Praxis

So, the fixie madness has been going on long enough that I at least wanted to try it out. But, I don't have a fixie, and didn't feel like converting just to try it out, so I resolved to pick a gear this morning and keep pedaling. I rarely coast anyway so I wasn't too concerned. (Yes, so this was technically more like a singlespeed. Fixies get more attention though, and did I mention I kept pedaling?)

How'd it go? Well, refer to exhibit A as you read: commute map. (From the thread interestingly titled "Why I don't ride a fixie".)

1. I couldn't stay in one gear from almost the beginning. I started out in 38x15 (67.8 gear inches) but couldn't make it up the first hill (what warmup?) in that, so had to downshift to 38x17 (59.8 gear inches) and mash up. As far as I can tell it's about 14% grade, but at least it's only for maybe a quarter mile. I was about 4 mph up the first hill (about half my usual, at what appears to be just over 20 rpm (my cadence magnet is gone, so I'm calculating based on speed)

2. I had to shift again! On the big downhill I had to shift back to 38x15 to keep up, as it was getting away from me. I was at about 30 mph, which seems to put the cadence north of 160 rpm on the lower gear, and a still lively 150ish on the higher gear. I'm thinking, though, that on a true fixed I might have been able to keep the lower gear--my legs would have been slowing me down a bit, and I always could have used the brake (as much as it pains me to say that)

3. Luckily, up the somewhat longer, shallower grade (maybe 5%?) I was able to stay in 38x15. This was 35-40 RPM, sometimes up to 50. I was able to stay in this gear without difficulty for the rest of the ride, usually at 60-90 rpm (guessing, here--a not uncomfortable cadence, anyway).

4. Sticking to one (well, two) gears may have slowed me down a minute or so, but it's hard to tell because of all the traffic lights (something like 12). I may have missed a light or two that I usually make, I don't know.

5. If I ever ride fixed, traffic lights will take getting used to. I was consciously trying to "ride fixed", but I noticed when I clipped out at lights I'd always unclip the top pedal, and then rotate the bottom back a quarter turn or so when leaving. I could just pop up the rear--I do it all the time to crabwalk sideways to let turning cars by--but it'd be better to stop in a better position (or to trackstand). I tried stopping with pedals horizontal, but then forgot and unclipped the *front*, not the back. So when I put my weight on the back foot to get my formerly front foot on the ground, it quickly rotated backward (freewheels--gotta love 'em), and I laughed at myself as I slammed back in the saddle.

So I was expecting it to be interesting, and it was. I didn't actually expect to do as well as I did, and it appears that there may indeed be a single gear that I could commute in, in theory. At this point in time it's probably not worth the expense (if buying a fixie), the time (if converting a fixie), and the storage space (I have no idea where I'd put another bike). Still wouldn't mind riding one now and again, though.

rocks in head 

I did this before converting my bike to fixed. It's quite different, I find that I can mash harder on the uphills, and spin faster on the downhills on a fixed vs. geared trying to pedal like fixed. Also, I've got a hill about umpteen bazillion% grade half a mile long at the end of my commute and I haul my fixed up it with about 30lbs in panniers. Granted, I'm already warmed up by the previous 11.5 miles.

I'd suggest looking on sffixed.com or the reigonal forum of BFSSFG and trying to find someone to lend you a bike for a spin... it'd be a way of feeling what it's like (satisfy the curiosity) without spending 3-500 on your own.

oops. that's san-diego, not san-fran... I'm sure there's a bunch of fixies there too though.

jyossarian

Hills will always be tough on a fixie, some hills tougher than others. And fixies are definitely not for everyone, but cheers for trying to stick to one gear for your commute.

kemmer

What rocks in head said. Sticking to one gear on a geared bike is not the same a riding a fixed gear or even single speed. It's easier to do it on a fixed in part because you don't have the option of shifting. You aren't thinking "gee, this is tough, I should just shift." That kind of thinking (even on a subconscious level) makes it harder. Also, the momentum of your wheel on a fixed gear helps you spin faster and climb easier, at least is seems too. Finally, once you do it a few times your body will adjust and you will be strong enough to climb those hills you couldn't manage before.

If you really want the fixie experience, find a Varsity for $10 and locktight a cog and bottom bracket lock ring on. You'll only be out $30 plus your time if you hate it. Single speeds sell fast on CL in most places, so you could easily convert pretty much any bike and get your money back.

Praxis

Yeah, I am looking into a cheap conversion (but I'm a bit leery of only locktite between me and injury).

Maybe some of my first hill failure was psychological (and some because I'm not warmed up then), but at one revolution every three seconds, I was having problems staying upright while still providing power! I really didn't want to shift, particularly under load like that.

I ride a Biopace chainring, and it's been forever since I've ridden anything but that, but I got the feeling that a Biopace would improve the FG experience as opposed to something rounder. Don't know if that's what people's experiences bear out, though.

rocks in head 

Well, I'm not sure about the bio-pace chainrings on the fixed... something about chain tension... I know that Sheldon Brown (whose website you should check out if you're seriously contemplating this stuff) claims that the shape won't significantly affect chain tension, but it's something to be very careful of. I've heard of someone having lots of variation in the tension running a bio-pace, but haven't actually tried it out for myself.

Sheldon Brown

That's an imaginary problem. If the Loctite lets go, you just wind up coasting. Of course, if you go this route, you need to keep both brakes on the bike, but if you do there is nothing to be scared about.

When you have the option of downshifting, it can be difficult to resist. When you don't have that option, you may surprise yourself.

I think Biopace is particularly good for fixed gear. I find it gentler on the knees, especially when spinning high cadences.

Sheldon "Biopace" Brown

-=(8)=-

Cycling is an evolutionary process.
First, you lose the training wheels.
After you progress, you lose the gears

cerewa

Or you could practice the technique demonstrated to me by bikeforums member "huhenio", who takes his feet off the pedals while descending, and clips back in once the cadence has gone down to 130 or so. (I was amazed how fast his pedals were spinning when he clipped in!) He just put his feet on the chainstays while the pedals spun around.

JeffS

It sounds like you're letting your speed drop too much on the hills. I think you would be better to push through it, sitting or standing. A 4mph mash is just going to suck the life out of you.

I know what you mean about the early hill though. My commute, both ways, starts with about 2 miles uphill, with the steepest sections immediately after I start. I find there's a balance for me. Sprinting up leaves me drained and suffering. Going too slow though, is even worse. I ride about 74 gear inches and if I ever drop below about 12mph I REALLY start hurting.

grolby

14% grade for a quarter mile? 17% for half a mile? Not only do I think that you guys are miscalculating the grades here, I think that if you aren't that those kinds of sustained grades are more than good enough reason not to ride a fixed gear. The worst sustained climb I have ever made in my life was a mile and a half at an average 11% grade (some parts of this road were significantly steeper). That was enough to make my buddy and I walk our low, low geared touring bikes. In fact, we were walking well within the half first mile, before the average grade had broken 10%. Now, I admit that were tired, that we are not incredibly strong riders - we don't do lots of miles - and that we were pedaling heavily loaded touring bikes, but you're talking about incredibly steep slopes, here! If that's how bad things really are, you really might as well stick with gears. We're commuters - why suffer?

That said, I went singlespeed on my beater bike a couple of months ago. I've been pleasantly surprised by the climbing capabilities of a bike with a straight-chain 70-inch gear. Sustained climbs of 6% aren't too bad. Short climbs of 10% or so are also possible. I expect that long climbs on a slope like that would be very difficult, so I avoid the really nasty hills in my area. This is partly about saving my (pretty delicate) knees rather than pure physical strength, so you may be capable of more. It is hard work, though! If you don't want to work hard, and there is no shame in not wanting to work hard on your commute, stick with the gears and be content with your choice. I ride gears most of the time, and I like them just fine.

Praxis

grolby: I didn't say 17%, but I'll let him defend that. I'm pretty sure about my 14%, but I was wrong about the quarter mile--it's only somewhere around 1/7-1/8 mile or so (100 ft in (5280/7) feet is 13%). Check the map for yourself, though--I could be wrong. But it's short--only a block. But what a block!

Update for the ride home--bad news first. I coasted. (Is there a support group?). That long downhill just got to me and I gave up trying to keep up. However, I didn't feel as bad because A) I know I can always touch on the brake and B) my legs would slow me down a bit on a real fixie.

Good news is, I didn't touch the shifter, and my usual 7mph climb was a 10mph climb. Felt much faster.

Funny thing happened after the ride, though. The whole ride I'm trying to stay "ahead" of the pedals--you know, since I'm trying not to coast I'm basically always pedaling at least enough to accelerate a bit? Well, I went out to get some drive-through food right after the ride, and I was going pretty fast in the neighborhood until I realized that I was allowed to coast when I was driving the car.

rocks in head 

yeah, I'm exaggerating... it's the internet. I don't have an altimeter, and I don't have a gradiometer either, it just seems like that steep a grade when I go up it. I was curious, it's an average of 10% over a half mile, with one spot at the top (like 15 feet) that's about 15% (where two roads meet). I believe that in the US you can't build roads at more than, 15% I think? something like that. It just feels quite steep. I generally spend about 7 minutes standing and pushing... but it's do-able and I generally don't mind going so slowly. There's a shorter, steeper route that's probalbly a 13% (by my corrected resoning) over about a third of a mile, but I only took that a couple times, and it was going down.

yes, sustained hills on a fixed gear sucks. Living at the top of one and riding a fixed gear isn't the best, but the rest of my commute has about 10 feet of elevation change over the other 11.5 miles, so overall it's a great workout and I find that 70 gear inches gets me spinning pretty quickly. Again, lack of computer means I have no idea, so I'm not going to bother guessing, since I seem to be bad at it.

Praxis, your hill sounds harder than mine. I had one hill like that on my old commute that I had to go around, not because I couldn't crawl up it, but because the road it was on was particularly narrow in that spot and it felt unsafe. I went a half mile out of my way and crawled up another hill.

Yes, when you try to keep up with your geared bike, you're basically accelerating, especially if you don't want to use your brakes... it's quite different with the fixed, when you don't feel like accelerating you just relax and let the pedals move your legs... it's like coasting, but your legs remain active. Not as restorative as coasting on a geared bike, but your muscles will never get cold or stop moving. Besides, I really like the trackstanding at lights.

Okay, I think that this post got away from me, it definitely didn't need to be this long... I hope you get the chance to try one sometime, and I hope to try out my bio-pace chainring on my commuting fixed. I'll let you know how it goes if you're interested, in a few months.