Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - long distance gearing

I'm planning on riding an 80 mile ride on a fix in November. It's in Tucson, AZ and I'm in Chicago - which means that it's slightly hillier than what I normally ride. Apparently there's one reasonably long and steep hill. It also can get really windy there. In Chicago I ride 44x16x165, which is just in my perfect spin range if there's a slight headwind. I'm wondering if I should just ride the same thing in AZ, relatively for __x18x170. Or is a lower gear recommended? The farthest I've gone on a fix is 35 miles, and never with hills, so I'm a little unclear.

I'll probably be going pretty slowly since it's with my dad and he likes to plod along and look at the scenery.

Just stick with what you're comfy with. If you're just riding with your dad, it's not like there's pressure on you.

sticking with comfy is good advice. if you really expect to be riding more slowly than usual, though, you might benefit from a larger rear cog so you can keep your cadence closer to your "perfect spin range". i wouldn't mess with anything in the front, although i admit to being somewhat insensitive to things like crank length. fwiw, i've ridden centuries with a taller gear than yours, in michigan where there are no real climbs, and experienced only the ordinary aches and pains associated with high saddle hourage.

plod along and enjoy the scenery with your dad. those opportunities will not always be available!

I've done a very hilly 67 mile ride on my Van Dessel running a 44x16 with cyclocross tires on it. For shorter rides my Mirage with its 52x16 works fine. It depends on the nature of the hills and your phsyical conditioning. I have no problem keeping up with the geared riders on a club outing.

My normal gearing was 44-16 also in San Diego which is quite hilly. Now that I'm in Munich, I ride a 52-18 which equates to a slightly higher gear inch, but it's really much better because I found myself spinning out quite often on longer rides out in the countryside with the smaller gear. The high 70's is really a good gear for me.

Think about your target speed, gear so that you hit 70 rpm at that speed. 60 to 70 rpm is where you generate the most power and use energy most efficiently. Strategize, if 99% of the time you're going to be better off with a large gear, go with that. If you can't climb the hill, you can always walk up it and you'll be better off than spinning an uncomfortably low gear just so you can climb that hill for a few minutes when you get there.

But then I don't know how long and steep "long and steep" actually is, so YMMV.

The gearing has already been discussed at length, but I just wanted to say that sounds like a really cool ride. Like way cool. As much as I love short jaunts and darting through traffic in the city, one of my goals is to be able to complete a metric century or a full century on a fix around springtime. The metric has become a more concrete possibility with the longer distances I have been doing lately, we will see about the full. Might have to invest in a better saddle...
But yeah, I'm really eager to hear how this ride goes for ya because the most I've done on a fix is about 42 with a couple stops (the BLT) and 30 round trip with an hour break between when I ride to school fridays.

Any idea at what altitude the ride will be? Tucson is a bit higher than Chicago & surrounded by areas higher still. This may impact your energy level.

Depending on your hub (if you have a two sided hub) just put an 18 tooth on the other side. That way you have it if you need it.

I just rode 80 miles last saturday on my fixie, I am geared at 48/17 with 170 cranks.... I am sure you will be fine, I thought it would kill me, but it wasnt hard at all.

Hello new to this message board. I live and ride in sunny Tucson all my life , much of it on a SS. Last year started riding a track bike for the daily driver.
Yes we have wind and hills, don't let it fret you. you are coming in the other session (cool with hot interruptions) opposed to hot and less hot.
On big rides water is the hard part, were to put it all. I would stay with your gearing if you can buck the winds in your city you will be fine.

I just rode a 420-500 mile tour fixed gear with 44x17x170. It all depends on how long and steep that one hill is. 1000 feet at 5% is one thing (not a big hill - use your gearing), 3000 feet with 6%-8% (a good hill - consider a 17 cog). The gearing was just right for me. Stiffer gearing would have been hard on at least one of the 3000 foot climbs we did on that trip. I could cruise on flats with a comfortable spin at the 18-20 mph range (90-100 RPM). For any hills over 4% be prepared to stand for much or all of the climb.

My one difficulty was an 18 mile, 5% descent. The sustained 130+ RPM cadence was very fatiguing. Another guy who's done long fixed gear rides has also had problems over 130 RPM for sustained descents.

I rode from San Francisco to L.A. on mine. I started out with a 42/16, but it was killing my ankles. They were actually popping out of the socket, I was spinning so fast. After I went to a 53/16, things we're much easier. I had to stand and pound the mountains into Santa Barbara, which was a bit rough, but much easier overall. I had put a brake on for the trip, so i didn't have to work so hard coming down hill. My regular cadence is ~110 though, so higher cadences are easier on me. If it got too high, I would just unclip (yes it is dangerous, but hey... Danger is my middle name).

Good advice all around... the bike I'll be riding has a fixed/fixed flip-flop hub, which I didn't think about until someone mentioned flip-flop, so maybe I'll put on a couple cogs and change if I need to. I'll probably end up with 52x18 or 44x16, just because of the track cogs my dad and I have collectively. I don't get to ride my bike, which is sad b/c I'd like to do some distance on it - but I get to ride the 80's Guerciotti I made my dad fix up. It'll match my lycra and goofy bike jersey just like my bike now matches my jeans and t-shirt.

Those rides you guys posted about sound pretty great. SF --> LA especially, I'd love to do that sometime (sometime when my legs are incredibly ripped). How long does that take?