New to Fixed wheel

[Spiderweb]

I’ve just bought a second hand Giant Bowery fixed/single speed (flip flop hub) bike and was looking for any advice/ tips on riding the bike, I’ve never ridden fixed but always wanted to give it a go. Also any opinions on the bike itself, anyone ridden a Bowery?
Thanks all in advance.

Edit - the gearing is 48t x 16t fixed with 170mm cranks.

How tight should the chain be? when I collected the bike the chain definitely felt too tight, there was resistance when turning the cranks, I’ve adjusted the tension bolts on the drop outs and it feels much smoother now.

 

[biggs682]

Looks nice bike @Spiderweb
I enjoy my singlespeed bikes and i like giving the fixed set up but i just prefer the singlespeed more , my advice would be to just get out there and try it
The Bowery's always look nice to me but never ridden one

 

[rogerzilla]

You get used to controlling the bike by altering torque rather than cadence or gearing. Pedalling while braking takes some getting used to.

Fixies excel uphill because they keep the pedals turning for you; you just hsve to push and pull. Downhill they can be a handful, so keep your ankles moving and, for short steep downhills, try and apply a bit of power as this makes it easier to keep up. Sit up straight on long hills to increase air drag, and be wary of overheating brakes which could pop a tyre off the rim. Alternate between front and rear, if you run two brakes.

A gear around 70" (48 x 18) is a good starting point but something slightly lower is preferable for winter. Pushing a big gear into a gale is no fun.

 

[DCLane]

Ah! So it was you who outbid me

 

[Spiderweb]

You get used to controlling the bike by altering torque rather than cadence or gearing. Pedalling while braking takes some getting used to.

Fixies excel uphill because they keep the pedals turning for you; you just hsve to push and pull. Downhill they can be a handful, so keep your ankles moving and, for short steep downhills, try and apply a bit of power as this makes it easier to keep up. Sit up straight on long hills to increase air drag, and be wary of overheating brakes which could pop a tyre off the rim. Alternate between front and rear, if you run two brakes.

A gear around 70" (48 x 18) is a good starting point but something slightly lower is preferable for winter. Pushing a big gear into a gale is no fun.

The gearing is 48t x 16t fixed, I was thinking that could be a little tough on even the smallest hillocks. (I’m not great up hills!).

 

[Spiderweb]

Ah! So it was you who outbid me

Really?
It was a really good price, daylight robbery almost, you should have bid more.

He had a stunning Ron Kitching recently refinished by Bob Jackson, unfortunately he has no plans to sell that.

 

[rogerzilla]

That's rather high for general knocking about, although it will work ok and some people like 48 x 16 as a general gear. 48 x 18 (70" on 700c) is the classic medium gear, though.

 

[DCLane]

Really?
It was a really good price, daylight robbery almost, you should have bid more.

Possibly, but it was a punt rather than major interest. In the end I probably just cost you a cup of coffee's worth more

Enjoy the bike. Single speed doesn't work that well in the hills around me so it'd have been for summer holiday use.

 

[Venod]

Ride it on the freewheel side for a while but try not to freewheel, get used to pushing a bigger gear up hill than you would with a geared set up, downhill keep pedalling with the freewheel to see how fast your legs need to be going on fixed, when you think you are ready flip the wheel and enjoy the purist form of cycling you will ever encounter, I used to love fixed but it doesn't love me in old age.

 

[Spiderweb]

Ride it on the freewheel side for a while but try not to freewheel, get used to pushing a bigger gear up hill than you would with a geared set up, downhill keep pedalling with the freewheel to see how fast your legs need to be going on fixed, when you think you are ready flip the wheel and enjoy the purist form of cycling you will ever encounter, I used to love fixed but it doesn't love me in old age.

That’s a good plan, Definitely freewheel for the first few rides.

 

[Profpointy]

That’s a good plan, Definitely freewheel for the first few rides.

Not convinced - for me at least it’s The fixiness that gives the appeal rather than only having one gear. you can get the latter simply by not changing gear on a normal geared. Ike after all

 

[Milkfloat]

The one major fixed wheel rule is ‘don’t forget to pedal’. At some point you will try and freewheel, but you will get some instant feedback to remind you.

On chain tension, you will need to experiment, you really don’t want it too slack. You will find that the tension changes throughout the rotation of the chain ring. You want to have it just loose enough at the tightest point, for me that is a maximum of 2cm of up and down wiggle on the chain at it's slackest point.

Enjoy the ride.

 

[rogerzilla]

The chain should be as tight as possible without actually binding at any point. It helps to accurately centre the chainring on its spider (see Sheldon) to minimise variations in tension. An unshipped chain on a fixie can have very bad consequences if it gets caught kn the pedal spindle.

If there is visible slack, it's not right.

 

[Spiderweb]

Can anyone advise on the best procedure for removing the back wheel please.

 

[Ian H]

Just ride it. After a while you get the hang of it.

On hills I find there's an optimum pace where you can roll the gear without unnecessary effort (up to a certain steepness, then it becomes a matter of power).

Downhill, try to get used to high cadence (I used to be able to exceed 200rpm, but my pensioner legs struggle beyond 160 now).

Currently I'm riding a 63" gear. In summer I can swap to 67". Early-season time-trials were often run on medium gear (72"); I wouldn't go higher than that on the road.