charlesduke

Hi all,

I'm looking for a bit of guidance. I am primarily a runner, and for all intents and purposes, this is my first real bike. I went to the shop and told them I was looking for a cross-training bike that would excel at training for leg strength, and I now have a fixed gear bike with a 52:14 gear ratio. I was told to stop just lock my legs up (it's apparently the most efficient way to stop.. skid?) but am having trouble executing that. The bike runs great and its certainly helping with training but I love in a metro area and need stopping power. Does it just take a lot of practice? Thank you.

grudgemonkey

I guess 52x14 will help with leg strength so you got what you asked for. Despite what the internets might say, installing brakes is not a bad idea.

aMull

52/14 is pretty huge, i suggest get a larger cog and install a front brake.

Philatio

you probably want to gear it down (see www.sheldonbrown.com/gears) and add at least a front brake.

charlesduke

What would you guys recommend?
Is it possible to skid-stop with 62x14?

charlesduke

Is it possible to stop as quickly trying only to apply backwards force?

silsteve

I guess you could slow down by back pedaling but if s**t hits the fan I would reccomend having a handbrake.

ProFail

If you happen to have quads the size of Zeus' wang.

That's 114 gear inches. I'd say 80 is already hard enough to skid with.

Run a 48x16 and use a front brake.

neverjared

T-T-T-Troll. Love it. 4378 x 14 is great for legover skidz.

andre nickatina

Trooooooooll.

But yeah, 52x14 is not a skid gear. You will feel the pain very fast. I would know, I've skidded 53x15 before (coming back from track training).

ProFail

I'm actually a bigger fan of the 3900x9 because it has multiple contact spots for skidz and lets you spin.

Suttree

Is this a joke?

juggleaddict

that . . . that is a huge gear, hope ya don't have hills : 3

brake btw, brake would be good

charlesduke

No. Why?

jpdesjar

did they really say to lock up your legs? how does this help with running?'
i realize that riding a fixed gear helps with leg strength but get a front brake already man...

charlesduke

The smaller gear on my chain ring is 42 teeth, would that one be usable with a lower gear on the back like a 15 or 16? What tool is required for cutting a new chain?

charlesduke

Just did. I appreciate the help and suggestions from everyone. Bikes are very new to me.

Nick99

Are you riding a conversion?

For the chain, you need a chain tool and pliers if you get a chain with a master link.
I like the SRAM PC-1. They are like $10-12 and use an easy to install master link.
You will need a chain whip (1/8 or 3/32 depending on chain and cog) and a lockring wrench (Hozan is good, Park tool one sucks).

Use https://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/ or https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ to figure out how many gear inches and ratio you want to run. 70 GI is good for all around, that or lower for spinning fast, 85 max for training unless you are doing track.

Ride a road bike around and see what gear ratio feels best for you. Figure out that in gear inches, and change your rear cog and chain accordingly (cheaper). Keep your front chainring especially if it is new.

You can adjust the rear cog later as you get used riding fixed.

If you have a flip flop hub I would suggest running a freewheel of the same size on the other side, even 1 tooth larger. Then you have choices for lighter training days. But if you do that please install front AND rear brakes.

deadforkinglast

42-15 or 16 would be a good place to start. Heavy gears can tear up your knees. I have a few friends who used to be big gear mashers but have seen the light and moved down to smaller gears. I use a 46 tooth chainring and have a 17t cog on one side and a 14t cog on the other. I intended to get to the track with the 14t cog, but that never ended up happening. I use it for riding with a tailwind and mashing on the open road. It's a nice reward when I get to the top of a hill and flip my wheel around. For climbing, headwinds and start and stop city traffic, though, 46/17 is right for me.

triplesixer

I would suggest to stay at the gearing ratio you are at and to put both front and back brakes on your bike. Since you are using this for training purposes, the big gearing with help build massive amounts of muscle and cadencing down will also give good resistance training. Since you live in a "metro area" and are new to fixed riding the brakes will help keep you alive.
If you are specifically training for running, skidding on a ratio such as that (as others have already pointed out) will seriously **** up your knees.
Unless of course you just want to be a hipster... then please, skid all you want.

deadforkinglast

Pushing big gears isn't going to do good things for running, though. Learning to spin a high cadence on a lower or medium gear will get your heart pumping and will actually be aerobic exercise that will build muscle tone and improve endurance. Pushing a low cadence on a big gear will build up muscle mass in your quads, but will probably not build muscle in a useful, meaningful way for training for running. If you're doing a lot of running, in fact, you probably know to be careful with your knees and to be kind to them. Pushing a big gear is rather unkind to your knees, and, in the words of Sheldon Brown, "is good for building up muscle mass and bulking up your legs, but it does little for your heart or lungs, and you can hurt yourself if you overdo it."

Now someone's going to come on and tell me that he's been pushing 98" brakeless in San Francisco for four years without any knee problems and blah blah blah.

triplesixer

I've been pushing 98" brakeless in San Francisco for four years without any knee problems and blah blah blah.

No but you are right. For endurance a lower gear might help. But I believe that we all can agree that he should throw brakes on there and def not focus on skidding.