GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
The mobile phone ringing sometimes used to catch me out. And the first speedhump on the drive at work. The former is now on silent when I ride and the latter gets a good talking to every time I ride over it.
Adjustment to fixed gear.
- Thread starter ThaiGuy
- Start date
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mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
here's one I rote earlier....
FIXED two pages 1027 words
Fixed.
Fixed-wheel, or fixed-gear, riding is as close as you will get to perpetual motion. It’s cycling at its purest.
Freewheels are so common that we hardly notice their existence. Until recently the freewheel-free bicycle was the preserve of a small band of hardened souls - track racers and winter road riders. Speak to a fixed-wheel rider about why they ride fixed and they’ll struggle to find the words. They’ll talk of feeling ‘more connected’ with their machine. They might even use words and phrases like ‘pure’ and ‘at one’, and they’ll be frustrated that words alone can’t ever really explain what riding fixed feels like. One of the much quoted benefits is that fixed-wheel bicycles have fewer moving parts than multi-speed bikes and so require less maintenance. But no one ever rode a fixed just because it was easier to maintain.
On a bicycle the free-wheel is a component within the transmission incorporating a series of ratchets which allows drive-train ‘over-run’. In other words it allows the pedaller to stop pedalling while the machine is in motion. In years gone by a few high-end car manufacturers used them to disengage the engine from the drive wheels, notably Rolls Royce and Cord whose customers demanded quieter transmissions.
A freewheel can be thought of as an automatic clutch which allows your legs to turn slower than the driven wheel. It’s the bit which makes the ticking noise when you are coasting down a hill. Because it ‘unlocks’ the pedals from the drive-train a free-wheel mechanism makes a bike easier to use, it allows for multi-speed derailleur gear systems and lets us corner safer/harder/faster because we can raise the inside pedal to stop it striking the ground.
The earliest - front wheel drive - pedal powered machines were ‘fixed’, all the way up to the high-wheeled penny farthings. So too were the very first chain-drive ‘safeties’. Ernst Sachs (the soul of whose company still lives on in the SRAM Corporation) was the first to produce freewheels in commercial quantities in 1898. Though William van Anden had patented the freewheel many years earlier in 1868 it wasn’t until the widespread adoption of the safety bicycle with its chain and sprockets that it really came into its own.
Hop on the saddle and the first thing you notice is the difficulty of getting your feet on/in the pedals when the cranks cannot be spun backwards. It feels ... somehow ... broken. Underway the first few timid turns of the pedal feel OK. You pedal. It moves. You trundle around. Just like a regular bike… And then, just when you thought everything was under control – comes the first dawning of just what you’ve let yourself in for – when, just for a fraction of a second, you stop pedalling. The very last thing you want to do on a fixed-wheel is stop pedalling. The momentum of your body weight is still driving that back wheel around, which continues to feed the chain over the sprocket, which drives the cranks and promptly gives you an almighty kick through the pedals. The very least that happens at this point is a kind of primordial shiver up the spine.
Riding fixed is certainly more difficult. It demands 100% concentration and total respect, because if you’re hurtling along and forget – even for a moment – to keep your legs turning a fixed-wheel will dash you to the ground in the blink of an eye. Catch a pedal in a corner and you’ll be hurled in the air. Fixed knows no mercy.
But all this talk of pain and danger hides a truth – there is nothing like riding fixed.
If the bike is moving so are your legs. This allows you to control speed, and even stop completely, without using the brake(s). It’s easy to make subtle changes of speed and pace according to the conditions and it is partly this connectedness with the rear wheel which made fixed-wheel bikes popular winter ‘hack bikes’. Fixed riders can feel the tyre contact point in a way freewheel equipped riders cannot and in slippery/icy conditions this ability to feel the limit of traction can make the difference between road-rash and staying in the saddle.
In practice - and in some countries, in law - this ability to brake the rear wheel through back pressure on the pedals means that a fixed wheel bike built for the road may dispense with the rear caliper and run only a front brake (brakeless, though it has something of a hard-core/ macho/ cult following, is a step too far for most mortals - outside of a velodrome).
As you cycle along your momentum propels the pedals over the dead spot. There is no derailleur tension, there are no jockey wheels, no superfluous chain and no extra sprockets and rings to haul around so bike weight and transmission drag is minimised.
There is only one gear and its ratio is determined by the relationship of the chain-ring to the sprocket multiplied by the size of the rear wheel. The ratio must be chosen carefully on the basis of the steepness of the local terrain. Riders in hilly cities use different ratios from those in flatter areas. A bike must be geared just low enough to get up the steepest hill around without popping a patella, but this needs to be traded against the challenge of descending the same hill. Downhill - legs must spin like an egg-whisk or you risk losing control.
Fixed encourages high revs over high torque and this, combined with the constant pedalling, promotes excellent cardio vascular fitness. To go faster you cannot shift up a gear, the only option, the only option, is to pedal faster.
But when you ‘get’ it - When you have enough mileage in your legs to make them strong and lean and supple. When you can rush that hill like a March hare and, over the top, spin out down the other side at 150+rpm without missing a beat. When you can track stand until the cows come home without dabbing a foot....
When you get it, there is no experience like it in the world.
FIXED two pages 1027 words
Fixed.
Fixed-wheel, or fixed-gear, riding is as close as you will get to perpetual motion. It’s cycling at its purest.
Freewheels are so common that we hardly notice their existence. Until recently the freewheel-free bicycle was the preserve of a small band of hardened souls - track racers and winter road riders. Speak to a fixed-wheel rider about why they ride fixed and they’ll struggle to find the words. They’ll talk of feeling ‘more connected’ with their machine. They might even use words and phrases like ‘pure’ and ‘at one’, and they’ll be frustrated that words alone can’t ever really explain what riding fixed feels like. One of the much quoted benefits is that fixed-wheel bicycles have fewer moving parts than multi-speed bikes and so require less maintenance. But no one ever rode a fixed just because it was easier to maintain.
On a bicycle the free-wheel is a component within the transmission incorporating a series of ratchets which allows drive-train ‘over-run’. In other words it allows the pedaller to stop pedalling while the machine is in motion. In years gone by a few high-end car manufacturers used them to disengage the engine from the drive wheels, notably Rolls Royce and Cord whose customers demanded quieter transmissions.
A freewheel can be thought of as an automatic clutch which allows your legs to turn slower than the driven wheel. It’s the bit which makes the ticking noise when you are coasting down a hill. Because it ‘unlocks’ the pedals from the drive-train a free-wheel mechanism makes a bike easier to use, it allows for multi-speed derailleur gear systems and lets us corner safer/harder/faster because we can raise the inside pedal to stop it striking the ground.
The earliest - front wheel drive - pedal powered machines were ‘fixed’, all the way up to the high-wheeled penny farthings. So too were the very first chain-drive ‘safeties’. Ernst Sachs (the soul of whose company still lives on in the SRAM Corporation) was the first to produce freewheels in commercial quantities in 1898. Though William van Anden had patented the freewheel many years earlier in 1868 it wasn’t until the widespread adoption of the safety bicycle with its chain and sprockets that it really came into its own.
Hop on the saddle and the first thing you notice is the difficulty of getting your feet on/in the pedals when the cranks cannot be spun backwards. It feels ... somehow ... broken. Underway the first few timid turns of the pedal feel OK. You pedal. It moves. You trundle around. Just like a regular bike… And then, just when you thought everything was under control – comes the first dawning of just what you’ve let yourself in for – when, just for a fraction of a second, you stop pedalling. The very last thing you want to do on a fixed-wheel is stop pedalling. The momentum of your body weight is still driving that back wheel around, which continues to feed the chain over the sprocket, which drives the cranks and promptly gives you an almighty kick through the pedals. The very least that happens at this point is a kind of primordial shiver up the spine.
Riding fixed is certainly more difficult. It demands 100% concentration and total respect, because if you’re hurtling along and forget – even for a moment – to keep your legs turning a fixed-wheel will dash you to the ground in the blink of an eye. Catch a pedal in a corner and you’ll be hurled in the air. Fixed knows no mercy.
But all this talk of pain and danger hides a truth – there is nothing like riding fixed.
If the bike is moving so are your legs. This allows you to control speed, and even stop completely, without using the brake(s). It’s easy to make subtle changes of speed and pace according to the conditions and it is partly this connectedness with the rear wheel which made fixed-wheel bikes popular winter ‘hack bikes’. Fixed riders can feel the tyre contact point in a way freewheel equipped riders cannot and in slippery/icy conditions this ability to feel the limit of traction can make the difference between road-rash and staying in the saddle.
In practice - and in some countries, in law - this ability to brake the rear wheel through back pressure on the pedals means that a fixed wheel bike built for the road may dispense with the rear caliper and run only a front brake (brakeless, though it has something of a hard-core/ macho/ cult following, is a step too far for most mortals - outside of a velodrome).
As you cycle along your momentum propels the pedals over the dead spot. There is no derailleur tension, there are no jockey wheels, no superfluous chain and no extra sprockets and rings to haul around so bike weight and transmission drag is minimised.
There is only one gear and its ratio is determined by the relationship of the chain-ring to the sprocket multiplied by the size of the rear wheel. The ratio must be chosen carefully on the basis of the steepness of the local terrain. Riders in hilly cities use different ratios from those in flatter areas. A bike must be geared just low enough to get up the steepest hill around without popping a patella, but this needs to be traded against the challenge of descending the same hill. Downhill - legs must spin like an egg-whisk or you risk losing control.
Fixed encourages high revs over high torque and this, combined with the constant pedalling, promotes excellent cardio vascular fitness. To go faster you cannot shift up a gear, the only option, the only option, is to pedal faster.
But when you ‘get’ it - When you have enough mileage in your legs to make them strong and lean and supple. When you can rush that hill like a March hare and, over the top, spin out down the other side at 150+rpm without missing a beat. When you can track stand until the cows come home without dabbing a foot....
When you get it, there is no experience like it in the world.
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
Nicely written. But the whole Zen sentiment fixed riders seem to trot out is a bit cliche and doesn't really wash with me!
Disagree completely and it is this sort of comment that fosters exclusivity, elitism and puts off newcomers!
It is not necessarily more difficult.
On the most basic level, it is as easy as riding any other bike. On a physical level, depending on how you compare it can be less work. In more perceptive terms, you replace awareness of one thing with another when changing from geared bikes to fixed, so it doesn't really require more concentration, for one thing, you don't have to think about not stopping pedaling, it just happens, it becomes natural in a very short time, as does adjusting your speed in real time. You simply replace things such as thinking about your gears and brakes with looking further down the road etc.
I have cycled thousands of miles on a fixed wheel bike, not once have I been dashed to the ground by forgetting to pedal (not even close) and being both a standard road bike and fixed gear rider, I do fairly often temporarily forget to pedal once or twice in the 1st few miles when getting on the fixed after riding on a geared bike. You get a bit of a kick, nothing too dramatic.
If you catch a pedal yes you will go up in the air, agree, sort of, not sure "hurled in the air" is the description I would use but fair enough on that one, however a similar thing would happen if you smack a pedal when pedaling through a corner on a road bike (less chance of it happening on a road bike granted, but that it because you ride the bike accordingly, much like you should on a fixed), it wont be quite as severe through the lack of momentum being driven back through the cranks, but you will still get a nasty shock and fairly often go down.
Disagree completely and it is this sort of comment that fosters exclusivity, elitism and puts off newcomers!
It is not necessarily more difficult.
On the most basic level, it is as easy as riding any other bike. On a physical level, depending on how you compare it can be less work. In more perceptive terms, you replace awareness of one thing with another when changing from geared bikes to fixed, so it doesn't really require more concentration, for one thing, you don't have to think about not stopping pedaling, it just happens, it becomes natural in a very short time, as does adjusting your speed in real time. You simply replace things such as thinking about your gears and brakes with looking further down the road etc.
I have cycled thousands of miles on a fixed wheel bike, not once have I been dashed to the ground by forgetting to pedal (not even close) and being both a standard road bike and fixed gear rider, I do fairly often temporarily forget to pedal once or twice in the 1st few miles when getting on the fixed after riding on a geared bike. You get a bit of a kick, nothing too dramatic.
If you catch a pedal yes you will go up in the air, agree, sort of, not sure "hurled in the air" is the description I would use but fair enough on that one, however a similar thing would happen if you smack a pedal when pedaling through a corner on a road bike (less chance of it happening on a road bike granted, but that it because you ride the bike accordingly, much like you should on a fixed), it wont be quite as severe through the lack of momentum being driven back through the cranks, but you will still get a nasty shock and fairly often go down.
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Have you ever seen what happens when someone stops pedalling whilst travelling at 30+mph? Or wipe out after clipping a pedal in a corner?
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
Well, if you are talking about extreme situations and very high speeds (you do not distinguish in your article), you could dig up a load of horror stories for any kind of bike. Riding a bike at high speed (unless you are a lunatic) requires the rider to have some degree of competence and be comfortable with riding the bike they are riding.
As for if I have ever see this happen, well honestly no I haven't, but I am not sure that this makes your point any more valid.
I am not quite sure of my top speed when stopping pedalling (probably high 20's), but it certainly isn't just a few mph and other than a swift kick it was nothing too dramatic and I certainly was not launched in the air or dashed to the ground (only only times I have ever went down on my fixed are when losing the front end on some leaves and when being knocked off by a car, although I concede that the spinning pedals during flight did do some damage that a geared bike may not have done). Furthermore, assuming you are in control of the gear then it is actually easier to lock your legs at higher speeds than it is at a slow speed.
As for clipping a pedal, I have seen people wipe out after clipping a pedal in a corner on a road bike, the only difference would be a bit more momentum in the pedal so a more violent kick!
Furthermore, on a well designed or built fixed wheel bike the BB will be higher and/or the cranks will be a bit shorter, hence chance of smacking a pedal is fairly low and you would need to lean over a long way. If you lean so far as to do this then that is user error, knowing the degree to which you can lean and pedal through a corner is critical for riding ANY bike, fixed or freewheel.
As for if I have ever see this happen, well honestly no I haven't, but I am not sure that this makes your point any more valid.
I am not quite sure of my top speed when stopping pedalling (probably high 20's), but it certainly isn't just a few mph and other than a swift kick it was nothing too dramatic and I certainly was not launched in the air or dashed to the ground (only only times I have ever went down on my fixed are when losing the front end on some leaves and when being knocked off by a car, although I concede that the spinning pedals during flight did do some damage that a geared bike may not have done). Furthermore, assuming you are in control of the gear then it is actually easier to lock your legs at higher speeds than it is at a slow speed.
As for clipping a pedal, I have seen people wipe out after clipping a pedal in a corner on a road bike, the only difference would be a bit more momentum in the pedal so a more violent kick!
Furthermore, on a well designed or built fixed wheel bike the BB will be higher and/or the cranks will be a bit shorter, hence chance of smacking a pedal is fairly low and you would need to lean over a long way. If you lean so far as to do this then that is user error, knowing the degree to which you can lean and pedal through a corner is critical for riding ANY bike, fixed or freewheel.
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Not sure where you're going with this. I saw a guy sprint across the line at Herne Hill and get thrown in the air because he locked his leg. He slid along the ground on his arse leaving a scab two feet long down his leg which lasted for weeks. Hairy scab. Ew. And I've seen a couple of fixed wheel riders go down in corners after clipping pedals on the apex. Furthermore, I've nearly done it myself. It cannot be denied that fixed wheel riding is more dangerous than with a freewheel. How much more? Who knows. Have I over egged the pudding a bit to make the article more saucy? Possibly.
Does your mum ride fixed? If not why not?
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
My mum doesnt ride fixed, no. Why? Because she doesn't cycle at all, she uses public transport or drives. Imaginary scenario where she did cycle, would she ride fixed? No, she would probably ride a mountain bike or some sort of ladies step through from Halfords, much like many blissfully ignorant people who think Halfords and MTB when someone mentions bikes, she probably doesn't even know what fixed gear means.
TBH, you probably did write it in such a way to make the article more dramatic and had you not, I would disagree less. The reason I don't like dramatic content such as that is basically because it either puts people off trying thinking they just can't do it because it requires some sort of elevated cycling status. Or it gives those who do ride fixed and enjoy being nobbers fuel to peddle their false sense of superiority.
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Right. There was I thinking I was merely advising people to take a bit more care.
But if your mum, or your gran was - for some reason - interested in getting a nice bike, lived somewhere reasonably flat and came to you for advice .... wanted something simple and easy to maintain, a one speed and, all other things being equal, would you recommend a fixed or a freewheel? And why?
Boris Bajic
Guest
I find all that I edited out of your post quite true. I am a late-ish convert to fixed-gear on bicycles and I adore it.
I drove (briefly) a P4 with freewheel and was a passenger as a child in a SAAB with a similar mechanism. I prefer cars to have a solid drivetrain where it makes sense.
However... I'm surprised that you say above that riding fixed is more difficult. I do not find it so and suspect that most others do not either. It is in fact very simple. You just pedal. It takes a while to acquire the habits of riding fixed after decades with gears, but that does not make it difficult. It's just another skill, but not a difficult one at all.
I'm not sure either about the 'demands 100% concentration and total respect' bit either. I suspect you might have added that for a giggle. Partly because it sounds like a line from 'Top Gear' and partly because I see no difference in terms of the respect and concentration demanded by a geared road bike, an MTB, a fixie, a motorcycle or a farm tractor.
There are potential issues with pedal strike and sudden upward launches if you stop pedalling, but once you have your 'fixed' head on, that is no longer an issue.
On the matter of there being nothing like it, I find myself agreeing completely. I wish I hadn't left it so late, but I'm glad I didn't leave it any later.
Distilled joy.
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
i got onto my latest fixie last night for its initial round the block trial ride having not ridden a fixie for a few weeks and still tried to coast , but you get use to it
- Location
- The TerrorVortex
I sometimes forget to pedal on my fixed. It soon reminds me that freewheeling is not an option.
It's more of an assertive nudge then a 'chucking me over the horizon' though...
It's more of an assertive nudge then a 'chucking me over the horizon' though...
OP
OP
ThaiGuy
Guest
- Location
- Bolton, Greater Manchester
Looks like fixed gear riding is similar to the Marmite situation, you either love it or you hate it.
Dan_h
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Reading, UK
I think riding fixed is more difficult, it is the little things like stopping at traffic lights, you need the pedals in a particular position and you cant just spin them backards so you need to stop in the right place or lift the back wheel up to position them for starting. After a while it does become second nature. The main problem I find fixed is going downhill, you cant just stop pedalling to lift your butt from the saddle to make yourself comfier this seems to be an issue after a few miles of descending at which point I find myself yearning for the next climb!
Riding fixed is still the best though
Riding fixed is still the best though
edindave
Über Member
- Location
- Auld Reeker
I think riding fixed is more difficult, it is the little things like stopping at traffic lights, you need the pedals in a particular position and you cant just spin them backards so you need to stop in the right place or lift the back wheel up to position them for starting. After a while it does become second nature. The main problem I find fixed is going downhill, you cant just stop pedalling to lift your butt from the saddle to make yourself comfier this seems to be an issue after a few miles of descending at which point I find myself yearning for the next climb!
Riding fixed is still the best though
Yeah I'm finding it interesting working out how far I travel in one crank rotation.
I suppose I should apply simple maths. 48x16 - so 3 times the circumference of the wheel. Which is 2 x pi x r...
Yep, I keep overshooting the white line so far! lol
Yearning for the next climb - I like your thinking brother!
rb58
Enigma
- Location
- Bexley, Kent
I took delivery of a proper SS/fixed wheel bike earlier this year. I wanted one for my commute into London, which is mostly flat, because it seemed pointless to be wearing out geared transmission when gears aren't needed. And because N+1 was calling; and I probably have more money than sense; and I wanted a retro (looking) bike. I'd previously bought a BSO 'fixie' off eBay as a hack bike to see if I would like it, so I had some experience.
As advised on this very forum I rode it SS to get used to it for a while, then switched it to fixed for some local rides, but back to SS for the commute. But this week I left it fixed for the first time and ventured into London traffic with a level of trepidation that I haven't experienced since I first started commuting into London about 7 or 8 years ago.
What have I learned?
Firstly, going from fixed to gears is stranger than geared to fixed. The "pedal, pedal, pedal" mantra sticks with me whichever bike I'm on.
Secondly, I'm far more aware of conditions around me, and further into the distance than on a geared bike. I think this is because I don't want to stop.
Stopping and starting requires concentration.
Leg braking isn't a natural thing for a geared-bike cyclist, but you soon get used to it. I run with front and rear brakes for esthetic reasons - drop bar retro racer - and I do use the rear brake from time to time, most notably to regulate speed on the one long down hill I have where I'm spinning at my max.
Getting the crank to the right angle for pulling away is an art which needs practice - I hold the front brake on and lean forward whilst turning the pedal which I'm clipped to. I try to do this with a casual air, although that doesn't always happen.
I don't track stand. I'm too old and fat to even try it. I'll leave that to those on Foffas or wearing white road shoes :-). (I generalise for effect - I don't mean you if you have white shoes AND ride a Foffa bike).
Riding fixed in London traffic is no harder than riding with gears. In fact, because of my heightened level of awareness, I'm probably less likely to be involved in an incident (see below).
I've attempted to coast probably once every three rides. The bike reminds me I can't do this in a far more gentle way than others have suggested above. Sure, my stomach flutters briefly, but at no time have I felt the bike was going to dump me violently on the ground. It's analogous to using clipped pedals - it's soon second nature. There are far scarier things on a London commute.
I was nervous about pedal strike and replaced the stock cranks with 165s. I don't know if that was entirely necessary, and to be honest I can't tell the difference in crank length between the fixed and the other bikes when I'm riding them anyway. But I feel reassured that if I do press on round a tight corner I'm less likely to have a problem.
Cadence is important.
30mph with my gearing is tantalisingly close (29.3mph on Friday), but spinning at 145rpm is 'entertaining'. I'm a regular participant in spin classes at the gym, which I've found have really helped me get used to a higher cadence over the years.
Do I like riding fixed? Well, yes I do. I really do. But I can't fully explain why. It might be the novelty and that will wear off, but somehow I feel more connected to the bike. I love the simplicity, which for me manifests itself as a serenely quiet ride and a much easier cleaning regime (if that's your thing). And I like the cache, and the respect other knowing riders give you. That probably makes me shallow and vain, but I'm okay with that as, generally, I am ;-)
And I feel superior. But of course, I'm not.
Postscript. Whether or not I could ever do a long ride on my fixed remains to be seen. Others of this parish, such as the Greg and User1314 who do not shy away from such epic-ness are held in awe. But I do quite fancy a FNRttC on it one day - probably Southend as that is, I think, the least hilly.
Post-postscript. I had an 'incident' on my home from work on Friday on my fixed involving an inattentive pedestrian, blood, guts and an ambulance. That would have happened just the same if I'd have had gears.
Cheers
As advised on this very forum I rode it SS to get used to it for a while, then switched it to fixed for some local rides, but back to SS for the commute. But this week I left it fixed for the first time and ventured into London traffic with a level of trepidation that I haven't experienced since I first started commuting into London about 7 or 8 years ago.
What have I learned?
Firstly, going from fixed to gears is stranger than geared to fixed. The "pedal, pedal, pedal" mantra sticks with me whichever bike I'm on.
Secondly, I'm far more aware of conditions around me, and further into the distance than on a geared bike. I think this is because I don't want to stop.
Stopping and starting requires concentration.
Leg braking isn't a natural thing for a geared-bike cyclist, but you soon get used to it. I run with front and rear brakes for esthetic reasons - drop bar retro racer - and I do use the rear brake from time to time, most notably to regulate speed on the one long down hill I have where I'm spinning at my max.
Getting the crank to the right angle for pulling away is an art which needs practice - I hold the front brake on and lean forward whilst turning the pedal which I'm clipped to. I try to do this with a casual air, although that doesn't always happen.
I don't track stand. I'm too old and fat to even try it. I'll leave that to those on Foffas or wearing white road shoes :-). (I generalise for effect - I don't mean you if you have white shoes AND ride a Foffa bike).
Riding fixed in London traffic is no harder than riding with gears. In fact, because of my heightened level of awareness, I'm probably less likely to be involved in an incident (see below).
I've attempted to coast probably once every three rides. The bike reminds me I can't do this in a far more gentle way than others have suggested above. Sure, my stomach flutters briefly, but at no time have I felt the bike was going to dump me violently on the ground. It's analogous to using clipped pedals - it's soon second nature. There are far scarier things on a London commute.
I was nervous about pedal strike and replaced the stock cranks with 165s. I don't know if that was entirely necessary, and to be honest I can't tell the difference in crank length between the fixed and the other bikes when I'm riding them anyway. But I feel reassured that if I do press on round a tight corner I'm less likely to have a problem.
Cadence is important.
30mph with my gearing is tantalisingly close (29.3mph on Friday), but spinning at 145rpm is 'entertaining'. I'm a regular participant in spin classes at the gym, which I've found have really helped me get used to a higher cadence over the years.
Do I like riding fixed? Well, yes I do. I really do. But I can't fully explain why. It might be the novelty and that will wear off, but somehow I feel more connected to the bike. I love the simplicity, which for me manifests itself as a serenely quiet ride and a much easier cleaning regime (if that's your thing). And I like the cache, and the respect other knowing riders give you. That probably makes me shallow and vain, but I'm okay with that as, generally, I am ;-)
And I feel superior. But of course, I'm not.
Postscript. Whether or not I could ever do a long ride on my fixed remains to be seen. Others of this parish, such as the Greg and User1314 who do not shy away from such epic-ness are held in awe. But I do quite fancy a FNRttC on it one day - probably Southend as that is, I think, the least hilly.
Post-postscript. I had an 'incident' on my home from work on Friday on my fixed involving an inattentive pedestrian, blood, guts and an ambulance. That would have happened just the same if I'd have had gears.
Cheers
