flythebike

Thats what I did today. Including some climbs and lots of rollers. 44x17. I was pulling through like a champ. I did go around the steepest climb where I have felt overgeared on a 39x21 before. But the amazing thing was I felt fine at the end on only got dropped once or twice, when I was just way undergeared and they were really making a run at it. I'm rolling with a front brake and I don't think it would have been so easy without that - lots of intersections. We started with about 15 guys and people kept turning around until there were only five of us. And I was putting the hurt to people, too. Who'd have thunk it. When I recover from this I am going to feel like a one-horned one-eyed giant purple people eater.

In case you're in NoVA; we went out the WO&D rails to trails bike trail from the Reston Town Center, out Dry Mill Road in Leesburg to Taylorstown/Stumptown out near Waterford; I avoided Taylorstown but went out and back on Stumptown.

Point is to give myself a public pat on the back and say; whoa, fixies are a lot more versatile than one might think. I was too lazy to change my race wheels off of my gearie and swap out my one set of pedals and look what happened, it all worked out. Literally.

beatifik

way to go man. congrats.

drolldurham

haven't been that far out on the trail, how is it out there? i'm coming from arlington and the farthest i've gone was mile 20 (meaning a 40 mile round trip for me... part of a 70 mile ride... in the pouring rain!) and frankly i got a little bored.... but i ought to try and go further sometime.

flythebike

Well once you get to Leesburg and get off the trail, Dry Mill for example is a great road, lots of rollers and very challenging. It is a bit beyond the quarry. It is a good ride to do with a group, because the trail is wide enough for a double paceline. You can just put in the miles and have a chat. Then you get out on the open road and hammer for a bit.

But yeah, kind of boring if you are by yourself.

inkdwheels

We had one here on Sunday also. I sold my fixie, so I rode it on my ss 1x1 that i just finished building up saturday. Which meant it was setup for trails 32x16 with nokian 26x2.1 knobbies... Its was a *****. I was spinning out everywhere and it took forever. Rancid was out there riding fixed 46x15 riding with his boombox backpack the whole time. Out of probably 500 people there was one fixie and 2 single speeders. It was great!

Mr. Shadow

My first fixed metric was at our club's Bikefest with over 1,000 riders.
The girl I was pacing with wanted to average 15 mph, so that's what
we did. The route had lots of hills. Some were easier for me to sprint
up rather than spin up. I ran a 44/16 on the Van Dessel fixed cyclocross.
It was lots of fun. I go just as fast as when I was geared. I like the looks
I get when people notice the chainline and realize that I'm not able to coast.

Jaminsky

Is there any precedence for the full standard century on single speed? hella and I will be doing one in August so I'm kinda wondering with all this talk about metrics if we'll be pioneering this territory. It's an organized ride (4 rest stops), but we still plan on getting our a55es kicked! (SF, posse up for this one, pace-line style.)

sillygirl

ostro and I were planning on doing bike for breath - metric century in san mateo - in july - maybe we would be up for one in august? there is a HUGE difference between a metric and a standard though.

BlastRadius

Is it hilly?

BlastRadius

There's 2-3 spots that have some tough climbs, Edgewood up to Cananda, Canada to Crystal Springs Rd, and the section south of Page Mill. Slow going but probably doable on fixies.

modmon

nice job, flythebike. if youre interested, another century, the Asthmaride, is happening down the eastern shore of MD June 3-5. im planning on riding it fixed, 48x17. a lot of teams still have vacancies for the public if you are interested in riding it. not exactly sure how far of a drive it would be for you though...

noumena9

I rode the Transportation Alternatives Century last year on my fixie. It is a neat century -- you never leave New York City through the whole ride.

I rode 48x15 for that one and that worked out great. There were a couple of really tough hills in queens but I found that I actually passed everyone on hills going up because they were all spinning up and I had no choice but to sprint up because of my gearing.

I'm looking forward to doing the ride again this year.

My advice is to worry more about hydration than your gearing when riding a century. I got a little dehydrated (it was 90-some degrees out) and it almost knocked me out.

Wheel Doctor

Thanks for the post, flythe bike.....I plan to do a metric on my fixed, this spring. Mine will be flatter, much flatter than yours. I will however be running a 44/17 or 16. I'm a spinner, not a youngster and I'm into knee preservation. If the metric works out I will do an english century. My plan is to do a century on several different bikes this year.

"Variety is the spice of life" anon?
"I'd rather wear out than rust out" Mae West

sillygirl

We did the 50 mile loop on mountain bikes a couple years back - there is only one nasty hill that i am worried about because its loooong (i am pretty sure thats edgewood)

If I do an standard century - i want it to be very flat - maybe napa somewhere? Ill do a little looking about.

flythebike

Excited to see such a good response to my post! Thought I was alone in long distance fixed-gear riding. Not!

I have been real sore the last two days since the ride. But not that tired; just sore legs. I actually rode my geared bike on my commute today becuase I really needed to take it a little easy. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

A good trick for getting up difficult, longish hills: Estimate the number of pedal reps it will take you to get to the top. Then count. There was one steep hill on Stumptown where I thought I couldn't get up without walking. But I estimated, then I just put my hands in the drops and climbed a la Miguel Indurain. And I counted. Ok, half way there. Then just a few more. And before I know it I'm over it.

And on the way back down that same hill, I just unclipped. You have to be careful with that, though, because if you aren't careful you'll lose your balance. Also, I have a brake and I wouldn't unclip without that.

Wheel Doctor, I'm in my mid-30s - you can run a 44x17 or so, no problem. For a flat century I would say a flip flop fixed fixed with a 16 and 17 for you would be ideal. If you start to get tired you could flip it. Or just run your 17. You spin like crazy sometimes but there isn't really a problem with that. Being overgeared if you're tired is a worse problem, as we all know.

Modmon, thanks for the offer. There is a race I am planning to do that weekend, though, on the fourth, a pretty good race for me, kind of a cherry pick. And I'm all about picking the fruit. So I send my regrets and offer you the best of luck.

Cynikal 

There is a century in Davis that I'm looking into. Mostly flat with a bit of a climb up to Berryessa (sp?). I'd be down for a fixie metric in July.

auroch

flythebike: awesome advice.

I'm not a fan of the whole idea of a flip flop hub. The times I've had to get off my bike 'cause a hill was too steep I would just walk up it. usually by then you're legs are so messed up it is nice to walk around a bit to get rid of the lactic acid.

also I am lazy. the whole reason I bought a fixie was so I wouldn't have to switch gears.

good advice on counting your pedal strokes. I do something similar: I like to count my breaths and ever tenth one I take huge gulp of air. I find I can get more power and then have 9 quick strokes to keep up the cadence. also WEAVE! it'll also help you keep up your cadence because you're effectively creating your own switchbacks.

when I unclip for long descents I like to put my feet behind me on the chainstays that way you can use your toe or heel as a brake. I call it the superman and this alone makes me wish I had pegs.

not sure if this helps at all
jeff

Kiecker

I like the longer distances too.
https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/98900-long-fixed-gear-rides.html

FixednotBroken

a bunch of us here in NYC have been routinely doing weekend rides of 60 to 70 miles, at a pretty good clip. it's a well-worn route amongst urban roadies and racers, and man do we get funny stares when we're well outside the city...

msngr has been organizing the rides, and he's been pushing for longer and longer distances. he's gonna do montauk one of these days (unless he's fulla sh*T ), which will probably top 120 miles.

i've read about dudes doing double centuries - and hilly, at that - on fixed. makes my knees ache to think about it.

noumena - i did the transalt century last year as well - i musta seen you, cos i think i saw 5 fixed, total. lots of fun.

captsven

I used to do long fixed rides (60-100 miles) on a weekly basis. One of the most important things for distance riding is comfort. I like to set my fixed up like a road bike. I use 175mm crank arms (great for climbing, bad on turns), road frames, wheels with non-aero rims (very comfy) and most importantly, road handlebars with rubber hoods. The two extra hand positions are well worth the non-cool fashion factor. I take the levers off and just use the rubber hood part.

PdxMark

I've ridden a few centuries on my fixies, and a couple week-long 500 mile (supported) tours that included 5000' climbing days and sustained 12%-14% grades. Fixed distance riding is great, but brakes are required, particularly for long descents.

The main fatigue factor unique to fixed distance riding seems to be sustained high RPM (~135+) descents. It takes a descent of t least 2000'-3000', so you're spinning ~135+ for at least 20+ minutes... it's shattering. The climb is far easier. I think it has something to do with muscle fibers not being able to relax at that speed - but that's just me playing armchair physiologist. Another guy who's done long fixed gear rides in mountains has had the same experience. Just brake to under that 135 RPM or so cadence, and even descents aren't bad... (though things can heat up alot in the shorts).

Fixies aren't just in-town toys...

PS Unclipping for descents defeats the purpose of riding fixed. Then it's just a semi-singlespeed. Fixed gear is pedaling every pedal stroke.

flythebike

I'm rolling with some Bontrager ergo MTB grips on the tops. They are awesome, really kill some of the buzz.However, it took me an hour to install them and I ripped off a big callous. Ouch. They were not designed to get around drop bends. It was worth the effort, though. Now they feel a bit like carbon ergo bars.

And the part where the brake hoods would be is double wrapped. I'm still on the fence about installing brake levers hoods, at this point I haven't gone that far. Certainly something to consider.

Wambat

How 'bout the folks doing the Furnace Creek 508 fixed?

https://www.the508.com/2004web/fixedfeature.html

None of those guys is under 30. There's even a non-Californian.

Jaminsky

Yup, the full Marin century will be. hella and I will also be doing the Bike For Breath. Sillygirl/ostro, we should hit that together.

FixednotBroken

if they want, i could just kick their knees out, and hand out some facepunches - prolly have about the same effect.

jaw dropping. 508 miles non-stop, in death valley no less, is beyond hyperbole. yikes.