Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - need for speed

yesterday, as i was riding to the grocery store, i came upon a guy riding a mountain bike that was making a clinking noise as he pedaled. he was going at a moderate pace and coasting. i easily passed him at a casual cadence. all of a sudden i hear the clinking speed up. he was tearing ass trying to get past me, ad eventually did. all i could do was laugh and i'm pretty sure it offended him. he was desperately trying to keep up a breakneck cadence and was barely in front of me. this got me to thinking...

i run 49x18 now, but i sort of miss the top end of 46x16. it's good* for my 16 mile roundtrip commute through the aptly named wellesley hills and for tooling around, but i'm not exactly blowing by people at 80 rpm.

i'll probably end up going with a higher gear once i get around to building up a commuter, but it's not really an option now. i have 2 serious climbs each way that leave my legs numb by the time i get to the top - to the point that it's really difficult to get my spin back up. i'm sure i'll get used to them with time, and probably experience a higher top end as my thighs grow to the size of frozen turkeys.

In the Roadie forum, we call "that guy on a mtb." THE KNAVE. Do a search for the Knave chronicles. The Knave is the Nathan Fabian of the road forum.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=151356&highlight=knave
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=161536&highlight=knave
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=151369&highlight=knave

here's a pic of the Knave on his mtb.
http://hipcycler.zoto.com/img/45/e71c32be17770fc1ea0e0700f8e3271d-.jpg

ha ha. yeah i wasn't sure what his bag was. i was beat from getting up early from work and riding all day so i couldn't have possibly looked like i was trying to pass him. i was sort of preoccupied with how low his saddle was and how bent his knees were, i mean that **** hurts.

spin faster. 26-27mph isn't unreasonable with your current gearing and i'd wager that mountain bike guy wasn't going that fast.

I'm running about 68 gear inches right now. I really don't miss the top end that much and it's a lot easier to climb and slow down on.

In the Roadie forum, we call "that guy on a mtb." THE KNAVE. Do a search for the Knave chronicles. The Knave is the Nathan Fabian of the road forum.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=151356&highlight=knave
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=161536&highlight=knave
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=151369&highlight=knave

here's a pic of the Knave on his mtb.
http://hipcycler.zoto.com/img/45/e71c32be17770fc1ea0e0700f8e3271d-.jpg


This is precisely why i went w/ a fixed gear over a road bike

I'm running about 68 gear inches right now. I really don't miss the top end that much and it's a lot easier to climb and slow down on.

+1...i'm at about 66 inches now, and i agree with marqueemoon.

spin faster. 26-27mph isn't unreasonable with your current gearing and i'd wager that mountain bike guy wasn't going that fast.

yeah, i've only been riding it a couple of months so i'm still getting used to spinning faster. watching knaves go all out is funny as hell.

by far, the best example of writing i have seen yet on bike forums (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=151356&highlight=knave). some funny ****.

by far, the best example of writing i have seen yet on bike forums (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=151356&highlight=knave). some funny ****.

And when you say "best," you of course mean "most stilted and unfunny."

i did the same thing the other day, but i was walking. this guy was riding his bike on the sidewalk (common in japan) and went by me. he came to a hill and shifted about as low as he could. i was late for work so i was walking quickly, but still walking. i actually passed the biker at one point and when he noticed me he started pedaling like hell to beat me. once he got in front, he slowed down again. i would have passed him a second time if the road didn't flatten out. i laughed.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ghlight=knave).

Frankie say Relax when I ride so no competition with
anyone, so Im sort of biased, but....Who is gonna gloat
over dropping an MTB rider when you are on a road bike, anyway ?
"Wow guys !! You shoulda seen the 65lb old lady I beat up on the way
into football practice today cuz she looked at me wrong" :rolleyes:

Who is gonna gloat
over dropping an MTB rider when you are on a road bike, anyway ?
"Wow guys !! You shoulda seen the 65lb old lady I beat up on the way
into football practice today cuz she looked at me wrong" :rolleyes:
Seriously. That story would make sense if the guy was on a chrome pista with a wool jersey and knickers, but it was a dude with a sweatshirt and a mountain bike. Sorry.

hrmmm... This thread started out, albeit it with a condescending tone, talking about gearing and ratios, etc. it's now turned into another thread about mocking others, blah blah.

*sigh*

I *heart* my bike. let everybody else to the same. don't rag on people.