Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - fixed gear ride across the country - insane?

hey all-

this summer i am riding across the country with a program called bike and build (www.bikeandbuild.org), and i'm kind of considering doing it on a fixed gear. would that be insane? has anyone else ever thought of doing it? the trip is supported, so i don't have to carry any gear on my bike. i guess i'd want to bring a few different sized cogs along, too, to plan ahead for hilly days vs. flat days.

the other thing i'm thinking is maybe i'll do it ss. ss definitely is not as fun as fixed, but my experience is that sometimes, i just really want to coast (as shameful as that is, i know :-P ).

any thoughts? thanks!

p.s. fyi, the purpose of the trip is to raise money and awareness for affordable housing issues and efforts such as Habitat for Humanity. we stop in small towns along the way to rest and talk to the folks about the affordable housing issue, and also about bikes. before the trip, every rider (there are 30) raises $4,000, and at the end of the trip we will write a huge check to the Providence (where the trip starts) chapter of Habitat to bankroll a student built home. if anyone would like to support the cause, definitely let me know! thanks!

Go fixie or go home!!! :p

No question, it's insane.

GO FOR IT!!!

But I'd be prepared to change your mind if you start having knee trouble.

you have to be realistic. i love my fixed gear bike, but it gets old after about 30 miles. you'll be riding across the COUNTRY. this is a huge country. there will be days where it will be pouring rain, strong headwinds, huge hills, etc... i think it will be tough enough; going fixed seems to just add an uncessary burden. don't want to burst your bubble, just my opinion.

No question, it's insane.

GO FOR IT!!!

But I'd be prepared to change your mind if you start having knee trouble.
I agree with this one. Bring a freewheel and at least a front brake. Sure it's not do or die, but who cares?

Well, I just got done with 165 miles in 2 days on my fixed (I'll write up a report in another thread) so I actually might have some insight.
Different cogs - yes, duh, the rockies are different than the plains.
Brakes- I'd run front and rear if you're going to run fixed, especially in the hills. You'll find that you need to slow yourself down when going down hill. At some speed things don't just start to get uncomfortable (spinning 160 or so) but start to get dangerous as far as bike handling goes, remember, you're ALWAYS pedaling, even in fast rough downhill corners. Most of your braking is done with your front brake, but you really don't want to risk loosing it halfway down a 4 mile hill when you're already spinning like mad, you may be beyond the point where you can effectively controll your speed with your legs. I actually found out over the past two days that it's not the uphills that were beating me up, I can handle those just by pedaling harder, but the downhills, they were really rough on my legs, which leads me to my next suggestion.
Freewheel- I never wanted for different gearing (42-16) but I did want for a freewheel a time or two. The idea of 15 mile descents out of the mountains on a fixed just makes me hurt, badly. I'd bring along a freewheel or two just for those days when you know you'll have a lot of dowhill, on flat days, go fixed and have the time of your life.

I would think you have to be a bad ass sob to go cross country all on fixed. It would not make for a fun ride, unless you are really into the idea of beating up your legs.

any thoughts? thanks!

i say go for it--but maybe i'm insane as well.

i've been known to pack up the carradice and the handlebar bag and disappear for 3-4 days at a time.

yes, riding a fixed gear.

my commuter/all-rounder is a lugged trek from the mid-80s, running 42x18 with a rack, fenders, and 32c tires. i'll head out for 3-4 days of credit card touring or ultralight camping (bag and bivy sack), riding the rail trails, the windy flats, and the leg-breakers in SW Wisconsin.

i've learned a few things that might help:

1. gear LOW and consider running both brakes (the front is essential and the rear will help tired legs)
2. have the option of gearing lower.
3. consider a sprung saddle, like the brooks b-67 (or a suspension seatpost, even if they are ugly)
4. get your h-bars up, so you're not on your hands all day.
5. flat = windy, usually every which way but a tailwind.
6. having a fixed/free hub is nice when you're tired and you have to go up-down-up-down.
7. upsize your tires a bit and don't inflate them all the way to max; slightly less efficient but a good deal more comfy.

if i were you, with the availability of sag, I'd take a spare wheel or two, a range of cogs, a whole spare chain and any spare links i had laying around, a spare chainring, and the tools to do the job. each morning, consider the route and how you feel and choose accordingly.

yeah...it takes 5 days to DRIVE across the country...(3.5 if you go greyhound). i've done it several times over the last 4 years. there is a lot to see along the way. and even though i love riding fixed, you're going to want gears when you cross the two mountain ranges our beautiful country has...and any other hills you might encounter along the way. surprisingly, Utah is pretty hilly before SLC. after SLC it's just hot, and flat, and straight. nevada is hot and hilly. i would reccommend a northerly route...perhaps through the dakotas and into montana, through idaho and into oregon/washington. that depends on your starting and ending points and time of the summer though...

yeah, what route are you taking?

but the downhills, they were really rough on my legs,

I have to agree with you there, especially if you have a day where you are going uphill then down the other side, as in a pass or something. You figure you will want a gear ratio fairly low in order to get up the mountain, but this means you will be spinning out of control on the way down. Depending on your gear ratio, you could easily get your cadence in the 200+ range, over 3 rotations a second. At that speed, it really is difficult to keep up and sometimes can become dangerous.

Just reading through this thread, I have to confirm your insanity. But at the same time, I feel pumped just hearing about it. I say go for it, but then again, I won't be behind you, not even to use you as a wind breaker (I forgot the technical term).

at least your wheels are the same size...

hey all-

this summer i am riding across the country with a program called bike and build (www.bikeandbuild.org), and i'm kind of considering doing it on a fixed gear. would that be insane? has anyone else ever thought of doing it? the trip is supported, so i don't have to carry any gear on my bike. i guess i'd want to bring a few different sized cogs along, too, to plan ahead for hilly days vs. flat days.

the other thing i'm thinking is maybe i'll do it ss. ss definitely is not as fun as fixed, but my experience is that sometimes, i just really want to coast (as shameful as that is, i know :-P ).

any thoughts? thanks!

p.s. fyi, the purpose of the trip is to raise money and awareness for affordable housing issues and efforts such as Habitat for Humanity. we stop in small towns along the way to rest and talk to the folks about the affordable housing issue, and also about bikes. before the trip, every rider (there are 30) raises $4,000, and at the end of the trip we will write a huge check to the Providence (where the trip starts) chapter of Habitat to bankroll a student built home. if anyone would like to support the cause, definitely let me know! thanks!


Hi

I just did my first proper touring ride on my fixie yesterday, from Helsinki to Porvoo and back, approx. 130 km. There were 4 of us on fixies, with gear ratios close to 42-16. Descents are bit unnerving, and my ass had to be resuscitated after the ride, but apart from that I can see no prob why you could not do this. Suspension saddle or seatpost is probably a very good idea

A while ago I posted an article about a guy who rode from Sydney to Melbourne on a unicycle! This should be a piece of cake by comparison! ;)

There was a guy that wanted to redo the "around the world by bicycle" in the style of that book, i.e. he had a penny farthing just like that and a similar helmet. It was fix gear of course, and for the downhills you were able to take your feet off the pedals and put them on these little rest bars, or over the handlebar or something. I believe he got from england to somewhere in germany before his knees died. It is possible to do and I'd love to ride across america too, I'd definitely take gears though myself. At least a range of cogs as others have suggested.

One of the things I like most about climbing hills is caning it down a descent which you can't do with as much fun on a fix (I know this might be heresy) but spinning out at 30mph isn't as much fun as hitting 50+mph and being able to not worry about pedal strike on the corners.

I have a friend who rode across country. he rides a fix around town, but built up a geared bike for the ride. He went alone with all his gear and it took him 28 days at about 100 miles a day.
tim

I find that I can keep a better momentum on the same bike in a fixed set-up than when I used to run it geared. Some as well say that running into wind is an advantage on fixed, but I am not sure why. Contact with saddle time is definately greater, not too many like to stand while cadence is in the low 90's to give the rear end some relief, so I would examine the saddle type very carefully. Someone just replied to a similiar post who runs two chainrings with a 39/17 and 36/20 set-up on 700 38's. His trip was 1000 km.
The downhills are where the trouble would be though. The alternative would be fixed/free on a reversable hub.
On a fixed, I worry as well as others in this thread as to what would happen if on an extended downhill, maxing out at say 160 rpm, if there was still 2 km of downhill ahead, but I can't see why it should spin out of control if you had two brakes. I have only reached 160 rpm once (today), but was imputing to the pedals where the bottom was just ahead. I have not gone hell-bent-for-leather and attempted maximum candence mid hill or at the top of a long run. But then I am a cautious rider, I guess.