Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - a day on the gearie...

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View Full Version : a day on the gearie...


humancongereel
06-27-07, 05:57 PM
is really weird after a year of nothing but fixed riding. i can't get into the clips very quickly, i clipped a pedal twice today cuz i forgot to coast through turns, i felt a general lack of control, and when i coasted, i had to remind myself i was still on a bike, still needing to, you know...be mindful, cuz as soon as my legs stopped moving, my mind shifted to "off the bike" mode.

it kind of reminds me of what a lot of people say it's like to learn to ride fixed.

i guess, on the upside, i was flying. i guess i oughta up the gear ratio on my fix.


el twe
06-27-07, 06:02 PM
Give it another day or two, you'll be hooked.

musicsucks
06-27-07, 06:49 PM
while my bike is on the shop i've been on my gf's flat-pedaled, too-small, full susepension mtb. It's pretty nice, but the exact opposite as my bike. i can't stand it. i keep failing at track standing.


whoosh!
06-27-07, 06:50 PM
never look back...


ahem, err... what?

morbot
06-27-07, 06:57 PM
i switched to my road bike while my fixed awaits a new wheel build, it is quite nice being able to coast.

oh, and skitching is so much fun. im constantly on the lookout for cars to skitch, the best is slow-accelerating trucks just starting up from a light.

the pope
06-27-07, 07:05 PM
coasting does feel good. i'm having a conversion powdercoated right now and seriously considering risers and a coaster brake.

i have a san jose with a flip flop so i can fix anytime. that being said, fixed on trails is fun and all but you just can't beat the coast bombing down a windy dirt path that you just sweated your way up.

humancongereel
06-27-07, 07:11 PM
yeah, i'm going to give it some time...i think an even mix of road, fixed, and mtb will be best.

i can say...ha ha...my partner and i were riding out of downtown today, and she said "hey, you can trackstand better on a road bike than i can on a track bike!" ha ha...it was like some sort of weird validation. i'm still 50/50 on lights, and i have no grace in mounting/dismounting.

i may ride it for the jumpinships.

oh, yeah, and i feel loads more comfortable skitching with a freewheel, i'll do that with my ss mtb, too (fixed now, but free on the other side, which i'll use once i get the brakes adjusted right).

roadfix
06-27-07, 07:13 PM
After finishing a hilly double century over the weekend on a fixed gear and truely regret doing it on a fixed, I ordered an ENO freecog to put on the flip side...:D

veggiemafia
06-27-07, 07:17 PM
I uhh...ride my road bike more than I ride my fixed gears this summer...

and I....oh God...I uhhh....wear lycra.

My shame.

roadfix
06-27-07, 07:18 PM
I uhh...ride my road bike more than I ride my fixed gears this summer...

and I....oh God...I uhhh....wear lycra.

My shame.

Nothing to be ashamed about, my son. I wear lycra, regardless......even on my mountain bike.

humancongereel
06-27-07, 07:23 PM
After finishing a hilly double century over the weekend on a fixed gear and truely regret doing it on a fixed, I ordered an ENO freecog to put on the flip side...:D


i dunno, the worst thing i found about doing a d.c. on a f.g was...well, there was saddle sore...but otherwise, just pacing...it was tough to ride people because i just found one pace i liked and stayed at that pace.

kjohnnytarr
06-27-07, 07:31 PM
coasting does feel good. i'm having a conversion powdercoated right now and seriously considering risers and a coaster brake.



Do be careful with that. Push a coaster too hard, and it'll fail.

roadfix
06-27-07, 07:34 PM
i dunno, the worst thing i found about doing a d.c. on a f.g was...well, there was saddle sore...but otherwise, just pacing...it was tough to ride people because i just found one pace i liked and stayed at that pace.I was fine with my saddle all day, and riding solo for much of the way at my pace was fine.........it was all those miles of long descents which were tiring on my hands from constant braking, coupled with the high rate of spinning which drove me absolutely nuts. I was running 69 inches due to all the climbing I had to do.

the pope
06-27-07, 07:39 PM
yeah, i know. i don't know what to do with that thought, exactly. spent the first thirteen years of my life riding coaster brakes super hard and never had a problem or dream they could fail. now suddenly they can kill you. go figure.

br995
06-27-07, 07:52 PM
I uhh...ride my road bike more than I ride my fixed gears this summer...

and I....oh God...I uhhh....wear lycra.

My shame. I just got a Madone 5.2, do group rides with roadies/tri guys, and honestly want to get a lot of stuff from here (http://runningfunky.com/productdetail.aspx?product=40).

doofo
06-27-07, 07:54 PM
I just got a Madone 5.2, do group rides with roadies/tri guys, and honestly want to get a lot of stuff from here (http://runningfunky.com).


if you get anything from that site i will take up a collection to pay for a bikerfox style studio shoot

Az B
06-27-07, 08:31 PM
I uhh...ride my road bike more than I ride my fixed gears this summer...

and I....oh God...I uhhh....wear lycra.

My shame.

I wear lycra on my fixie. Bibs even.

My wife calls them my 'rasslin togs.

I put baggy shorts over them so no one knows.

Except me.

And now you.

Az

veggiemafia
06-28-07, 06:33 AM
I just got a Madone 5.2, do group rides with roadies/tri guys, and honestly want to get a lot of stuff from here (http://runningfunky.com/productdetail.aspx?product=40).

I dunno 'bout that there. I don't need to call any additional attention to my crotch.

*insert joke here*

gfrance
06-28-07, 08:16 AM
My geared road bike has been in the shop now for about four months (paint) and I miss it. All the fixed riding is taking a toll on my right knee. I do expect it to feel real weird when I finally get it back.

remorashadow
06-28-07, 12:21 PM
It always messes me up after I ride fixed a lot then go back to my roadie and try to backpedal to stop, then realize I can coast again...feels so weird.

deathhare
06-28-07, 12:25 PM
coasting is kinda scary.

Suttree
06-28-07, 12:36 PM
every time I ride my geared bike all I notice
is how much I love that frame--got it cheap
and it rocks.

dblock
06-28-07, 12:42 PM
the best is being at the top of a big ass hill and just letting gravity do the rest

freebird
06-28-07, 01:30 PM
The best is clicking into the 52-11 and hammering down that hill at 45mph.

wroomwroomoops
06-28-07, 01:53 PM
yeah, i know. i don't know what to do with that thought, exactly. spent the first thirteen years of my life riding coaster brakes super hard and never had a problem or dream they could fail. now suddenly they can kill you. go figure.

Yeah, LOL. If there's a brake type that never fails, it has to be coaster. Or so I thought up until now. Time to get worried, huh? Be afraid, be very afraid, coaster brakes will disintegrate if you, uh, push them too much? Umm....

nakedsushi
06-28-07, 02:15 PM
coasting is kinda scary.

That's what it felt like when I got onto my geared bike after a month or so of riding only fixed. I had a panic attack the first time the bike started to coast because I couldn't feel the tension of my chain.

SpiderMike
06-28-07, 04:23 PM
Sometime it feels like I shaved pounds off my fixed rig after riding my geared road bike. I know it is all in my head, but it just seems that way.