Road Cycling - Ever been passed by a track bike rider up a hill?

I see guys on fast looking road bikes with a ton of gears getting passed by people riding track bikes going up hills. Does this happen to any of you? Just curious as to why a bike with one gear would be faster than a high performance (e)litespeed or such.

Mabye its the engine, not the bike...

because it's the engine that drives the frame.

sd

I guess wearing tights don't necessarily make you faster

G'day,

agree with the others...the 'engine' is the issue here!......but on the brighter side...if he passes you going up hill, ya should be able to kick his arse going down the other side!....failing that, of course the 'old pump in the spokes trick' slows 'em down every time...lol,

cheers,

Hitchy

I guess wearing tights don't necessarily make you faster
but being a troll does! trolls have exorbitant strength! what do ya eat? ferrets?

Got passed by a guy on a fixie once while climbing a long 6% incline hill. I was in awe as he passed me up and congratulated him. About a mile later, though, he was literally lying along the side of the road looking like someone who just gave birth to twins.

I ride some weekends with a guy who commutes on his Ti fixie every day. Yes I have frequently been passed on the uphills ;) But I get him back on the downhills when his cadence maxes out! haha

Yup!

Years ago, my wife and I did a rather hilly, two day local ride that was similar in many ways to the Hilly Hundred in Indiana only hillier. At the time, we didn't have much money so the best we could afford to ride was our monster Schwinn Twinn franken-tandem that I had pieced together from scrap bikes and that weighed over 60 pounds. We proudly made it up every hill.

They had a banquet on Saturday night that included awards for goofy things like "most colorful rider," "best legs," "most helpless rider," and the like. One of the awards was for something that had to do with the degree of difficulty overcome. I know that we got some votes, but the guy who did the whole ride on a fixed gear track bike got more. He was faster than us too.

Thanks for the memory.

Got passed by a guy on a fixie once while climbing a long 6% incline hill. I was in awe as he passed me up and congratulated him. About a mile later, though, he was literally lying along the side of the road looking like someone who just gave birth to twins.

how do you guys know how steep of an incline ur climbing? is there a cyclocomp that tells ur that?

I have never been passed by a fixie rider. ever.

because it's the engine that drives the frame.
sd

that's what my friend said while riding his tarmac and me on my sirrus.

a few days ago i got passed by a kid on a bmx bike...

How often does a fixed rider get a chance to pass you? Probably why I've not been passed on a hill. Passed by fixed on flat many times. I have chased one down on my ride home (2 long uphill grades), but seeing a rider ahead makes me faster, if he was behind, he may have overtaken me. It took a couple miles for me to reel him in. When I caught him, any sense of accomplishment was quickly squashed when I noticed his "handicap"!

Sooner or later they all pass me!! What's the ol saying...slow and steady wins the race. Well...I'm not winning any races, but I like the views when they pass!!

I see guys on fast looking road bikes with a ton of gears getting passed by people riding track bikes going up hills. Does this happen to any of you? Just curious as to why a bike with one gear would be faster than a high performance (e)litespeed or such.

Happened on RAGBRAI. A guy on a yellow lugless fixed Mercian passed me on my geared Mercian. We talked a bit and then he just dropped me. Of course, I do tend to live down to my moniker. :)

If being passed by a fixie bothers you, beware of the climbs around Fresno. There's a guy there on a Bianchi fixie that is an animal...I think his name is Doug?

when i'm climbing on my track bike i have no lower gear to fall back on, so i think i work a lot harder to keep the bike moving then i would with gears. there almost seems to be a critical speed at which i don't dare dip below because if i lose momentum i'm screwed on the hill. i don't really have these concerns when i'm on a geared bike.

Define climb. If you mean a 7% grade for 1/4 of mile I'll buy that but if you get onto a mountain you'd have to be a hell of rider to pull a 46x16 up 3k of elevation change. I'd love to see that on say the the back side of Angeles Crest (ave grade 9% max 15% total length 13.5 mi) in So Cal or up Fernwood off of Topanga Canyon (ave 11% max 17% 7 mi). You would have to be a hell of rider to pull this off faster than a good rider on a geared bike.

Define climb. If you mean a 7% grade for 1/4 of mile I'll buy that but if you get onto a mountain you'd have to be a hell of rider to pull a 46x16 up 3k of elevation change. I'd love to see that on say the the back side of Angeles Crest (ave grade 9% max 15% total length 13.5 mi) in So Cal or up Fernwood off of Topanga Canyon (ave 11% max 17% 7 mi). You would have to be a hell of rider to pull this off faster than a good rider on a geared bike.

that's a good point. the "climbs" i train on are about what you mentioned above. 6-7% for less than 1/2 mile. I should have probably used the term hill. :) i think you're right about the larger grade climbs, that would be much harder on a fixed gear.

that's a good point. the "climbs" i train on are about what you mentioned above. 6-7% for less than 1/2 mile. I should have probably used the term hill. :) i think you're right about the larger grade climbs, that would be much harder on a fixed gear.


Out here in Austin Tx we have hill but no mountains. There are some tough short climbs that are more like sprinting than climbing. Having spent most of my life in SoCal and done some climbs that take hours not minutes there truely is a difference.

The thing that really frosts my arse is that so many people get worked up about this. Especailly the "I passed some guy on a 8k bike on my POS so I'm better than him" sh#t. So f'n what you ride a $600.00 Fuji and someone else rides a $8k Colnago. Maybe you were born with a better Vo2max or a naturally higher LT. Maybe this guy has always dreamed of owning a Colnago and had finally been able to afford one. So what if he bought the matching kit and can't ride as fast as you in your ratty shorts and t-shirt. Just remember that there is some guy on that same Colnago in the same kit who's a Pro/Cat1 that's gonna come along and big ring right past you on that same climb.

No. I pass them.

I ride a MTB, up mountains, good training.

(yes, I mean on the road.)

>jef.

Out here in Austin Tx we have hill but no mountains. There are some tough short climbs that are more like sprinting than climbing. Having spent most of my life in SoCal and done some climbs that take hours not minutes there truely is a difference.

The thing that really frosts my arse is that so many people get worked up about this. Especailly the "I passed some guy on a 8k bike on my POS so I'm better than him" sh#t. So f'n what you ride a $600.00 Fuji and someone else rides a $8k Colnago. Maybe you were born with a better Vo2max or a naturally higher LT. Maybe this guy has always dreamed of owning a Colnago and had finally been able to afford one. So what if he bought the matching kit and can't ride as fast as you in your ratty shorts and t-shirt. Just remember that there is some guy on that same Colnago in the same kit who's a Pro/Cat1 that's gonna come along and big ring right past you on that same climb.

what's wrong with riding a 600$ fuji in ratty shorts and a t-shirt? :( :( :(

(well, atleast my shorts arent yet ratty)

what's wrong with riding a 600$ fuji in ratty shorts and a t-shirt? :( :( :(

(well, atleast my shorts arent yet ratty)


Nothing and that's my point. It doesn't matter what you ride or what you wear as long it makes you happy go for it.

I bought new sneakers today......I still cant run fast.....

The tons of gears slow us down. I can only go so fast pulling tons of gears.

I am gonna go fixie, so I can pass myself.

I went to watch some track bike racing at a velodrome a couple of weeks ago. These fixed gear racers had some of the most muscular... tree trunk looking... legs that I have ever seen......and they were women. I guess if you only have one gear and you need speed in a hurry, you develop very powerful legs if you are going to be successful.

Nothing and that's my point. It doesn't matter what you ride or what you wear as long it makes you happy go for it.


You said it man! Theres a sign on the door of Outback Bikes in Atlanta, that says Ride What You Dig! The coolest sign I've ever seen in a bike shop window.

I went to watch some track bike racing at a velodrome a couple of weeks ago. These fixed gear racers had some of the most muscular... tree trunk looking... legs that I have ever seen......and they were women. I guess if you only have one gear and you need speed in a hurry, you develop very powerful legs if you are going to be successful.

Track riders are what happens when you put a bodybuilder on a bike ;) Yes, their legs are effing huge. Probably from the sprinting.

How often does a fixed rider get a chance to pass you? Probably why I've not been passed on a hill. Passed by fixed on flat many times. I have chased one down on my ride home (2 long uphill grades), but seeing a rider ahead makes me faster, if he was behind, he may have overtaken me. It took a couple miles for me to reel him in. When I caught him, any sense of accomplishment was quickly squashed when I noticed his "handicap"!

One gear is not necessarily a 'handicap'. If the terrain is flatish, a fixed gear can be as fast or faster than muti-gears. I think several outdoor National TT's have been riden on fixed gear bikes.

It depends on the length of the hill.

Climb a mountain? Road bike.

Go down a mountain? Road bike.

See a hill on your fixie in front of you? Start pedaling like mad. Get all the speed you can... Hope and pray that it's enough to carry you to the top.

Last week I had the pleasure of catching a roadie on a 2004 trek - flatland. Asked him about his bike, drafted a bit, then blasted past him on the hill. I was taking some pictures of my 'long' commute, so I stopped at the top of the hill to get a contrast pic of cars stopped on the highway vs empty path...

And to let him have the downhill. He was telling me to keep the lead as I was slowing down for the shot, but I told him I needed the pic. I think I really freaked him out when I shot into the intersection before the hill and hooked behind the oncoming traffic instead of stopping and waiting for it to pass.

Conservation of momentum is key on a fix...

Galen, I saw (on TV) a fixed gear bike ridden to victory in a TT, I think it was the olympic qualifier! As I mentioned, I chased that guy up two long hills and in this case fixed gear was a handicap and I'm sure I didn't catch him because I was stronger!

Everybody passes me,dont give it a second thought.

been passed by a fix once in a while, but frequently am passing on my fix.

most of my flat and rolling road rides in the last year have been on my fix. sometimes i pass others, sometimes i get passed. i commute on it, and run errands on it as well.

i save the geared roadie for the rides heading up the canyons/long climb rides.

*alot* of very fast racing folks around here. hell, alot of just plain fast folks around here. i don't race, nor do i pretend to. i don't sweat it when i get passed on either bike.

I ride a fixie and i've passed a good amount of road riders on hills and flats.
I still remember when I used to ride a road bike (khs flite) and was always seeing kids on fixie's whizzing past me.

Then again i think its just a matter of fun, I like to pass people just to see if they'll pursue me...there's nothing like a spur of the moment cat and mouse through the city ;)

I was passed several times by this girl on her fixie during this year's STP. We sort of played cat-and-mouse with me sometimes passing her and her sometimes passing me. and sometimes she would pass me on the hills. Admittedly I wasn't really attacking the hill but it didn't really look like she was either. She seemed to be a pretty strong rider.

I was passed several times by this girl on her fixie during this year's STP. We sort of played cat-and-mouse with me sometimes passing her and her sometimes passing me. and sometimes she would pass me on the hills. Admittedly I wasn't really attacking the hill but it didn't really look like she was either. She seemed to be a pretty strong rider.

Admit it, you were just following her with your helmet cam for that "personal" collection you have stashed behind the TV.

Hi Daniel -I admit I got passed by a fixie rider yesterday and it was YOU. If the rest of the forum are interested Daniel and I (note the good grammar Merton) went out riding yesterday and we had a real blast. We didnt encounter any real hills but he is one fast fixie rider. We did over 50km in just over two hours through the forests south of Munich. This may be nothing to some of you but it is the definitely the fastest I have ridden 50 km.

The funniest thing was when I tried out Daniel's fixie after a reststop at the beer garden. I set off confidently down a small hill and then found out that the pedal-braking thing was not as easy as it looked. In fact it didnt seem to work at all. Then to my horror one foot slipped of the pedal and my inefficient attempts at braking instantly converted to almost zero braking. I thought I was going to have to ditch but then I found a track that led up hill so I could kill my speed whew (the skiing practice paid off). I lost my nerve after that and gave Daniel his fixie back before anything else happened. I don't know how you fixie guys do it. There's no way I could ride a fixie with no brakes. I was really surprised at how different it was to riding a "normal" bike.

Anyway we had a great day out. PM me Daniel when you get time for another ride at the weekend. I will get in training now.

I'm starting to figure it out. A lot of riders ride a long ways and i figure,wow,they go for awhile. Now i'm figuring it out,they stop and rest and i never stop on any rides. Maybe i should try rest stops? Nah.

you cant ride in Bavaria without stopping for beer and sausages - its the law here

Admit it, you were just following her with your helmet cam for that "personal" collection you have stashed behind the TV.

Are you kidding? I keep that collection on a large-capacity microdrive so I can take it along with me for "portable viewing pleasure"... Oh-oh... did I just say that? :D

There's no way I could ride a fixie with no brakes.

It's actually really easy once you get used to it. I'm pretty much to the point now where I couldn't ride a frewheeling bike with brakes.... Too used to 'think faster, go faster. think slower, go slower' as a way of riding. I'd hate to have to reach for brakes, especially in a panic situation....

Whatever.

The only reason I ever pass roadies on my fixie is because I know if I don't go balls-out up every hill, I bog down and have to walk the damn thing. On my road bike I try to exert the same amount of effort at the same cadence whether I'm going up or down, and in the long run that gets me where I'm going less exhausted. On my fixie I don't have that luxury and have to hammer the hills just to get up them. In other words, fixies can't do hills slowly, so that's why they ride them fast.

The thing that really kills me is when I'm on my fixie and I get passed going uphill by another fixie. Beautiful.

I see guys on fast looking road bikes with a ton of gears getting passed by people riding track bikes going up hills. Does this happen to any of you? Just curious as to why a bike with one gear would be faster than a high performance (e)litespeed or such.


Not only was I passed, I was dropped badly. I'll make the excuse that I was out of shape, but even after getting in shape he dropped me again on another ride with his road bike. The guy was just a good rider, and got better when he bought a true road bike.

So, don't feel too bad, trackies have learned to spin really well. So their pedal strokes are smooth at all cadences, so they don't waste energy too often. Watch'em sometime, you'll understand what I mean about smooth and efficient.

...gonna come along and big ring right past you

"Big ring" is a verbing that I'm going to add to my vocabulary for sure. That got a great big :D out of me.

how do you guys know how steep of an incline ur climbing? is there a cyclocomp that tells ur that?

yup. if you've got one that does altitude, it will probably tell you grade too. because grade can be calculated using distance and height.

i've got a Vetta 100A...i think that's what it's called. the grade measurement isn't very accurate for short climbs though, because the altitude might not change enough to get a decent reading. sometimes i'll do an out-and-back ride, which should have the same grades going and coming. therefore the min grade should be a negative version of the max grade. but the min/max grade will say something like -8%/+15%.

it's more useful for when you're on a long, steep hill thinking "holy krist this has got to be a 16% grade!" then you look down and it's a 7% grade. as you can imagine, it's not all that useful. :) somehow, knowing the grade is never reassuring for me. either it's much easier than it feels, or it's just as hard as it feels. but i digress.