Fixie beginner

[Sharky]

I've never been so scared and it takes a lot!! It was the fact my head was saying slow down as I was going down hill and my legs were saying I'm trying to lol

You have to relax!

However, will admit that I switched to a SS freewheel for my training/leisure bike. I found on a low fixed gear, it is the descents that are the most demanding and puts a strain on the arms and shoulders as well. With a freewheel you can go as fast as gravity allows and you have time to recover on a descent. On the same loops. My SS is often faster than my geared bike.

I have another bike with a 50x14 or 15 fixed that I use for timetrials. The bigger gear doesn't run out of revs and is fine on the descents.

 

[bungyb69]

I can't wait to try it with the freewheel and see the difference tbf! I've never tried a fixed before, I wanted something I could fly to work on but as I've found with my road bike I was always staying in the same gear!

 

[silva]

The difference between fixed and freewheel is dat with the latter you can't push back to slowdown or maintain balance and that it's a potential problem in a case water in it > sticky grease or frost > walk further. That's it. That's all.

 

[bungyb69]

The difference between fixed and freewheel is dat with the latter you can't push back to slowdown or maintain balance and that it's a potential problem in a case water in it > sticky grease or frost > walk further. That's it. That's all.

Walk?? I ride a road bike every day my balance is good because I'm always on the pedals at traffic lights balancing!!

 

[rogerzilla]

Fixed only scares me on a long hill when the front brake starts to smell!

 

[Juan Kog]

Keep at it , fixed does get less scary and you won't believe it now ,but you will actually enjoy it. Back brake, I know it's not cool, freewheel or fixed leave it on . May get shot down on this but l find freewheel can take a small difference on chain line . Above all don't forget when you're back on gears. I did once ,I was in traffic not in a hurry ,primary position, hands on top of bars following a bus .bus slows down l push back on pedals ,sudden heart stopping moment . No I didn't hit the bus ,but it was close.

 

[bungyb69]

I literally was shaking when I got home it was so intense! I kept think I'm going fall at any moment

 

[biggs682]

I literally was shaking when I got home it was so intense! I kept think I'm going fall at any moment

And people think it's easy

 

[bungyb69]

And people think it's easy

It's a proper art! I could balance great it was the stopping and forgetting to constantly pedal

 

[ColinJ]

I've never been so scared and it takes a lot!! It was the fact my head was saying slow down as I was going down hill and my legs were saying I'm trying to lol

I found on a low fixed gear, it is the descents that are the most demanding and puts a strain on the arms and shoulders as well.

I did a few forum rides with @Pennine-Paul. On all but one he rode fixed (he hated the time he rode a geared bike and swore that he wouldn't do it again...). He got up even quite steep Yorkshire/Lancashire hills on fixed without complaining but I remember him suddenly groaning when he spotted a sign on one ride. I said not to worry - it was 13% downhill; he pointed out that I had never descended a steep hill on fixed...!

 

[bungyb69]

I did a few forum rides with @Pennine-Paul. On all but one he rode fixed (he hated the time he rode a geared bike and swore that he wouldn't do it again...). He got up even quite steep Yorkshire/Lancashire hills on fixed without complaining but I remember him suddenly groaning when he spotted a sign on one ride. I said not to worry - it was 13% downhill; he pointed out that I had never descended a steep hill on fixed...!

View attachment 528375

I rode up a hill a say rode I flow upit but then coming down it's scary because being silly I put my old spds on it thinking this is easy never ridden one because! Hence it's now got a freewheel and a back brake

 

[Sharky]

I said not to worry - it was 13% downhill; he pointed out that I had never descended a steep hill on fixed...!

Yes, it is the descents that are more scary than the climbs.
Once I clocked 44mph at the start of a 10 on the Tonbridge bypass. It has a "gift" ski slope start and I was bouncing all over the place and I was on a 95" fixed.

 

[rogerzilla]

That's a mere 154rpm. Learn to spin, man!

 

[Pennine-Paul]

I did a few forum rides with @Pennine-Paul. On all but one he rode fixed (he hated the time he rode a geared bike and swore that he wouldn't do it again...).
Well after 20 years of riding mainly fixed gear {been riding single speed on my commute to work,as it's less than a mile it was taking me longer to change into my cycling gear than it was to ride home on flats!} I found a Tifosi cyclocross frame the same size as the Tifosi track frame I have been riding on Ebay,so it was a simple matter to change over forks,saddle and seatpost and add a singlespeed kit on to the freehub,just waiting on a cable hanger for the rear canti's and I'll be mobile again,next month I'll be fitting Gears!!

 

[bungyb69]

Well guys it's back with new brakes front and back! A lovely freewheel fitted I even changed the bar tape to black fizik it's fantastic, rode it to work and loved every single moment