Fixed gear winter training
juststartinout
Posts: 86
Hi all I'm thinking of trying a fixed gear bike over winter as i've read a few good things about using them.Im just wondering if anyone has used one and was it beneficial or not.
0
Comments
-
Cheap option to keep race/best bike off crappy winter roads... just be prepared to work harder, fixed/singlespeed especially as they are generally a lot heavier and demand more in group riding when everyone else is geared and spinning up the hills and you are most definitely not. ..equally going downhill can be quite concentrating for effort.0
-
Simpler, as JGSI says - but there's no particular fitness benefit training on fixed. I can think of a lot more disadvantages than advantages..0
-
I've ridden pretty much exclusively fixed for the last year or so and feel much fitter and stronger for it! Ridden a few long rides on fixed and learnt an awful lot about myself.
Going on the club run is utterly brutal and can near destroy you. Fine on the flat, crush everyone on the climbs, wave them good bye as they fly past you on the descents and then when the tear up to the pub starts, well, doing those sorts of speeds for any length of time will half kill you (I always tell the group that they should leave me if I get dropped and I will see them in the pub (good way of getting out of the first round!), but I can hold on most times)
I love it in winter as you are working harder all the time, so I reckon you are always that bit warmer.0 -
Thanks for your input guys.think I'll look into this more before deciding cheers0
-
Worth considering how hilly or undulating it is where you are before jumping in.
I enjoy riding fixed but I'm not sure of any major benefit, except I can't be lazy on sections of the commute.0 -
I'm not sure you are working 'harder' than using a geared bike exactly. If you're mates are riding at 20mph and you keep up on a geared bike and also on a fixed gear, then you must be producing the same power etc. It might 'feel' harder as you might be riding in a cadence you're not as comfortable in, but the actual 'work' done would be the same. Only exception would be pedalling down hills of course where you are doing some 'work' while others are probably freewheeling and resting.
Having ridden single speed for years on one of my bikes it does feel different and seems to help my legs cope better with a range of different cadences, but I've never been able to associate it with any performance benefits. I like the simplicity of it and the bike is more efficient, quieter etc.Your Past is Not Your Potential...0 -
I'm not sure you are working 'harder' than using a geared bike exactly. If you're mates are riding at 20mph and you keep up on a geared bike and also on a fixed gear, then you must be producing the same power etc. It might 'feel' harder as you might be riding in a cadence you're not as comfortable in, but the actual 'work' done would be the same. Only exception would be pedalling down hills of course where you are doing some 'work' while others are probably freewheeling and resting.
Having ridden single speed for years on one of my bikes it does feel different and seems to help my legs cope better with a range of different cadences, but I've never been able to associate it with any performance benefits. I like the simplicity of it and the bike is more efficient, quieter etc.
Do you ride the club run then?0 -
I'm not sure you are working 'harder' than using a geared bike exactly. If you're mates are riding at 20mph and you keep up on a geared bike and also on a fixed gear, then you must be producing the same power etc. It might 'feel' harder as you might be riding in a cadence you're not as comfortable in, but the actual 'work' done would be the same. Only exception would be pedalling down hills of course where you are doing some 'work' while others are probably freewheeling and resting.
Having ridden single speed for years on one of my bikes it does feel different and seems to help my legs cope better with a range of different cadences, but I've never been able to associate it with any performance benefits. I like the simplicity of it and the bike is more efficient, quieter etc.
Do you ride the club run then?
I do ride club runs just about every weekend of the year, but its one ride I wont take a single speed on as its not workable to have a gear that enables smooth riding in our group. Given our rides are fairly hilly and also contain long fast flats, I'd either blow my knees out climbing steep sections at 20 rpm or never be able to spin a cadence fast enough to ride in a fast moving pack on the flat. Fixed gear would be far too dangerous given the nature of riding in a fast tight bunch in varying terrain and road conditions. Single speed riding is best suited to rides where you dont have to match your speed to those around you.Your Past is Not Your Potential...0 -
I agree with fixed although I ride very occasionally with a group that someone does ride fixie.. he is very strong tester and copes... but thats an exception.
Running singlespeed so that I can freewheel and have a gearing that manages just the Staffs bumps, I'm ok.
I dont hinder the group flow... but I maintain its hard chuffin work.
I'll find it even more so on Sundays reliability even tho I' ll choose the laughin bunch behind the 1st and 2nd cat and wannabees in the fast group first off.0 -
-
I used to ride club runs and even the odd chain gang on fixed - didn't find it a huge problem except on descents where you will go out the back and on a fast chain gang that's game over. I was definitely able to spin faster in those days and that was probably down to riding fixed a lot but whether that is a benefit on the road you tell me.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
-
I ride 73" single gear solo and on group rides to develop power grinding up the many hills I fit in. Fixed is dodgy in a group (plus I find it too scary and wrecks my knees above 120rpm downhill). I love the feel of the SG transmission compared to gears but find I have to go off the front on a group run if I know I am approaching a hill of 1 in 6 or steeper as I can't turn the pedals if the pace drops too low which risks my stalling and falling off (although some don't seem to understand the rationale).0
-
I've ridden fixed regularly on group/club rides - there's no hiding place. Rarely are you in the right gear, so helps prepare you for road racing when you can't get comfortable - having to work harder on the hills in particular. I can hit 180rpm on the descents so generally can keep-up. I don't have any problems riding in the middle of the bunch either - sometimes half-way through a ride someone will comment about lack of gears.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
-
yeah, some seem to find it difficult to see how you can manage to keep up, perhaps showing that they come to rely on gears too much and others just don't get itI've ridden fixed regularly on group/club rides - sometimes half-way through a ride someone will comment about lack of gears.0 -
I've no issues riding fixed with my club, infact that's all I had when I joined but then the nearest hill is 'Box Hill' which is practically made for smashing a fixie up, much to my new club mates surprise
Completely anecdotal but today I commuted geared for the first time in a month and it was really tough pushing on. Looking at the power figures, you just can't 'train' on fixed i.e. sit in a zone for a sustained period. Shock to the system.
With fixed I feel I do quite a bit of high heart rate but low power riding. At times just being pulled along by the cadence but still having to work the heart and lungs. I'm not sure this translates well onto the road bike but then I ride fixed for the fun of it.0 -
I ride my fixed wheel all over the place, did the Rise Above Sportive on it this year. Gear selection is key. If I'm out on a club ride it's anything from a 74" to a 91" at the moment depending on what the route is and which group I want to ride with.
I don't think it's any better for training than gears, in fact I'm pretty sure it's worse, but it is much, much friendlier on the pocket to run a fixed wheel over winter, especially up here in the cold dark North...0 -
I can understand riding a single speed bike - but I simply don't get the benefit of riding a fixed wheel on the road, as opposed to a freewheel.0
-
Imposter wrote:I can understand riding a single speed bike - but I simply don't get the benefit of riding a fixed wheel on the road, as opposed to a freewheel.
I like the simplicity, the fly wheel effect and it does help a bit with high cadence pedalling. I also like the fact I can slow down with my legs in winter rather than grinding down expensive(ish) H+Son rims. There are other little benefits. If you are on rolling terrain you're already spinning into small rises and you get up them quickly, it keeps your legs moving and warm and promotes good pedalling but these can be achieved without a fixed wheel.
Mainly I just like the way it rides.0 -
I hate Fixed gear ..... I could have tolerated it, but I never ever ever got the hang of stopping at lights, the whole lining the pedal up, so either stopping before the line, or just after it, to get the pedal in the right place ... really messed with my OCD0
-
fat daddy wrote:I hate Fixed gear ..... I could have tolerated it, but I never ever ever got the hang of stopping at lights, the whole lining the pedal up, so either stopping before the line, or just after it, to get the pedal in the right place ... really messed with my OCD
I just hold the front brake and lift the rear wheel up. But then I run front and rear brakes as I'm not a hipster riding to a coffee shop...
0 -
Imposter wrote:I can understand riding a single speed bike - but I simply don't get the benefit of riding a fixed wheel on the road, as opposed to a freewheel.
I can understand riding a fixed gear bike - but I simply don't get the benefit of riding a single speed on the road, as opposed to just having gears.0 -
iPete wrote:Imposter wrote:I can understand riding a single speed bike - but I simply don't get the benefit of riding a fixed wheel on the road, as opposed to a freewheel.
I can understand riding a fixed gear bike - but I simply don't get the benefit of riding a single speed on the road, as opposed to just having gears.
Well yeah, that as well if I'm honest.. 0 -
Fixed is great for winter - I've known guys on the club run to be on fixed and I've not even noticed - they are that good at spinning.
I struggle on the descents but on the climbs it works really well. You're also spinning faster than you might be on gears so I do think that warms you up better in the winter, and you learn to be able to cope with a wider range of cadence.
Cleaning is a doddle and even on the club run there's no rest - you never get to freewheel. It also feels like you're more in control when it gets slippy out.0
