Single speed winter training, remind me again ?

bristolpete

Having had a single speed/ fixed gear bike for sometime this year I have decided to really focus on using it as my winter bike and this week alone I have done 125 miles over two rides in one week with a rest day today given i could have ridden today. I'm not racing at all and as ever just getting through winter again but can someone remind me what the benefits of fixed or single speed work are in so much there is a lot of mythology about this regime. Whilst it reminds me I am over geared on my regular bike aside from the odd big climb, it seems a very consistent way to ride and travel.....

Tom Butcher

Generally less maintenance, quieter, lighter, cheaper. May also help develop supplesse so you can pedal smoothly at a wider range of cadences - the benefits or which are perhaps marginal (beyond a certain point) unless you race track.

oldwelshman

Think the benefits are more for road than track as the gear you will be using will be smaller than track and using a brake
Might improve pedalling technique and make it smoother, may improve technique for higher cadance and willhelp you stop freewheeling

bandsawman

I'm riding single speed (freewheel, not fixed - as I had a few near-accidents when I tried fixed in busy traffic), not by choice I might add. One of the main benefits I've found is that it makes you work harder - it's like having a personal trainer with you, cracking the whip when the going gets tough!
This is my first road bike (in adult life anyway) and it's an old 10 speed that had been converted to single speed. My intentions were to get some gears for it and convert it back - but I've enjoyed riding it so much with the single speed that I'm going to keep it like this.
The downside is that I daren't go anywhere too hilly on it in case it kills me!

LikeUStoleIt

the biggest benefit to my mind is that riding fixed is just fun!

a ride on my fixed always makes me smile!

amaferanga

Aside from the maintenance aspect I don't think there is any real advantage. That it makes you work harder is a myth IMO - it just feels harder because you're forced to ride at cadences you wouldn't normally use.

rick_chasey

amaferanga wrote:

Aside from the maintenance aspect I don't think there is any real advantage. That it makes you work harder is a myth IMO - it just feels harder because you're forced to ride at cadences you wouldn't normally use.

It's only mental.

There are parts of Richmond park where if I don't give it properly 100%, my cadence will be so low I'll basically fall over.

Can I put in the same effort on a geared bike? I could, but regularly I pussy out. The singlespeed leaves me with no choice.

If you want good training, the singlespeed/fixed isn't anything special.

If you want a very simple uncluttered ride, then it's luurvely.

rick_chasey

Double post.

bigpikle

agree with above - more a mental benefit IMHO. It feels harder at times but thats imply as you're pushing a harder gear than you normally would in some situations, and that exhausts the muscles a little quicker at times. Considering some coaches write/talk about low cadence hill work as part of a strength building session there may be something in this but I dont really know?

I do really enjoy the single speed though, and its a different riding experience for sure. I do find that after riding mine for a while I become more 'resilient' when I'm out on the geared bike again eg I dont change gear at the slightest change in incline and simply change cadence more comfortably. I'm not sure its a good or bad thing but certainly notice the change in my style.

amaferanga

Rick Chasey wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Aside from the maintenance aspect I don't think there is any real advantage. That it makes you work harder is a myth IMO - it just feels harder because you're forced to ride at cadences you wouldn't normally use.

It's only mental.

There are parts of Richmond park where if I don't give it properly 100%, my cadence will be so low I'll basically fall over.

Can I put in the same effort on a geared bike? I could, but regularly I pussy out. The singlespeed leaves me with no choice.

If you want good training, the singlespeed/fixed isn't anything special.

If you want a very simple uncluttered ride, then it's luurvely.

The thing is though that the very low cadence, big effort is almost certainly well below an optimal cadence big effort in terms of Watts. So it feels hard because of the high force required, but in Wattage terms its nothing. You probably put out more Watts on your geared bike without even considering it a big effort. I'm not sure there's any benefit to normal riding from doing such low cadence efforts?

But yeah, I think we agree - nothing special for training, but nice and simple for the winter months (except when you get a rear wheel puncture and you have to phaff around with a spanner and nuts to get the wheel off the bike).

bristolpete

Thanks all. As I suspected more about brain training and as we have said, realised that sometimes it is too easy to change gear than power up when geared. I just found it really enjoyable more so and reminds me/us that despite all the carbon / bling / kit, sometimes less is indeed more.

rick_chasey

amaferanga wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Aside from the maintenance aspect I don't think there is any real advantage. That it makes you work harder is a myth IMO - it just feels harder because you're forced to ride at cadences you wouldn't normally use.

It's only mental.

There are parts of Richmond park where if I don't give it properly 100%, my cadence will be so low I'll basically fall over.

Can I put in the same effort on a geared bike? I could, but regularly I pussy out. The singlespeed leaves me with no choice.

If you want good training, the singlespeed/fixed isn't anything special.

If you want a very simple uncluttered ride, then it's luurvely.

The thing is though that the very low cadence, big effort is almost certainly well below an optimal cadence big effort in terms of Watts. So it feels hard because of the high force required, but in Wattage terms its nothing. You probably put out more Watts on your geared bike without even considering it a big effort. I'm not sure there's any benefit to normal riding from doing such low cadence efforts?

But yeah, I think we agree - nothing special for training, but nice and simple for the winter months (except when you get a rear wheel puncture and you have to phaff around with a spanner and nuts to get the wheel off the bike).

I think you'd be surprised, that, within reason obviously, the cadence doesn't make an enormous difference.

amaferanga

Rick Chasey wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Aside from the maintenance aspect I don't think there is any real advantage. That it makes you work harder is a myth IMO - it just feels harder because you're forced to ride at cadences you wouldn't normally use.

It's only mental.

There are parts of Richmond park where if I don't give it properly 100%, my cadence will be so low I'll basically fall over.

Can I put in the same effort on a geared bike? I could, but regularly I pussy out. The singlespeed leaves me with no choice.

If you want good training, the singlespeed/fixed isn't anything special.

If you want a very simple uncluttered ride, then it's luurvely.

The thing is though that the very low cadence, big effort is almost certainly well below an optimal cadence big effort in terms of Watts. So it feels hard because of the high force required, but in Wattage terms its nothing. You probably put out more Watts on your geared bike without even considering it a big effort. I'm not sure there's any benefit to normal riding from doing such low cadence efforts?

But yeah, I think we agree - nothing special for training, but nice and simple for the winter months (except when you get a rear wheel puncture and you have to phaff around with a spanner and nuts to get the wheel off the bike).

I think you'd be surprised, that, within reason obviously, the cadence doesn't make an enormous difference.

Well I can only talk for myself and having spent quite a bit of time doing hill repeats (on a geared bike) with a power meter at the end of the summer I can assure you that cadence makes a HUGE difference to the power I can maintain for a few minutes. The low, low cadence intervals feel just as hard, but Wattage is way down on what I could do with optimal cadence.

John.T

Just think of it as a series of leg presses. The watts may be lower but it does build up leg strength. Along with other training this will get the watts up when you use optimum cadence. Training is not about producing the power during a particular exercise but getting more later.

stevewj

I do both of my 3hr rides at the weekend on single free (65"). It definately makes me work harder on uphills staying seated and develops quads. I spin up to 130rpm downhill as above this plays havoc with knees. I love the feel of direct drive - a ride turns into training just by virtue of the above. Definate help timetrialling. I intend to race single free this year as well as an experiment.

rick_chasey

It's more the state of mind that I like.

So simple. Need to go faster? Press on the pedals harder.

It's really simplified my riding - I often found myself thinking about whether I was in the right gear, if I was spinning to hard or not. It's easy to look to gears as a painkiller < I'm not strong enough in my mind to resist the temptation.

It's just more enjoyable (within reasonable terrain for an SS, obviously)

You're also a lower FCN which helps

markos1963

I enjoy the simplicity of fixed/ss, it really frees up your thinking when riding, no 'what gear should I be in?' just nice fluid peddling. I don't think it has a big training effect but I reckon it does help a bit, I'm much more cadence tolerant, I can get up certain types of hills better and my pedal action is a lot smoother especially after riding fixed.

ollyridesfirst

it's just more fun....for me anyway. I have my carbon all singing, all dancing bike for summer and a Giant fixie for winter....i initially bought it to make me work harder and if i have an accident on the winter roads, i wont be too bothered that the frame can't take the impact and if it does it wasn't that expensive...

Monty Dog

Fixed certainly helps me develop leg power and core strength over the winter - simple MTFU and get on with it! Rode over to Streatley Hill last weekend, having taken in Whitchurch Hill beforehand. Road was slightly damp so trying to get the power down whilst avoiding wheelslip and keeping forward momentum was fun - I did ride up it on 50x17 once which was obviously blatant stupidity. As for downhills, when you get beyond 180rpm thinks start getting scary..

McBain_v1

Only ever ridden a fixed wheel single speed once and that was at Manchester velodrome with Jamie Staff - very scary! I enjoyed it but I wasn't in a hurry to repeat the experience. The weirdest sensation was the kick up the backside the bike gave you if you slightly relaxed your legs for even a split second. Without the brakes on the drop bars it was very hard to find a comfortable hand position too. If I was going to ride a single-speed on the roads then I would make sure it wasn't fixed (because I'm chicken-shit on descents!)

mrushton

That's why you have brakes and push back against the pedals, to slow down on descents and that 'kick' reminds you not to stop pedalling - it does work