Originally Posted by
Dan The Man
I rode 4000 miles cross country with a guy on a brakeless fixed gear. I felt much safer riding behind him than a lot of other people, because I trusted his bike handling and I knew he couldn't slam the brakes on me. One day, we averaged 22 mph on an 85 mile day (low rollers, no wind)
I just completed a charity ride from San Francisco to San Diego and rode it fixed gear. It was enormously fun. Though I got a few "you must be out of your mind" looks from some of the other riders from various college race teams.
About the "wrong gear 90% of the time", I find that if you know how to pace yourself, spin, and understand the limits and constraints of the machine, the notion of "wrong gear" vanishes. I'm no cycling guru, but I find that most riders put forth the wrong kind of
effort, and cloak that by shifting too often.