riding fixed

clarkey cat

so... fixed the puncture and popped a gatorskin on the back - and even gave it all a clean, that revealed that my chainring is actually 48T not 44T so I'm running 48T * 15T whatever that means. One hairy moment this morning when I tried to freewheel to unleash a snot rocket but other than that I love it. Really like the fact that everything your legs are doing translates into something in the backwheel. It's like one of those travelator things at an airport - just carries you along.

Even recorded a PB this morning - 1hr 11m 42s.
Was pretty lucky with lights though.

SimonAH

It means 92.8 gear inches, which is a good town ratio if you like a bit of speed.

Gussio

With 700c wheels and 48x15 you are looking at a GI of around 84" depending on tyre size. I found this to be a bit on the heavy side - started to make my knees pretty sore by the end of the week. Have dropped down to 48x17 (GI=75") which I find great through traffic on an 16 mile round commute and by no means slow (i.e. very rarely spin out). Each to their own though.

hatbeard

I ride 48x19 on 28c (67.6GI) and apart from the odd one or two fully lycra'd racing snakes or a rare clever pun spotting hardly anything manages to get past me on the commute.

It's all about spin to win. less grinding = happier knees too.

asprilla

I had 48 on the front and tried 18 through 15 on the back. Although i could push 15 I just found that on days like today, when you can expect a stiff headwind on the way home, it wasn't fun at all, especially for a commute as long as yours.

I settled on 48/17 in the end, 30+ on Lower Richmond Road was still fairly straight forward but it saved the knees, especially in the autumn.

clarkey cat

Yea I felt fine today with a gentle tailwind and fresh legs after 2 days off but was thinking that my ride home could be a little taxing.

I'll do some experimenting and see how I get on.

Has anyone tried to Sturmey Archer S3X hub? Just thinking this could be the ideal solution.

rick_chasey

On a vaguely related note, I find it quite amusing that riding fixed gear has become so popular in a country where the coaster brake is illegal.

SimonAH

Coaster brakes are illegal? Not serious surely.

dhope

hatbeard wrote:

I ride 48x19 on 28c (67.6GI) and apart from the odd one or two fully lycra'd racing snakes or a rare clever pun spotting hardly anything manages to get past me on the commute.

It's all about spin to win. less grinding = happier knees too.

How's the Steamroller coming along? I'm gonna have to go past you at normal commuting speed rather than chatting speed and see how we fare now that we're both up to speed

hatbeard

the CK headsets still not been dispatched yet and need to figure out stem length and buy a seatpost but all the other bits are here waiting to go on the frame.

what gearing you running these days then?

dhope

Same old 42x15 I've been running for a little while now. Spun out at 33mph through a tunnel (no wind, slight downhill) but given I can't hold over about 27 in normal conditions for any length of time then that's not much of an issue.
Will be eyeing the new build Surly enviously though.

rick_chasey

SimonAH wrote:

Coaster brakes are illegal? Not serious surely.

Pretty sure they are.


Let me put it this way, my Dutch Oma fiets was declared illegal by a policeman who stopped me for having a dynamo light, and he did me again for my braking system. :roll:

asprilla

Rick Chasey wrote:

SimonAH wrote:

Coaster brakes are illegal? Not serious surely.

Pretty sure they are.

Caster brakes aren't illegal; it's just that most cruiser bikes that use them have them outside the UK as the only brake. UK regs mean that you have to have either 'two brakes' or 'two methods of braking'; hence fixies with chain and front brake is generally accepted as OK, but brakeless isn't.

rick_chasey

Ah I see.

SimonAH

Rick Chasey wrote:

SimonAH wrote:

Coaster brakes are illegal? Not serious surely.

Pretty sure they are.


Let me put it this way, my Dutch Oma fiets was declared illegal by a policeman who stopped me for having a dynamo light, and he did me again for my braking system. :roll:

Lucky he didn't shoot you

hatbeard

dhope wrote:

Same old 42x15 I've been running for a little while now. Spun out at 33mph through a tunnel (no wind, slight downhill) but given I can't hold over about 27 in normal conditions for any length of time then that's not much of an issue.
Will be eyeing the new build Surly enviously though.

this is the closest i've found to what my build will look like except I'll have bar end levers and no gold bits. the decals are coming off too.

dhope

And the pièce de résistance... a single strip on the downtube to recognise its heritage?

hatbeard

nah, but I may have to do that to my other black decal-less fixed bike to distinguish between the two.

mudcow007

im debating with my self whether to build my vintage into a fixie or ss...oh decisions decisions.....

the only think is, its a 27 1/4 wheels

that make a difference?

Gussio

mudcow007 wrote:

im debating with my self whether to build my vintage into a fixie or ss...oh decisions decisions.....

the only think is, its a 27 1/4 wheels

that make a difference?

Think that you would have to either add a new rear wheel or rebuild the old one so that the dishing is correct, when moving from geared to FG/SS. Or you could use 700c wheels and fit new brake callipers with a long enough drop.

clarkey cat

Yea so 48*15 is probably a little rich with any kind of headwind.

Still - great fun; on the drops, thighs popping out of the lycra, teeth bared.

No rioter dared mess.

maddernj

I have recently moved from 48*18 to 48*17....not much of a change but you certainly notice it uphill. I have a 16 mile trip in from Bexely, plently of hills to negotiate at the Start / Finish.

48*15 would break me...

clarkey cat

I'll be changing up as soon as I get a chance. My route is 21 miles but pretty flat - its the wind that kills me.

Fireblade96

I ride 48 x 18, SS not FG.
I live at the top of a very steep hill. And I'm weak. Any bigger gear and I'd have to get off and push :oops:

pangolin

New cog arrived today.

Have flipped wheel over and changed from 44 / 16 SS to 44 / 14 FG.

Had a little ride around work once I'd done it, didn't kill me. I'll be the guy by an ambulance on embankment this evening. If someone could look after my bike that would be lovely.

clarkey cat

since flipping the wheel over I've been doing more and more of my commuting miles on the fixie - last week I did 120 miles on it Monday to Thursday and although its quite hard work it wasnt absolutely brutal - it helped that there wasnt much of a headwind last week (lots of rain though). In fact last week was the first time I went for a whole week without having 'moments' so think I'm getting there with it. Can't trackstand though. Not fussed though - I like spinning the wheel into place while stood at the lights. Looks cool.

wyadvd

all you need to know is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4

pangolin

Well I am alive. Scary ride home though.

1x grounding pedal on kerb while filtering
2x trying to free wheel while sitting
2x trying to free wheel while standing (this was worse)
1x bunnyhopping a pot hole without thinking about it down a hill at over 20mph, then thinking "crap!" as I took off and didn't know how to land (terrifying)

Stayed on the bike though. Tomorrow the adventure continues!

dhope

pangolin wrote:

Well I am alive. Scary ride home though.

1x grounding pedal on kerb while filtering
2x trying to free wheel while sitting
2x trying to free wheel while standing (this was worse)
1x bunnyhopping a pot hole without thinking about it down a hill at over 20mph, then thinking "crap!" as I took off and didn't know how to land (terrifying)

Stayed on the bike though. Tomorrow the adventure continues!

Fun then?

clarkey cat

I like it! sounds familiar!