Ever see a SS commuter..

[gbb]

There's a new guy on my block...i see him most evenings going in the opposite direction, cant work out what bike it is, but BUGGER he's fast..head down, on the drops, never seen him ride any other way...i think i'd struggle to stay with him even with gears
If i get a chance (and if i can keep up)...i'll have a chat one day.

Do you see someone occasionally and think

 

[Fab Foodie]

Sure it's SS not fixed?

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

New guy on my route in too and I can keep up with him up until a short winding climb, at which point he leaves me for dead

Yesterday he left me completely, today I hung back deliberately to let him pass before the climb (out of politeness as well as letting him be pacesetter), pushed it to keep up with him and then let him go as my legs might as well have been made by Chivers at the top, so the gentle upward slope following was horrible

It's not THAT steep a climb and v.short but he goes up it as if it's not there

 

[downfader]

Theres a guy and a girl at work on Fixies and they're the fastest riders I've ever seen uphill. I'm usually able to pass most others going up hill (in a 39/18 cog I think on the gears) by spinning madly... they're both faster.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Well, I do sometimes amaze myself...

 

[Bollo]

You mean like these chaps......

Coat is in the wash.

 

[Jezston]

well get it out and in the drier pronto!

 

[downfader]

You mean like these chaps......

Coat is in the wash.

..and you're telling me no one suspected a thing when they rode over here before the war, are we Daily Mail? LMAO!

 

[gaz]

This guy riding fixed he has perfect technique to cycling, reads the road like a god and keeps an amazing pace.
I struggle to keep up with him, and you won't hear me say that much.

 

[zigzag]

single speed bike is quicker on flat (-ish) terrain, it is only slower over steep climbs, fast descents, against strong headwind/tailwind - that's where geared bike has advantage. i had a single speed bike geared 42x15 and i was impressed how fast it was. same route seems a lot hillier on a geared bike.

 

[Tynan]

they're generally sloer so it's as much man as machine

I barely held onto someone once for a long ride home, mid 20s up to 30 in places, when I finally pulled up to him at lights I was horrified to see it was SS

thankfully I've not seen him since

 

[jimboalee]

About thirty years ago. In the windows of the shops along the Coventry Road in Small Heath. Then I noticed this guy looks just like me and is keeping up with me. Hmmmm... It IS me!

 

[Andrew_P]

Gaz, you didn't cut off the corner with him, I assume he goes back on the A23 via Mayday Road?

Impressive, consistent riding there.

 

[fossyant]

Most likely fixed if it's fast, as SS has no advantage over a geared bike. At higher cadences, the fixed will help by pushing the gear round.

I generally out run most road bikes on my 74" fixed, especially into head winds, but things get very interesting on flat tail wind sections, where someone is turning a 50/53 x 14...... I start running out of useful revs at about 24-25mph...... I rode down the A34 into Manchester with a guy on a decent road bike a few weeks about a steady 25mph..., I yelled over at one point that I was running out of gears - he yelled back - "yeh I noticed".....

 

[BrumJim]

I've found the Achilles heel of Fixie Pixies - twisty routes. They can't corner as fast as us free-wheeling types due to the risk of pedal hitting tarmac.

Unfortunately SS riders don't have that flaw, so you have to go out looking for the steepest hills you can find. Or wait until they are old and their knees are shot.