Oooh...good idea. I have some stupidly thick pedals that came on my $15 garage sale 1980's Raleigh Pursuit. Those could make up some of the crank length deficit.

Thanks.

Edit: I guess that would be leg length deficit (relative to the 175mm cranks).:D

Uh, sorry to rain on your parade but that won't work. The pivot points are still exactly the same. Its the equivalent of lowering your seat post.

You shouldn't be resisting hard on the dowhills, use your brake if you can't keep up with the pedals.

That's the major, traditional cause of knee problems, has nothing to do with fixed gear.

Given all of this, I think it's unfair and misleading to blame the fixed gear for your knee problems.

I have since bought a 350mm seat post to fix that problem. I might try the fixed gear experiment again with a lower gear ratio. I don't really want to change the pedals or cranks, though (mostly for economic reasons).[/QUOTE]

The ratio you already have is lower than I normally recommend for street use.

Riding without foot retention is an advanced fixed gear technique, not recommended for fixed-gear beginners.

Sheldon "Not The Bike's Fault" Brown

But....your foot only knows that it is about 5mm's higher from the pivot point
than it was before.

_______________

............O................<<=======Standard pedal
_______________


_____________________


................O.........................<<==========BMX

_____________________

Your foot is closer to the bottom bracket, the same as a shorter crank arm.

Lem,

Smaller crank length is magenta
Larger crank in bluegrey
Larger with thicker pedals is dashed line

Al

But your pedal is also 5mm higher at the top of the stroke, effectively making your foot travel the exact same distance.

What goes around comes around.

Maybe this isn't going to accomplish what I intended. The main reason I was interested in fixed gears to begin with was so I can stop wearing out brake pads frequently in the winter. I don't go fast in the winter for two reasons. One is to avoid suddenly finding ice at high speed. The other is wind chill. So, I always brake going downhill in winter weather.

Edit: Also, the brakes don't work so well in slushy snow. I was looking for another way to slow the bike.

Wouldn't a single speed (or multi speed) bike with coaster brake also accomplish your intention?

I'm with ILTB (imagine that....) for your purpose a coaster brake would be best. Or, if you gear the fixed gear bike around 55-60 gear inches it should be MUCH easier to stop by feet only. I notice a big difference in let braking just by going from 68 gear inches to 74.

Al, BCDub, Rykoala......

Even I, Master of Argue-fu, cant find fault with afformentioned pedal logic.............

I accept my physics lesson with a dose of humility. :o

do they still make coaster brakes?:D :) :eek:

Yes, I sort of wish I had gone with a coaster brake. Anyway, I have this nice wheel built around a Surly hub so I'm kind of committed to using it.

Later this summer, I'll probably try the fixed gear experiment again with a lower gear. I have the seat at the propper height now. Next time, I'll go to a bike trail first and do my inital fixed gear training runs on flat ground. My ultimate vision for this bike is a drum brake hub in front and flip-flop fixed freewheel for the rear.

In the mean time, I love the bike as a SS. I have ridden it to work most days since last fall. It is currently geared 35x16 freewheel. I have some hills on my commute. Part of the time I'm riding on a gravel shoulder. The low gear and 26x1.5 tires result in a nice comfortable commute. I'm not racing to work on this bike. It's current status is bad weather / lazy mood commuter. I race to work on my SS road bike conversion with the 48x17 gears. So I guess I do have multiple gears. They just aren't on the same bike. :D

it takes practice to get used to resisting on downhills, you need to build up to that. but its also good to use a retention system.

i commute/ride around town on fixed gear track bike. i run a 49/18 ratio. 23c gatorskins. its fun. i ride a full fendered conversion in the winter with a similar ratio/tire size.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...h_P1010036.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3...h_P1010034.jpg

I'm looking to start commuting to work; 15 miles on a 4 lane highway; 3 mellow hills, no signals, lights, or stop signs. No real weather to contend with.

I'm leaning toward buying a SS freewheel (Bianchi San Jose), but I'm a bit nervous.

It sounds like most of you on here have a ton of bikes and/or are bike mechanics. I am not either and this SS would be my only bike. I'm leaning toward the SS for lack of maintenance and less cost.

Would you own one as your only bike?
Advice???

I do! I do!! I am! I am! :)

It's hot, it's cool! It jumps, it climbs, it carries my groceries, it takes me to work, to the post office, out to the wooded trail...
I LOVE my Surly 1x1 Love it! Love it! Love it!
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...GurlySurly.jpg

Wheee :D

squeaky, that pain you get in your knees might just be your muscles getting stronger.

being able to brake with your pedals on a fixed gear is not something you can do immediately. use your legs at first till they start to fatigue, then hop on the brakes. lots of times stopping i still use both the pedals and the brakes.

as you get more confident (and stronger) you'll find yourself using your brakes less and less. but still on big hills i NEED a front brake. lots of the hardcore brakeless kiddies are in cities with no real hills to speak of.

it is really fun, but definitely has a pretty long learning curve till it feels "right" all the time. hell i still don't like my legs spinning outta control down a big hill but that is why i love my brake...

i am so freakin excited, my new fixed gear hub just came in yesterday (after being out of stock for months)! hopefully by next week i will be commuting fixed again... WOOH!

http://www.levelcomponents.com/images/newdev2.jpg

I ride a Schwinn Le Tour fixed conversion, 48-18. It's 14mi one way, and I "cheat" by leaving stuff at the office so I'm not lugging anything

What hub did you buy?

I don't think so...there are no muscles in the knees!

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/pain

Right. Hard "braking" with the legs is injurious to your muscles, generally a Bad Idea. Google "eccentric contraction" for more details on this.

Sheldon "Brakes Make It More Fun" Brown

i've been commuting for a couple months now on a bianchi pista. i really like it. it's 8 miles each way, fixed 44x16 since i have a couple hills and in case i need to get around downtown. it's a bit hilly in seattle but nothing too terrible. i have a brake but i only use it on big hills. i've learned to approach hiis (from the top) slower and just keep speed controlled by applying back-pressure and braking when neccessary. no need to be eating up tires with skidding.

i gotta say, my work day has been much better without the early morning stress of driving 10 miles (it's longer by car) and taking almost more time to get to work.