Originally Posted by The Octopus

1. You can ride a fixed-gear in fast, aggressive group rides successfully, even where everyone else is on a geared bike. Like most other things fixed-gear, the secret is your gearing. Little else matters. I regularly ride in groups with guys who are on the lightest CF road bikes outfitted with the best components money can buy. . . . And I'm on an IRO Jamie Roy. The bike doesn't matter.

2. The trick to figuring your gearing is you want what I call the "Goldilocks Gear": not too big; not too small. Something just right, most of the time. Too big, and you can't spin it up fast enough when an attack goes off and you get gapped. Too small, and you're spending too much time anaerobic when everyone else is just yanking around and you ought to be getting some recovery. (That, and even if you can work a very high cadence for a long while, you'll spin out and get gapped in sprints and if there's any kind of tailwind.) I've found 48 or 49x16 lets me hang with most groups. A 15T is workable if there are few attacks or other starts/stops to deal with. And a 14T works if it's just a steady, fast-paced ride.

3. Especially in rolling and hilly terrain, you've got to compensate for your gearing by riding very smart. You pretty much always need to be near the front, which lets you help control the ride and, in situations where you might get gapped, let's you have some real estate to work with before you get totally disconnected from the group. In rolling terrain, it's usually best to gap the group yourself and stay on top of that gear (most others will maintain an equal effort, not an equal pace, and therefore will slow down on the incline). It's efficient for you to stay on top of your gear as long as you can, and this is especially necessary if you're concerned you might spin out or get dropped on the descent. When you've topped out, relax, recover, and drift back to the group.

4. Ego checking is necessary. You're going to work your ass off to stay in a group of riders who are not in as good a shape as you are. And the slightest mistake on your part -- being on the wrong wheel, usually, or otherwise poorly positioned within the group -- is going to result in your getting droped and reattaching is going to be mighty tough to do. So what, though? Think about how much of a better workout you're getting. Training rides are about training, not competition, despite what all your roadie buddies will talk about in the coffee shop and in their little Facebook worlds. Who cares if you get dropped. You're getting stronger, and you're getting a much better workout than those around you. In time, your body's ability to do work efficiently in a very wide range of cadences will increase dramatically. You'll be a beast. And when you get back on your geared bike, you're going to kick everyone's ass.