Originally Posted by
Colnago Mixte
I have not done this, but it seems as though a fixed gear would be really great for keeping my pace even, and my pedals turning.
Uneven pace has always plagued me, especially when I feel really good at the beginning of a ride. And when I ride distances I'm not used to, and start running out of energy, I tend to coast a lot, which I'm certain wastes energy when I have to spin back up to speed again.
Originally Posted by
79pmooney
You will never regret trying it. I was told 40 years ago by the club vets to set my second bike up fixed to improve my pedaling style. It did, big time. It also taught my body how to recover while pedaling. But that first rtide had an unintended consequence. I fell in love with fixed gears right then (even though I tried to coast and crashed mid-way through that 8 mile ride). I've had and ridden fix gears ever since. Now 3 of my 5 bikes are fixed.
Ben
The parts in
bold/red are interesting and very important.
Learning to keep a steady pace and recovering while pedaling by being smooth has had a very positive impact on my ability to do long road rides on geared bikes. This is one of the main benefits of fixed gear riding for me.
@
79pmooney, it is interesting that this has take some time to become really beneficial, two years or more. I was noticing it on a long road ride a few weeks ago and thinking about how a few years of fixed gear riding has really helped.
Thank you both for bringing it up.
-Tim-