syzygy

how terrible would riding from michigan to DC (1000+ mi over two weeks?)on a fg be?
would it be fine with a flipflop hub/freewheel?

just curious..

i r yo

How is anyone suppose to know how far YOU can ride.

Phrenetis

+1 for truth.


There are so many factors you need to take into account. How much do you ride now? What route are you taking? What is the terrain like? What ratio do you run? Have you done long rides on your current setup? Is it comfortable on the long rides?

syzygy

i never said *I* was riding it. i was asking YOUR opinions, as if YOU rode it. but since I'm actually the one interested in it. The longest rides i've done are about 40 miles give or take, but i have done that multiple days in a row and it is something i could comfortably do daily after some training. i haven't been riding as much as of late, since it's the winter and such. i ride with about 84 gear inches (summer) cuz it's really flat here. i don't have much experience with heavy terrain with a fixed gear, and that is something i can't practice much around here either.

*edit* my bike is a 84 nishiki road conversion. pretty compfy.

i have no idea about the route yet not that much planning has gone into it that i know of yet.
also, if any one else in MI is going or is interested too.. i'm at MSU and am obviously interested, so contact me and crap.

dayvan cowboy

what route would you be taking? I imagine you'd be going through Ohio. Ohio is pretty flat until you get into the southern part. My friend rode from Dayton, Ohio to Athens, Ohio in a day and a half on a fixed gear. He kept up with the other two riders(one on a ss freewheel and the other on a geared road bike) just fine during the first 85 miles(all flat) but as soon as they got into the hillier parts down south he had a lot of trouble keeping up on the descents.

bbattle

Getting through southern Ohio and West Virginia and Virginia or going through Pennsylvania and down through Maryland will mean getting over some very big climbs so put a nice easy freewheel on there for that. Going downhill on a fixed gear is almost as bad as climbing. Definitely have brakes front and rear.

1000 miles in 14 days is over 71 miles a day. Certainly the guys from Gran Fondo that did RAAM on fixed gears could do it.

I could do it but it would be very tough. Some days well over a hundred miles, other days maybe 50.

Just yesterday we did a road ride that included a 1+ mile climb with an average grade of 9%. I was in my 34-24 gear(37 gi). On my fixed gear bike I could take a higher gear but not too much higher; maybe 34-17(52.5gi) at the most.

JacoKierkegaard

Probably not terrible if you're used to long rides like that. If it were me, I'd run front and rear brakes, and use a decently steep fixed gear for flat areas and an easy ratio on the freewheel side for climbing and descending.

cs1729

After reading the website, I might be down for this depending on when it takes place.

However, I haven't ever ridden more than 40 consecutive miles. I have a goal to build up to 100 so that I can ride to DEMF in Detroit this year. I would probably ride my fixed gear on that trip. However, on the way to DC from Michigan, it is not entirely flat. You would likely be going through SW PA and I can tell you from having lived in Pittsburgh before I moved here that there are certainly some big climbs going through that area.

Maybe if you had a fixed/fixed or freewheel with a lower gear ratio, then it would be easier, but I think I would ride a geared bike for that distance over that terrain. I am also at MSU.

syzygy

yeah, i think clearly after looking over that terrain, unless i could avoid a lot of the worst stuff (adding to the trip), i would need a freewheel.