Road Cycling - Single for a day...

After my last accident with my bike, the shifting's been slightly off, still works but it was slightly more of a hassle. So today I was following this guy on a single speed bianchi and I decided to put my bike into a gear that resembled the size of his and just kept cranking it. And what do you know, single speed isn't so bad after all, even through rolling hills and everything I kept pace pretty good. As much as I like clicking away, there's a certain charm in just riding and not having to worry about gears. Kudos.

Throw away those shifters, abandon those cassettes. Come to the dark side.

Nuts to freewheels, too. Coasting is for suckers.

Nuts to freewheels, too. Coasting is for suckers.


Then all the PRO RIDERS are suckers! you must be able to out ride them since you don't coast, your a bad mofo.

if your gonna go ss fix it. Just my opinion. Otherwise whats the point? You may as well have 10 speeds pick one and go.

Then all the PRO RIDERS are suckers! you must be able to out ride them since you don't coast, your a bad mofo.

Damn straight. :p

Seriously, though, as has been noted, if you're going to go SS on the road, you might as well just go fixed.

Well not quite so soon since I'll need the lower gears for those big big hills. But it was fun to just stay in one gear all the way though. How much more efficient is a single/fixie compared to having the chain go through the rear derailler set?

a lot more efficient. and with a fixed, the bike kinda pushes you along as well, so you end up (at least i think so, others may disagree) exerting less effort to maintain maximum speed and even climb hills. riding fixed is all about momentum. either maintaining/feeding it, or getting rid of it...but you do it all through your legs, rather than with derailleurs and brakes.

tenacity is another good quality to have if you're going to try riding fixed. you've got to be able to hang on and stick with it up the hills...and to know how fast you need to be going before you start up the hill, and to know how slow you need to be going at the crest before you head back down.

finesse is another word that comes to mind...also "the force."

An ss fixed is in my future, I know it is, I just gotta gather all the parts together and find the time to put it all together. Right now, I think I'm almost there. I garbage picked a frame that might be doable. All thats needed now is a set of rims.

The idea of fixed riding has intrigued me since I stumbled upon this website and since I'm a glutton for punisment, I figure ss fixed is a natch.

An ss fixed is in my future, I know it is, I just gotta gather all the parts together and find the time to put it all together. Right now, I think I'm almost there. I garbage picked a frame that might be doable. All thats needed now is a set of rims.

The idea of fixed riding has intrigued me since I stumbled upon this website and since I'm a glutton for punisment, I figure ss fixed is a natch.

If your a glutton for punisment then fixed is probably not gonna be your thing. Riding fixed is pure pleasure ;)

MMMM.... its a whole different lovely animal. Your spin will become sick. Sick, I tell you.


Cheers...


Matt B.

MMMM.... its a whole different lovely animal. Your spin will become sick. Sick, I tell you.

Quoted for truth.

Too right. I rode fixed for about a months, then when I got back on my geared bike my average speed went up 3mph straight away, and my riding was just generally better, smoother.

I rode this computrainer thing at my LBS and it measures left/right pedal effort. Mine was a solid 50% for 30min. The owner said he'd never seen that before and I told him to ride fixed! jeff