Fixed Gear In The tour
07-06-14, 05:14 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 872
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 358 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 136 Times
in
82 Posts
Fixed Gear In The tour
Now that the Tour De France is on, I saw that in it's early year, the race was raced on FG or SS! What would happen if a team showed up to the start line on Fixed Gear today? What a race that would be!!
07-06-14, 05:19 PM
#2
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Anderson In.
Posts: 13
Bikes: 1975 Centurion ss, 1973 Nishiki Int fixed, 1976 Raleigh Professional
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
That would be something.. Pedal your ass off...........
07-06-14, 05:54 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: VA -> IN
Posts: 281
Bikes: ones with two wheels
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
they also used to consume alcohol to try in order to gain an advantage. been a dirty sport for a while lol
07-06-14, 06:29 PM
#4
Grumpy Old Bugga
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
Posts: 4,229
Bikes: Hillbrick, Malvern Star Oppy S2, Europa (R.I.P.)
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 370 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times
in
6 Posts
Fixed gear is great within a very small range of conditions. Fixed gear is practical within a surprisingly wide range of conditions. Fanatics can and do ride the TdF mountains on FG every year and long distance isn't an issue.
That isn't racing.
When racing, particularly a three week stage race, the real world becomes an annoying irrelevance. All that matters is conserving every last flicker of energy so you can expend it to most effect somewhere else. This is the true purpose of multi-geared setups, that and expanding the overall envelope of rideability.
Some poor sausage on a FG will find himself left behind on the fast downhills and attacking uphills. He'll also find himself taking different lines to his freewheel competitors which isn't cool in a tight peleton. Remember, this isn't a club ride where FG can usually match it pretty well with the other riders, these blokes are riding a lot closer together and pushing along at lot faster.
I have often looked at some of the flatter time trials and wondered how they'd go if tackled on a FG bike. No one's been game enough to try it yet, it may not even be allowed, it might just be silly. Be good to see someone give it a go though.
As for the history lesson, it was good old Henri Desgrange who refused to relax the rules that required FG in the early days. Although he was the father of the TdF and it's guiding light for a couple of decades, this and some of his other decisions led many to suspect he secretly hated cyclists.
That isn't racing.
When racing, particularly a three week stage race, the real world becomes an annoying irrelevance. All that matters is conserving every last flicker of energy so you can expend it to most effect somewhere else. This is the true purpose of multi-geared setups, that and expanding the overall envelope of rideability.
Some poor sausage on a FG will find himself left behind on the fast downhills and attacking uphills. He'll also find himself taking different lines to his freewheel competitors which isn't cool in a tight peleton. Remember, this isn't a club ride where FG can usually match it pretty well with the other riders, these blokes are riding a lot closer together and pushing along at lot faster.
I have often looked at some of the flatter time trials and wondered how they'd go if tackled on a FG bike. No one's been game enough to try it yet, it may not even be allowed, it might just be silly. Be good to see someone give it a go though.
As for the history lesson, it was good old Henri Desgrange who refused to relax the rules that required FG in the early days. Although he was the father of the TdF and it's guiding light for a couple of decades, this and some of his other decisions led many to suspect he secretly hated cyclists.
07-06-14, 06:51 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Gnv, FL
Posts: 1,890
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
07-06-14, 07:11 PM
#6
Old fart
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Appleton WI
Posts: 24,786
Bikes: Several, mostly not name brands.
Mentioned: 153 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3588 Post(s)
Liked 3,400 Times
in
1,934 Posts
The Tour de France explicitly prohibited variable gears until 1936. Henri Desgrange, the first organizer of the Tour de France, and whose quote headlines this very forum ("I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!") had strong feelings on the matter.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
FullTimeFixie
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear
23
08-20-20 08:30 PM
