Fixed gear in a hilly area.

[jazzkat]

Sorry for the late reply, I've only just noticed this.
Fixed for me in the South Lakes, it's quite lumpy here and I ride anything on it except the big passes (Hardknott, wrynose, etc) on fixed.
I'm riding on 74 inches (48/17) gearing and cope with everything so far! Gearing is the key issue, you'll get up anything with the right gearing and as others have said it's a compromise with coming down the other side!

 

[clarion]

Prompted by this, I went out on my S3X this morning. Cracking ride!

 

[fossala]

To update I picked up a All-city thunderdome and have rode it twice to work and back (26 hilly miles) and it's been fine. I'm riding 48/17 and the only hill that nearly beats me is the one just outside work but it must be at least 15% (think closer to 20%).

What has surprised me is that I'm faster on the fixed than the brompton (s6l) or moulton (TSR with campy record).

 

[Ian H]

I'll stick to my 43x17 (approx 67"). It's got me round many long rides and I've never been noticeably slower, either uphill or down, than geared companions.

 

[jazzkat]

What has surprised me is that I'm faster on the fixed

Another enlightened soul.

 

[Old Plodder]

I used to ride a 63" around Kent, Surrey & Sussex, which are quite hilly.

 

[al-fresco]

Welsh borders with a 69" gear. I choose my routes with care though!

 

[The PainGiver]

Ive just got my first fixie, is 44/16 and its fairly hilly sound where i live but so far ive been faster on it than i am my geared racer , ive yet to try 10% + hills but everything else seems to be easier .
Ive only been riding it a week and have seen my average shoot up to 17.2 from 15.2 at the beginning of the week.
My average at best on my geared racer round the same roads is only 17 !
So im a convert!

 

[The PainGiver]

But this morning i ruined myself, did 22 miles which is twice as far as id done on my fixie , which is now a week old, lol and chucked in three 4% hills all over a mile long,i got second and third bests on then ,the other times set on my racer, but at the top of the third one i was spent and crawled the last five miles home like a dog licking its wounds!! i think it might take a few weeks for my body to learn to cope with it!

I did manage 35 miles and hour down hill, screaming like a girl all the way!

 

[Smurfy]

Three speed fixed sounds rubbish. The direct drive gear is in the wrong position to be really useful, and you lose the connection because the hub has too much backlash

 

[jazzkat]

But this morning i ruined myself, did 22 miles which is twice as far as id done on my fixie , which is now a week old, lol and chucked in three 4% hills all over a mile long,i got second and third bests on then ,the other times set on my racer, but at the top of the third one i was spent and crawled the last five miles home like a dog licking its wounds!! i think it might take a few weeks for my body to learn to cope with it!

I did manage 35 miles and hour down hill, screaming like a girl all the way!

Ha ha, don't worry you'll soon get stronger, I did.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

flip-flop hub is the answer; one side for up, the other for down.

tours de france used to be done thusly...

 

[jazzkat]

flip-flop hub is the answer; one side for up, the other for down.

tours de france used to be done thusly...

Blimey, if I did that around here I'd spend more time spinning my spanner than I would the pedals

 

[Ian H]

Blimey, if I did that around here I'd spend more time spinning my spanner than I would the pedals

Yup. The only time I've turned the wheel round on a ride was when I stripped the 18 and was forced to continue on the 17.

 

[DaveyA]

Sorry this is not exactly on topic, but I have a question about your previous post Ian H.
I am a potential newbie convert to s/s. I was wondering how you manage the chain length when swapping between 17 and 18. Is there enough movement in the dropout or do you need to have a tensioner? The reason I ask is that I am building a s/s and feel that a similar arrangement of 17 and 18 might be a good idea for me.
Sorry again for the off topic-ness.