First time over 30
- Thread starter RedBike
- Start date
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MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
longers said:After reading about Big Steev and flat pedals I had a go at being brave on the hill this morning. 25mph really was the limit for me without being clipped in.
Interestingly, or not, my left foot felt fairly secure but my right one was very hard to keep on the pedal
so you need clips on one foot only? you could be starting a new hipster fashion trend here
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Blimey, I'd not like to pedal downhill on fixed without being clipped in. Can do 33 on a 74" gear - about 160 rpm. That's the absolute limit for my legs, just before the bolts come loose and my knees ping down the road.
OP
OP
RedBike
New Member
- Location
- Beside the road
MacB said:
I have a large scar on the back of my leg from where I tried my fixed gear MTB with flat pedals. Never again.
BigSteev
Senior Member
Couple of things. Firstly, as MacB points out I ride flats on everything (in fact I just did my first track session at Calshot and had to be clipped in which did feel a bit odd - speedplays in case you're wondering). Secondly, I do run brakes on my road fixed, and thirdly, there aren't any major hills on most of the routes I use it on. On hills I tend to use a fair amount of back pressure to control my speed until I reach a point where I can see that it's clear to let it run. Other than that it's business as usual.
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
Surely the counter arguement to that is, if you wreck at high speed your legs are still attached to fast spinning pedals?
I ride flats on my fixed, I can see why others prefer clipless or track pedals (mine are actually track pedals with the cage removed) though. Whatever you feel most confident on is best.
I ride flats on my fixed, I can see why others prefer clipless or track pedals (mine are actually track pedals with the cage removed) though. Whatever you feel most confident on is best.
BigSteev
Senior Member
No problem Longers, I didn't detect any criticism and I'm quite used to people being skeptical about flats and fixed riding. It's just that coming from a BMX background, being attached just feels very odd to me and I can't actually remember the last time I slipped a pedal. I'm using Fly Rubens Graphites (they're plastic!!) on it at the moment and they grip my Vans amazingly well.
Just for the record I was going to give 30 a go on the way home. There's a small downhill but going fast involves filtering the inevitable traffic queue on the outside (there's lights at the bottom) and unfortunately the lad on the 50cc scooter in front of me was a bit of a pussy and I had to hold back a bit. I took revenge on the bus lane after the lights passing him while he struggled to reach his top speed. My speedo showed 29.79 as my highest speed so hopefully with a bit clearer road tomorrow, I should beat the 30 barrier.
Just for the record I was going to give 30 a go on the way home. There's a small downhill but going fast involves filtering the inevitable traffic queue on the outside (there's lights at the bottom) and unfortunately the lad on the 50cc scooter in front of me was a bit of a pussy and I had to hold back a bit. I took revenge on the bus lane after the lights passing him while he struggled to reach his top speed. My speedo showed 29.79 as my highest speed so hopefully with a bit clearer road tomorrow, I should beat the 30 barrier.
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
interesting, thanks guys, I had a look at those Fly Rubens, they look the same as my metal ones. I may try a set as the black seems to be coming off mine. Hopefully a plastic set will retain the colour as they wear, plus I think one of mine weighs more than a pair of those
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
longers said:
Not at all from where im standing
Im new to this road cycling business and I tried clipless since its the way forward according to the majority (and I dont doubt it is in terms of performance), but after a spill which managed to bend my drops, some other close calls and generally feeling unsafe, a burden to traffic (due to flase starts trying to clip in) I didnt feel like riding my road bike (that I'd pretty much bankrupted myself to buy
) very much, it put me off riding it, I'm now looking at buying some double sided pedals, or maybe some track pedals for it. With my fixed I had track pedals with cages, they also irritated me (because they werent rigid enough and collapsed when foot removed, hence struggled to re-insert) so I removed the cages and I ride on the flat side, sometimes you get on bottom and its unconfy for a moment but just flip pedal and its sorted, I feel confident riding it like that.
So I concluded to myself that in the persuit of increased efficiency, if your percieved loss in confidence/enjoyment is greater than perceived gain in performance, I'd settle with less performance with increased enjoyment.
BigSteev
I too used to ride a mountain bike with flats all my teen years, and a bmx for commuting while doing my undergrad, so I guess im just used to not feeling attached to the bike the same way you are.
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
hah, my purchase of a cheap cycle computer has shamed me, I think I chickened out at about 24-25mph due to risk of faceplant through potholes! Must equip helmet and find nice stretch to hit at least 30mph before I can consider myself a worthy cyclist 
Im running a pretty low gear so should be able to manage some nice top end if I can get over the fear of nailing a pedestrian walking into the cycle lane while not paying attention. Cycle computer was indeed a dangerous purchase.
Im running a pretty low gear so should be able to manage some nice top end if I can get over the fear of nailing a pedestrian walking into the cycle lane while not paying attention. Cycle computer was indeed a dangerous purchase.