Cool thanks for that, last time I checked 15t was the smallest unless you use the smaller BMX thread wheels.

I think there may be issues with thread size with some versions at least.

dhope

Re 13T

Certainly around.
http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/sur ... -156-p.asp

itboffin

FFS this is not a competition you know!?

You lot are SOoooo competitive :P

dhope

itboffin wrote:

FFS this is not a competition you know!?

You lot are SOoooo competitive :P

That's a shame, because at 12T I'm winning
http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main ... ts_id=3961