Fixies

[simon.r]

How is a fixed wheel bike any less maintenance than a single gear bike?...

It's surprising how quickly cheaper singlespeed freewheels can wear out - I've had three fail within a few hundred miles. Most recent one to fail was a Shimano BMX. However, the riduculously expensive White Industries freewheel on my MTB just keeps going. Apparently it's serviceable, but it hasn't needed to be touched in several thousand miles

It's not a massive job to replace them, but the consequence when they fail abruptly can be a tumble over the bars. My poor pedalling technique probably contributes, but when you put all your effort into turning the pedals after freewheeling for a bit and there's suddenly no resistance it can unbalance you to a point where you fall forward and come off the bike. (When I say 'you', I actually mean 'me' of course)

 

[Tynan]

on a decent day I ride at 20ish and if there's some effort called for 25 if chasing someone quick, with a tail wind and some serious arsing around with quick riders once every couple of months I've done stints damn near to 30, sure, that knackers me out quickly but nonetheless

I've seen one bloke on SS ever that i barely kept up with over a long stretch, christ he must have been good, I've seen a lot of very comfortable looking riders that accelerate up to 20 and perhaps a bit and that's it, stands to reason that the one cog has limits at one end or the other or indeed the middle if it's something mad

not boasting, I'm a big strong and increasingly middle aged boy that loves to try and cane it given the mood and the opportunity

 

[BlackPanther]

yes I'm pedalling like a loon, but 24-25 mph on the flat is anyone's limit

On my Dawes hybrid I can just about hit 20 on the flat.
Allez Road bike, yes agreed 25 is my limit.
Ha-Ha though. I now own a Bacchetta Strada recumbent with 650 23mm tyres and next to no wind resistance. 25mph is my cruising speed on the flat (and oh my god is it easy......I feel like a cheat!), 30 is sustainable for a 1 mile burst, and I can briefly hit 35+ on the flat......I could go a bit higher if I raised the gearing.

The downside to commuting on a recumbent though is that everyone stares at you, some point, some laugh, and occasionally some make rude comments!

 

[Ian H]

The first cyclist to break the 2 minute mile was on an ordinary of around 56".

 

[Roadrunner78]

I've went through winter thus far on mine & it's been great. That's a Scottish winter. Icy mornings etc & only switching to the MTB for snow. 29mph has been my max at around 150rpm. I recently took out my roadie which i abandoned for winter & i missed my fixie! I love the moving noise of a fixed that a road bike doesn't have, you know what i mean? Also adjusting the speed with your legs becomes a normality that i miss when i use any other bike, only using the front brake to stop quickly.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I've went through winter thus far on mine & it's been great. That's a Scottish winter. Icy mornings etc & only switching to the MTB for snow. 29mph has been my max at around 150rpm. I recently took out my roadie which i abandoned for winter & i missed my fixie! I love the moving noise of a fixed that a road bike doesn't have, you know what i mean? Also adjusting the speed with your legs becomes a normality that i miss when i use any other bike, only using the front brake to stop quickly.

My geared bike is languishing in the shed, it hasn't been used since the end of October. I'll do all my winter riding fixed, commuting and club rides. In the summer I only ride gears for the club rides, all my other riding is fixed.

 

[Ian H]

Yup. If I ned to get somewhere quickish, I'll take the fixed. I use it for some audax events, and it's taken me touring. Longest ride ever was Paris-Brest-Paris in 1999 (about 1,100 miles including there and back).

 

[ColinJ]

I have never ridden fixed, but I've watched people on fixed get up steep hills that I could never get up on the same gear on my single-speed (freewheel) bike. Part of the problem was my excess weight and lack of fitness, but I knew that there must be something else at work and I eventually realised that it is that 'flywheel' effect.

I know that I can use body weight and brute strength to turn the cranks through most of the pedal stroke, but if you imagine pedalling slowly (as you would be doing on a steep hill), it is extremely difficult to apply effective force on the pedals when they are at the 5 o'clock and 11 o'clock positions.

On fixed, the momentum of the bike would turn the cranks through each 'dead spot' on the pedal stroke, and then you would be able to stomp down again.

(In spite that of that awareness, I was still amazed on one of my forum rides to see longers do a trackstand on a 20% climb, admire the scenery, and then calmly carry on ahead of me. He must have been on about a 70 inch gear, whereas I was grovelling on 29 inches!)

 

[Ian H]

I've never quite been convinced of the flywheel effect. My suspicion is that it's a psychological flywheel. I don't, on average, go any faster uphill on fixed, just at a much lower cadence. I think I use the upper body more.

 

[Jezston]

I've never quite been convinced of the flywheel effect. My suspicion is that it's a psychological flywheel. I don't, on average, go any faster uphill on fixed, just at a much lower cadence. I think I use the upper body more.

I definitely find it MUCH easier uphill with my fixed wheel on, even at a higher gear, than my 3 speed wheel on. But that could be the 3 speed being about 1kg heavier!

 

[bonker]

Fixed is great. It's cheap, it's not difficult to get used to and it's virtually maintenance free. Fixed in traffic is not a massive problem, you just have to ride according to your skill.
I bought a Giant Bowery for £220 over three years ago. I have had the back wheel bearing replaced and 3 spokes ( well it's a Giant) and that's it.
My commute is a fairly hilly round trip of 25 miles, I do this all year round, typically 3 days a week.
The nice bikes I use for weekend rides/ triathlons have cost me a lot over that time.

 

[ColinJ]

I've never quite been convinced of the flywheel effect. My suspicion is that it's a psychological flywheel. I don't, on average, go any faster uphill on fixed, just at a much lower cadence. I think I use the upper body more.

The way to test it would be to have a flip-flop hub with same size sprocket on both the fixed and freewheel sides. Ride up a long enough, steep enough hill on fixed and see where you keel over, then do it again with the rear wheel flipped! My bet is if you did that enough times, a clear advantage for fixed would emerge. Of course, as you indicated, that could still be just a psychological advantage, but you can't do a blind test on that because you'd instantly know which way round the wheel was as soon as you started to pedal!

Interesting (long!) article - how to pedal in circles.

 

[Ian H]

Long it is, but useful. Many years ago on a club run an exhausted rider was swapped on to the back of my tandem. He was a noddy rider, head and shoulders going up and down. I discovered that the nodding went with a stair-climbing pedalling technique as the tandem proceeded by lurches.

 

[zigzag]

The way to test it would be to have a flip-flop hub with same size sprocket on both the fixed and freewheel sides. Ride up a long enough, steep enough hill on fixed and see where you keel over, then do it again with the rear wheel flipped! My bet is if you did that enough times, a clear advantage for fixed would emerge. Of course, as you indicated, that could still be just a psychological advantage, but you can't do a blind test on that because you'd instantly know which way round the wheel was as soon as you started to pedal!

i've used both setups with the same gearing for riding in and around london. i wouldn't say there is a "flywheel" effect of fixed going uphill (but certainly is going downhill!). same perceived effort with fixed and ss freewheel, ime. derailleur and especially hub gears add noticeable drag, especially felt going uphill.

 

[ColinJ]

i've used both setups with the same gearing for riding in and around london. i wouldn't say there is a "flywheel" effect of fixed going uphill (but certainly is going downhill!). same perceived effort with fixed and ss freewheel, ime. derailleur and especially hub gears add noticeable drag, especially felt going uphill.

Okay, well I defer to the voice of experience then - you guys must just have really strong legs!

I'll never be able to pedal that hard again - my ageing feet, knees and hips won't take the strain! I'll stick to low-gear spinning on the steep stuff. Or when I'm as unfit as I am at the mo' - low-gear grovelling!

I always notice how smooth-running my s/s transmission is to the transmissions on my geared bikes.

Many years ago on a club run an exhausted rider was swapped on to the back of my tandem. He was a noddy rider, head and shoulders going up and down. I discovered that the nodding went with a stair-climbing pedalling technique as the tandem proceeded by lurches.

I go like that when I'm tired. I can spin away quite smoothly when I'm feeling good, but once fatigue gets a grip, everything starts to hurt and the stair-climbing technique creeps in!