Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - 50 miles on rolling hills

I just did my 50 miler with the local bike club. I rode in the "B+" group and I was dropped at mile 30, but I was offset only by 2o minutes out of 3 hours. Hilly out there! ... but this is my first time doing a 50 miler.

Who else goes for such rides with a fixed gear?

ps: I am dead tired

I had a similar ride today - I just bought the bike last night (2002 Fuji Track).

Did 60 on the nose today, and while I didn't ride with the "A" group as I normally would, doing some attacks and a nasty 5 mile two-man effort with a friend on a geared ride to get back on the pack after helping a new rider get his bike in working order was more than enough.

My bad knee is a little sore, which I'll chalk up to the skid stop practice...going to give that a rest until I actually have an ACL :D

I just woke up for an afternoon nap, to find my sartorious and hip adductors cramping up. I've only had that happen after climbing the monster fire roads at Pisgah...gotta love the fixed gear workout.

All told, I'm hooked. I love being back on a steel bike (the ride, she's so smooth!) I like having something different than all the other roadie types. I like the pain in my legs. I love the connection with the bike. Fun stuff.

Gear inches of your rig? ... I rode 85 but after the experience, I scooted over the bike store and bought a 15 to gear 73. Too hilly for too long wasted the crappa outta meh*

*dang accent

48/16 so 78.8.

It seems like a pretty good setup so far...

i actually did a 55 today, from philly through newhope to central jersey. it was my first time riding with my new brake (i had to choose practicality over aesthetics), and damn it felt good to slow down effortlessly. regardless, i was sooo tired at the end, cause it gets pretty darn hilly once you leave philadelphia. i found though that being fixed really helped keep my momentum, in comparison to my freewheelin buddies who came along. hilly or not, it's a long way for my little bones, and i definately have more respect for the actual messengers who do like 50+ a day.

i actually did a 55 today, from philly through newhope to central jersey. it was my first time riding with my new brake (i had to choose practicality over aesthetics), and damn it felt good to slow down effortlessly. regardless, i was sooo tired at the end, cause it gets pretty darn hilly once you leave philadelphia. i found though that being fixed really helped keep my momentum, in comparison to my freewheelin buddies who came along. hilly or not, it's a long way for my little bones, and i definately have more respect for the actual messengers who do like 50+ a day.

... and you are gearing how much?

I did 75k yesterday and 50k today.

700c x 20mm, 165mm, 48 x 17 = 73.8 gear inches.

I like that gearing, since on rolling hills I can go down at some ungodly rpm (barely) and carry that momentum back up the other side. If I went with a bigger gear, I'd suffer on long hills and/or headwinds. If I went smaller (which I may once my spin improves) I'll run into trouble keeping up w/ the cranks on the downhills.

What about unclipping and recliping?

Too sketchy for S.O.P.

I did about 60 miles solo last saturday on rolling terrain (a few nasty grades though) with a 68 inch gear. I was very hungry after it was over but my legs felt fine.

Me and two buds did the shiner 90 from Austin to Shiner TX last weedend on fixies. It was pretty rough, but the admiration from all the geared bikers to us for doing it on fixes more than made up for it.

PS.Austin to Shiner is all uphill, atleat it seemed that way.

bobvass = Although it was my first long range ride in one sitting, I felt the admiration and respect - or perhaps astonishment at my dumbness - for doing the whole thing in a fixed gear. They kept asking me if I had a geared bike.

"Nope ... maybe next year"

Probably I will get a more efficient fixed rather than a geared bike, but please do not tell them. ;)

I predict you're going to fall in love with the 73 gear inch swap.

All of my riding around here is on rolling hills. Damn glaciers... The biggest trick, short of having the right gearing, is to climb fast or walk. On a fixie, it's almost backwards of standard logic to coast quickly downhill and gear down to crawl up the climbs. I try to climb as fast as possible to keep the cadence up (running 74 gear inches) and take it a bit easier on the downhills to let my legs rest a bit.

:eek: :eek: 85 inches in Chester Co. !?!?! Thats Super Human :eek:
Im rolling 73 here...there are a lot of hills.
Ive only had to walk once but it was at a 22mile
point of a ride that had some serious hills. I think maybe
if I was just a touch stronger and me feet didnt hurt as
bad as they did I could have gotten up. I very comfortable
riding the fixie anywhere now but coming down big hills is still
something I have to work on. I still have a little too much trouble
trying to keep up the spin.

That is what they said .... there are hills and hills, with 85 I was going 37 miles an hour downhill .... CLIPPED!

But the climbing sucked, yet I did not walk.

Next time I'll report with the 73.8 gear inches ...

BTW ... I went to Philly and back today on a recovery ride on my new mellow gear. It was nice to roll at my own pace. Any attempt to pump the speed resulted in massive muscle burn on the way in. On the way out it was a different story ... eheh!