Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Am I a wuss?

Hello everyone,

I am running a gear ratio of 52-20 on a terrible steel road conversion; I want to slowly build up my bike and get a more versatile crank (48t probably?) to run cogs to try and work up my leg strength by slowly increasing the gear ratio (18 to 17 cogs etc.)

I find it relatively easy to match cars on pretty slow toronto roads and skid stop, but not really getting terribly good off the line acceleration.... and my legs start to burn like crazy after about 15 minutes of pretty heavy riding. I want to work up to a higher gear ratio but not sure if my feeble legs could do it

So am I a *****, do I have a muscle deformity, or is it a conditioning thing derived from not riding in the winter all that much and my last summer's riding being compromised due to an accident?

Will I be less of a ***** in the future, is there a diet regiment you guys could recommend, or is there no hope for me?

Yes. HTFU.

Spin > Mash

Spin to win bro.

I'm starting a GIF countdown in my head

Your hopeless has made you hopeless. HTFU.

If you want a real answer, this is a terrible question that immediately opens you up to ridicule, insult, ovarian cancer and the possibility of being kicked in the nuts.


Now go buy a smaller cog and stop worrying about what other people think, I'd suggest a 46:17 (if you're going to swap out that roadie big ring).


Wuss.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzrqt4b5Q61qdkc1o.gif

I'm starting a GIF countdown in my head

http://i.imgur.com/OPECs.gif


But seriously. Find what you're comfortable spinning at like 90rpm. 48/18 should be fine. I run 49/18 on my commuter.


Santaria so harsh! Also OT, this song plays in my head every time I read a post by you.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEA_txBAWvA

I'm starting a GIF countdown in my head

I already like this guy.

These threads are much more hilarious when im the subject of ridicule

No need to swap the chainring, just buy more cogs. And ride more.

These threads are much more hilarious when im the subject of ridicule

Been lurking a while, or are you trolling us? HAhahaha

Full time lurk

toronto is pretty flat so yeah, you need to harden up.

Oatmeal and bananas for breakfast is a pretty good way to get a lot of energy.

Full time lurk

Ah ic.

One useful note, how long have you been riding?

I've been riding for about three years.

As for hills, last year i used to be able to climb one of the only ones in toronto worth mentioning... I think its a case of me just becoming soft(er)

I am trying to become less so; so i guess this is more of a training question?

52/20 is only around 70 gi. How many miles a month do you average?

Your legs are supposed to hurt while riding hard, that's the point.

Actually, after doing the math, your gearing isn't stupid-low. A little higher than mine. So, just ride more.

As for hills, last year i used to be able to climb one of the only ones in toronto worth mentioning...


Which hill is this?

Do circuits of High Park, it has all you need as far as elevation goes.

I've been riding for about three years.

As for hills, last year i used to be able to climb one of the only ones in toronto worth mentioning... I think its a case of me just becoming soft(er)

I am trying to become less so; so i guess this is more of a training question?

Sounds like you just need to work harder man. You'll get there. Training=pain though, get used to it.

"It never gets easier, you just get faster"

I am doing around a 100 miles a month for basic commuting, occasionally I will go for joy rides around the city.

How much should i be doing to build my strength?

It's occuring to me that maybe 100 miles a month is actually a pretty infantile amount

Which hill is this?

Do circuits of High Park, it has all you need as far as elevation goes.

The only hill of note is the Bathurst + Davenport intersection.. hardly a hill but sometimes I opted to run up the Casaloma stairs and pedal up the slightly less steep hill after that.

As far as circuits of High park go, that is a damned good idea for a weekend ride.

I am doing around a 100 miles a month for basic commuting, occasionally I will go for joy rides around the city.

How much should i be doing to build my strength?

It's occuring to me that maybe 100 miles a month is actually a pretty infantile amount

To put it in perspective, everyone I know that takes riding even semi seriously does more than that in a week.

To put it in perspective, everyone I know that takes riding even semi seriously does more than that in a week.

Wowza, I guess i really do need to put in more miles before I change up

Thanks for all the advice and the warm welcomes

Wowza, I guess i really do need to put in more miles before I change up

Thanks for all the advice and the warm welcomes

Welcome! Sounds like all you need to do is ride more, and get your fitness level up. Have fun!

I was last on 52/21, that was my sweet spot and speed wasn't a problem. You will need to put in more miles or else riding will always be difficult. I get 100 miles a week just riding to work and other routine commutes.

ride more, try different gear combos

http://www.moviewavs.com/0058349934/WAVS/Movies/Fast_Times_At_Ridgemont_High/wus.wav

As far as circuits of High park go, that is a damned good idea for a weekend ride.

The weekends have been nuts in there lately because the cherry blossoms are in bloom but, yeah, go for it. And check out the cherry blossoms, they are beautiful and will only be around about another week. Getting in there by bike is the best anyways since there are so many bloody people.

My favorite motto:

The only easy day was yesterday.

To put it in perspective, everyone I know that takes riding even semi seriously does more than that in a week.

In an ideal world, sure...but not everyone has time to ride more than a hundred miles a week. I take riding pretty seriously (well, I do it for fun, but...) and I don't always break that barrier. I ride at high intensity, though.

OP: Ride until your nose is dripping and you're drooling from the corner of your mouth. Embrace the pain--you're not making progress unless it's hurting. If it was easy, everyone would be fast.

Also, like Jaytron said, don't try to mash a huge gear unless you're doing time trials. I can maintain 19mph or so with a 39/15 ratio.

Clicked on thread expecting to see "HTFU" as first response. Was not disappointed.

http://i.imgur.com/foGOe.gif (very small NSFW text)

Be like Metapod.

In an ideal world, sure...but not everyone has time to ride more than a hundred miles a week. I take riding pretty seriously (well, I do it for fun, but...) and I don't always break that barrier. I ride at high intensity, though.

OP: Ride until your nose is dripping and you're drooling from the corner of your mouth. Embrace the pain--you're not making progress unless it's hurting. If it was easy, everyone would be fast.

Also, like Jaytron said, don't try to mash a huge gear unless you're doing time trials. I can maintain 19mph or so with a 39/15 ratio.

http://i.imgur.com/Pea7G.gif

Honestly, I don't think it's hard to set aside an hour a day during the week, and a few hours sat/sun morning. To each their own though. It definitely takes some dedication. I only get 5~6 hours of sleep a night.

isnt 20/52 easier than 17/46? or have i losted it.

I ride 80gi for 100/week bare minimum as a commute to work with zero other riding involved. Toronto had roughly the same topography as Chicago, I believe, so yeah 100mi/month is hardly anything. That said, when you're just starting up, that seems like something big. Answer: ride more. I went from 100mi weekly to doing a 50mi day out of boredom in under a year.

Hello everyone,

I am running a gear ratio of 52-20 on a terrible steel road conversion; I want to slowly build up my bike and get a more versatile crank (48t probably?) to run cogs to try and work up my leg strength by slowly increasing the gear ratio (18 to 17 cogs etc.)

I find it relatively easy to match cars on pretty slow toronto roads and skid stop, but not really getting terribly good off the line acceleration.... and my legs start to burn like crazy after about 15 minutes of pretty heavy riding. I want to work up to a higher gear ratio but not sure if my feeble legs could do it

So am I a *****, do I have a muscle deformity, or is it a conditioning thing derived from not riding in the winter all that much and my last summer's riding being compromised due to an accident?

Will I be less of a ***** in the future, is there a diet regiment you guys could recommend, or is there no hope for me?
Yes, It still has hope for you. No one will be strong enough since they birth. So you must be successfull if you work out . Your dream will be come true.

Thanks for the further help.

I'm currently working on an alternate commute to build my mileage slowly. Since im currently only doing about 30 minutes of riding a day I could pretty easily lengthen my commute with a detour and do perhaps an hour of riding a day.

I guess it will never get easier but it will definitely always be fun

Honestly, I don't think it's hard to set aside an hour a day during the week, and a few hours sat/sun morning. To each their own though. It definitely takes some dedication. I only get 5~6 hours of sleep a night.

I don't even necessarily think it takes much "dedication". I don't set scheduled times to get on the bike, yet still manage to ride a whole hell of a lot. While I do often make a plan to go out and do a long distance ride or whatever, I typically ride my bike just to ride my bike.

That being said, I've never been - and most likely never will be - the type who rides for exercise and fitness (although riding as much as I do undoubtedly keeps me fit) and couldn't care less about mileage, top speed, cadence, Strava, etc.

I just ride because I love it and my life would probably be pretty stupid without bikes.

I guess it will never get easier but it will definitely always be fun

That quote, and the many current iterations, is one of the most abused things in cycling. It was about racing and is often misapplied to climbing and riding in general. As your level of fitness improves you will get faster and, especially on a fixed gear, rides or certain parts of your rides will get easier as well.

http://i.imgur.com/Pea7G.gif

Honestly, I don't think it's hard to set aside an hour a day during the week, and a few hours sat/sun morning. To each their own though. It definitely takes some dedication. I only get 5~6 hours of sleep a night.

Don't take this the wrong way, but on the interwebs, it's easy to think you're the most dedicated dude around, and everyone else is too lazy to ride as much or as hard as you do. Believe me, I would LOVE to ride more.

In any case, I'd argue that the kind of riding you do has a bigger impact on your fitness than the number of miles. I used to ride my Pista for hours a day (at low intensity), but never got much faster...now that I'm climbing close to 5000 feet a week, my fitness has improved greatly.

on weeks where i've got the time, i ride as much as I can, and the efforts are pretty instantly noticeable in terms of strength gained, endurance, etc. When time's at a premium i'll do laps in the park; just keep track of what you do on strava and you can easily keep getting stronger under duress of time. Of course, this means that you'll actually black out from pain in your legs when climbing a hill on lap 5-- but you'll get faster/harder/etc.

After a few days of thinking about it and seeing this thread again, I have to offer this caveat:

Top end is nothing if you can't maintain a quality average that you're capable of and comfortable with. Being able to hit 40 MPH is all well and good, but it sucks if you're average over a 20 mile ride is 12 because you can only top out and then die the rest of the ride. Look at things you do in life that can be done on a bike and use that time to "train."

My favorites: Riding my kids to school. I pull my trailer with my 6 year old son in it, because we are on some high traffic roads and I'm not comfortable with him riding the 3 miles to school in it (only a narrow shoulder). When I remove the trailer and him I fly. That extra 50-60 lbs. definitely works my legs and helps my spin when its just me.

Another one that I like more is riding with my wife. Its fun to follow her and be okay going a bit slower, the view is better there.

Just find what works for you with your current gearing, spin more and make longer trips when you can without worrying about a clock.

Don't take this the wrong way, but on the interwebs, it's easy to think you're the most dedicated dude around, and everyone else is too lazy to ride as much or as hard as you do. Believe me, I would LOVE to ride more.

In any case, I'd argue that the kind of riding you do has a bigger impact on your fitness than the number of miles. I used to ride my Pista for hours a day (at low intensity), but never got much faster...now that I'm climbing close to 5000 feet a week, my fitness has improved greatly.

I'm nowhere close to thinking I'm the most dedicated dude around. Quite the contrary. I just think an hour a day is not hard to put in if you really want to improve.

Of course intensity plays a big role, I never say that it didn't.

I consider myself a serious rider - and I love to ride. I am one that does rides for fitness (at 47 you start to be concerned about this). The times I'm not riding I'm always looking forward to my next ride, planning my route, planning the terrain, etc. With working 60 to 70 hours a week, married schedule and kid's schedules, I'm able to get about 80 to 90 miles in a week. I don't commute because work is too far away and not enough time with everything else going to have the time to do so. Luckily on the couple weekends a month that I don't have to work I'm able to get out for a couple two hour rides. But mostly, it is about an hour ride each time out during the work week. Nonetheless, I am very serious about my riding and love it to no end. I feel that it is not quantity of the ride time, but the quality of the ride time that is of importance. To say that one has to ride at least 100 miles a week to improve is an overstatment, IMO. If your ride is intense enough - to the point of exhaustion - you will improve.

To the OP, you ride what you can. If you can find the more time and want to, by all means great! If you can't, and you are still riding what you can... well, you are still riding. Do what you can. If the rides are short and few, add some heavy intensity in your rides. Find the local climbs and repeat them. Work on very high cadences and spin ups. Mix things up. The same ride at the same intensity over and over again will take a long time to show improvement, if any. Good luck!

I don't even necessarily think it takes much "dedication". I don't set scheduled times to get on the bike, yet still manage to ride a whole hell of a lot. While I do often make a plan to go out and do a long distance ride or whatever, I typically ride my bike just to ride my bike.
Thanks, Scrod. I was hoping that this thread wouldn't just be full of "RIDE MORE; RIDE HARDER." Riding for fun without keeping track of mileage is also perfectly good alternative.


Another one that I like more is riding with my wife. Its fun to follow her and be okay going a bit slower, the view is better there.
This is adorable. :)

I like to blur the line between "serious cyclist" and one who really doesn't give a crap. Hell, I've done century rides without even bringing a computer. :lol:

computer?