I don't agree at all with merlin.

People just think that is just and go out with 53x15 in a fix gear and the cruel reality is that fix gear can help or can mess you up if you don't it right. With kids you have to start with 42x20 or so, so they get used to move the legs fast, that's all they need to learn. With adults is similar but the difference is the intensity and work outs while pedaling.

With adults you start with 42x18 like for 2 or 3 weeks in kind'a hilly terrain and maybe 1 hour tops.. then you swap the work out and the gear for something else... at the end of 3 months the guy at least should be able to do 100 km with 42x16 (this is a killer) around 18 to 22 mph average w/o any problems. Once the guy can handle that it is ready to go because for sure the cadence is already programed in his head and legs (90 to 120 rpm). 3 months of fix gear is a killer... but if done wrong can make just the opposite.


As for the momentum that melin talks, well that's so relative that i don't even want to start arguing it

When i started cycling at age 12 the 1st thing they did to me (us) was put us in a strict regime of fix gear w/o brakes... you have to handle the gears, the pedaling back and forth, learn to stop, skid and stuff... in a couple of weeks we were getting the 42x20 stopped in a dime, no hands "sur place" and stuff... the other thing they did to us was to take the straps (back in the day we used cages and straps) out the pedals. We had nothing else than the cleats to keep the feet in place in the pedals. Result? after a month the pedaling was super rounded because to be able to accelerate we were forced to pedal rounded, the other benefit is that your pacemaking is like a clock, no changes in speed what so ever, thing is pretty common between weekend riders. Try to sprint w/o the straps in a 45 degree velodrome...

This is when I argue the momentum part because even thought momentum helps, if the pedaling technique is not right the momentum will eat you and then you have squared pedaling when tired, then you can't accelerate at all... merlin says that momentum carries you but up to some point because after 35 km/h you really need to push it because the momentum turns to drag and the bikes doesn't accelerates no more unless you go downhill.

The other situation is that if you did fix gear with 46x16 then that explains what you say, the other thing is that you shouldn't feel the momentum dragging you if the legs were fast enough... momentum wont be noticeable if the legs are fast because you move the legs at the same pace. It is interesting what he says tho because it depends on how fast the rider goes too... with fix gear if you need to accelerate you have to keep up with the momentum and the worse part is that the pedaling has to be right or the acceleration will suck and simply nothing will happens... my best guess is that merlin lacks of agility or he is doing the fix gear wrong.

Good luck...