Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - finally got to ride some hills-- loved it!

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fiksdforlife
08-02-04, 08:39 AM
was in PA over the weekend and rode about 15 miles on pretty hilly roads with some steep ascents and descents. first time with hills on a fixed. got a 04 pista with 48/16, really enjoyed it. the bike is so light that climbing (standing) is very doable (never stopped to walk), and the descents were great to practice my cadence-- i maxed out at about 29 mph (haven't done the rpm calculation yet). a little background: i mtn biked all my life (xc'er, not a DH'er, but do enjoy those descents) and was never a roadie, but covering a lot of distance over a short period of time with a pretty good avg speed (guesstimate 15-18 mph), was very fun. esp. on a fixed. looking forward to pushing it even more.

auroch
08-02-04, 02:16 PM
In Chicagoland we don't have hills to speak of so my friends and I would go up to Michigan & Wisconsin to do some training rides. Also there were a suprising amount of hills in Iowa during ragbrai. I think I read 12,000 plus feet of climbs. To me nothing's more fun then grinding your way up a long hill and then bombing down the other side. I'm also riding the stock 48/16 and I've hit 40mph going downhill. At that point your legs almost cease to exist. Most of the time during my trip I'd pass people on the climbs and then maybe get passed on the otherside. The only times I've had to get off and walk were when I was biking in LA. Stupid Reseda & Mulholland Drive.

jeff
fiksdforlife
08-02-04, 02:35 PM
40 mph! sweet. can't even imagine the rpm's. funny, unlike my heavier mtn bike either on the trails or on the road w/ slicks, i really enjoyed climbing on my pista. it was easy to push and i wound up looking for steeper ascents just for the challenge. i love the all or none aspect. who needs gears.