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04-18-05, 07:20 AM
i myself just took the first fixie ride of my life this morning coming to work.
the back story:
saturday after my mtb ride (where i ran into heluvastella, who i think put the final push in my head to finish this thing) i had some time and a hankering to drink a couple afternoon beers so i got to work finishing off the bike while quenshing my thirst.
couple hours and 3 beers later she was done. now the hard part; i gotta try and ride this thing.... :eek:
with the parts i had (my idiot self bought the wrong size front ring) i could only get a 42x18 gear ratio which wasn't that bad to start i figured, i would sart off gently.
so on a spin around my neighborhood i was quickly reminded of how much i usually coast. you wanna position your pedals to start? not without spinning your wheel you don't! you wanna adjust your goods on the saddle; don't try and coast or the bike will MAKE you pedal.
i felt the bucking feeling a couple times in my test-ride but it was never overwhelming, still i didn't really feel all to confident trying to get used to riding that thing. especially down hills of any steepness! after f-ing around for ten-fifteen minutes i realized how tired i was and how i was riding again tommorrow so i hung up the bike for some couch time.
fast foward to today:
this morning my legs hurt from two excellent days of trail rides, and i was just reading somewhere about the goodness of a nice easy recovery ride after a day or two of hard efforts. as i was getting ready to ride to work i think; hmmm 42x18 WOULD BE EASY.
i also think, i am never gonna ride this thing if i don't just hop on, so i bolt on a water bottle cage pump up the tires and it's off to center city.
other than the occasional feelings of getting bucked when i'd go to adjust myself on the saddle it was pretty good. since i was recovering i really just used the break for the hills and didn't really try to brake using my legs TOO MUCH... but man even with the little i did, it is kinda hard! i think it will be a while till i can safely ride without using the brakes too much, but it is also fun being able to control your speed so precisely on the flats! i can see how this type of riding has it's own thrills!
got to work was about 10 minutes slower than usual. it was mostly due to the fact that downhills now have to be gingerly ridden (my brake hand was even a little sore from so much use on my big downhill!). but it was cool. i am gonna try this for a while before i rush to judgement but, for now at least, i can still definitely see the value of coasting! :D
i'll try and post a picture tonight...
the back story:
saturday after my mtb ride (where i ran into heluvastella, who i think put the final push in my head to finish this thing) i had some time and a hankering to drink a couple afternoon beers so i got to work finishing off the bike while quenshing my thirst.
couple hours and 3 beers later she was done. now the hard part; i gotta try and ride this thing.... :eek:
with the parts i had (my idiot self bought the wrong size front ring) i could only get a 42x18 gear ratio which wasn't that bad to start i figured, i would sart off gently.
so on a spin around my neighborhood i was quickly reminded of how much i usually coast. you wanna position your pedals to start? not without spinning your wheel you don't! you wanna adjust your goods on the saddle; don't try and coast or the bike will MAKE you pedal.
i felt the bucking feeling a couple times in my test-ride but it was never overwhelming, still i didn't really feel all to confident trying to get used to riding that thing. especially down hills of any steepness! after f-ing around for ten-fifteen minutes i realized how tired i was and how i was riding again tommorrow so i hung up the bike for some couch time.
fast foward to today:
this morning my legs hurt from two excellent days of trail rides, and i was just reading somewhere about the goodness of a nice easy recovery ride after a day or two of hard efforts. as i was getting ready to ride to work i think; hmmm 42x18 WOULD BE EASY.
i also think, i am never gonna ride this thing if i don't just hop on, so i bolt on a water bottle cage pump up the tires and it's off to center city.
other than the occasional feelings of getting bucked when i'd go to adjust myself on the saddle it was pretty good. since i was recovering i really just used the break for the hills and didn't really try to brake using my legs TOO MUCH... but man even with the little i did, it is kinda hard! i think it will be a while till i can safely ride without using the brakes too much, but it is also fun being able to control your speed so precisely on the flats! i can see how this type of riding has it's own thrills!
got to work was about 10 minutes slower than usual. it was mostly due to the fact that downhills now have to be gingerly ridden (my brake hand was even a little sore from so much use on my big downhill!). but it was cool. i am gonna try this for a while before i rush to judgement but, for now at least, i can still definitely see the value of coasting! :D
i'll try and post a picture tonight...