+/- of riding SS

[palinurus]

... those of us who are forgiving of a little slop ride easier knowing we’re not as likely to be sitting on a potential catapult.

More like an out-of-control skidoo than a catapult.

 

[palinurus]

Fixed going wrong and SS going wrong are usually several orders of hurt apart.

Higher probability of retaining fingertips with SS.

 

[anothersam]

More like an out-of-control skidoo than a catapult.

I’m happy to stand corrected, though the catapult provides a more awesomely terrifying mental image.

 

[ColinJ]

More like an out-of-control skidoo than a catapult.

My one experience of 'fixed' was in a local gym - a long warm-up on a stationary bike which had a massive flywheel (when I say 'massive', I mean it - probably 20-30 kgs of shiny metal mass!). After about 20 minutes of high-cadence spinning I decided to get off and transfer to the Concept2 rowing machine. I completely forgot that I couldn't freewheel... The damn machine kicked me clear out of the saddle and almost tore my legs off!

It put me off trying fixed on the road...

 

[anothersam]

Almost forgot: A Freewheeling Manifesto

 

[palinurus]

My one experience of 'fixed' was in a local gym - a long warm-up on a stationary bike which had a massive flywheel (when I say 'massive', I mean it - probably 20-30 kgs of shiny metal mass!). After about 20 minutes of high-cadence spinning I decided to get off and transfer to the Concept2 rowing machine. I completely forgot that I couldn't freewheel... The damn machine kicked me clear out of the saddle and almost tore my legs off!

It put me off trying fixed on the road...

I expect the kick from a spin bike is worse! On those few occasions when I try to freewheel (it really doesn't happen that often) I'll feel a bit of a kick from the pedals but it's difficult to resist the momentum of the bike and drivetrain so it's momentary only, it's disconcerting since briefly the cranks are pulling your legs around and there's a bit of deceleration but it's not easy to stop the back wheel from turning- you need to really lock your legs in position, it takes a determined approach.

 

[ColinJ]

I expect the kick from a spin bike is worse! On those few occasions when I try to freewheel (it really doesn't happen that often) I'll feel a bit of a kick from the pedals but it's difficult to resist the momentum of the bike and drivetrain so it's momentary only, it's disconcerting since briefly the cranks are pulling your legs around and there's a bit of deceleration but it's not easy to stop the back wheel from turning- you need to really lock your legs in position, it takes a determined approach.

If I lived somewhere with decent road surfaces, low traffic volumes and no tough climbs/fast descents then I probably would give fixed a go. I just can't stand the thought of swerving round potholes in traffic (assuming that bunnyhopping them would be a problem on fixed?) and I really don't fancy a cadence of 180-200 rpm or having to brake hard down every descent!

 

[palinurus]

If I lived somewhere with decent road surfaces, low traffic volumes and no tough climbs/fast descents then I probably would give fixed a go. I just can't stand the thought of swerving round potholes in traffic (assuming that bunnyhopping them would be a problem on fixed?) and I really don't fancy a cadence of 180-200 rpm or having to brake hard down every descent!

My commute is undulating but not hilly. I have ridden in hilly areas on fixed but I had two brakes fitted at the time- my legs don't go round very quick.

 

[ColinJ]

My commute is undulating but not hilly. I have ridden in hilly areas on fixed but I had two brakes fitted at the time- my legs don't go round very quick.

I have seen very fit riders on fixed tackle 15-20% climbs, which amazed me. I have also seen them do descents at crazy cadences. Not for me!

I would like fixed with a clutch mechanism, if a safe one could be developed. Ride it as fixed most of the time but use the clutch to enable freewheeling for fast descents...

Hmm... THIS sounds like an interesting bodge - a 37 inch gear with a freewheel, and a choice of 70 inch and 94 inch fixed gears!

 

[palinurus]

I have seen very fit riders on fixed tackle 15-20% climbs, which amazed me. I have also seen them do descents at crazy cadences. Not for me!

I would like fixed with a clutch mechanism, if a safe one could be developed. Ride it as fixed most of the time but use the clutch to enable freewheeling for fast descents...

Hmm... THIS sounds like an interesting bodge - a 37 inch gear with a freewheel, and a choice of 70 inch and 94 inch fixed gears!

Years ago I was watching an old bike on eBay with a fixed-free hub- a quick search didn't throw up any hits- I think it was operated with a lever via a toggle chain.

There's this also.

Also there's the SRAM torpedo fixed-free hub, there's a screw on the hub to select the mode.

 

[fossala]

If I lived somewhere with decent road surfaces, low traffic volumes and no tough climbs/fast descents then I probably would give fixed a go. I just can't stand the thought of swerving round potholes in traffic (assuming that bunnyhopping them would be a problem on fixed?) and I really don't fancy a cadence of 180-200 rpm or having to brake hard down every descent!

I bunny hopped on fixed a few months back. I was descending a hill on Dartmoor during an overnight ride, noticed a large hole at the last second. I had no other option.

While it is possible, I'd only bunny hop on a fixed as a last resort.

 

[palinurus]

Hmm... THIS sounds like an interesting bodge - a 37 inch gear with a freewheel, and a choice of 70 inch and 94 inch fixed gears!

That's great. I like the disclaimer: "This is a highly-advanced hack! Do not attempt it unless you have great confidence in your metalworking and mechanical ability"

 

[ColinJ]

I bunny hopped on fixed a few months back. I was descending a hill on Dartmoor during an overnight ride, noticed a large hole at the last second. I had no other option.

While it is possible, I'd only bunny hop on a fixed as a last resort.

Yikes - that is exactly the kind of scenario that I fear!

I have bunny hopped to safety a few times** and it doesn't seem like it would be an easy/safe thing to do on fixed.



**An example was when large chunks of waste material suddenly fell from a skip wagon that I was riding behind.

 

[swee'pea99]

Just stumbled across this most excellent thread.

Having crashed my fixie seven months ago, and now with a couple of months of geared riding under my belt, I'm just happy to be cycling again.

Having said which. I miss my fixie.

Bunny hopping and farting, the two things I struggle with when riding fixed.

I don't actually know what bunny hopping is. I can guess, but I never did it, gears or no. I commuted mostly, so I knew every hole on the route. Into the middle of London for a decade or more.

My fixie was my bike. I had other bikes, but they were my other bikes.

Hills would rule out a fixie in many parts of the country, I would think. I ride almost entirely in London, which is basically flat. Having said which, I live at the bottom of a pretty big hill. What are the chances? Potholes are the big hazard. I can't bunny hop them on any bike. I look out for them, and avoid them as best I can. It can be unnerving riding unfamiliar roads that suddenly become crap. Add rain and cycling becomes Not Fun very quickly. I loved to commute, because I knew the route so well. On unfamiliar roads I think things can be a bit less fun.

I completely forgot that I couldn't freewheel... The damn machine kicked me clear out of the saddle and almost tore my legs off!

Yeah, they will do that! I generally forget when I let my mind wander coming off a speed bump. It's kind of like the clipless moment of fixie-riding - everyone does it now and then. Or at least I've always assumed everyone does...maybe it's just me. Kicks like a mule!

Of course the flipside, and the fixie difference, is that you brake using your legs. The front brake is there for backup, and for going down hills, but basically you control the machine with your legs, directly, at all times.

More than any other bike I felt like I was wearing the bike rather than riding it

...pretty much nails it.

I have three bikes, and while I enjoy riding both the carbon and the geared steel-frame I'm riding now, riding the fixie is different. That directness. Reduces riding in and with traffic to its essence: anticipation, anticipation, anticipation.

I don't know. It is different. I do miss it. I will return to it as soon as I am able.

But mostly it's good to be back on a bike. And I can fart at my leisure.

Ride on.

 

[rogerzilla]

A few weeks ago, a couple of us ground up Dragon Hill Road (to Uffington White Horse) just to see if it could be done on fixed. It can. Then my mate's fixie rewarded him for his silly idea by giving him a front wheel snakebite puncture on the cattle grid on the descent.

I've finished the Dunwich Dynamo on fixed in 2008 (for a bet), 2012 and 2019. It was always easier than on gears.