SS / Fixed commuters - where are you?
 

I feel like one of the very few. What do you ride? Whats your set up? Gear Ratio/inches?

Me: '08 Jamis Sputnik, 52/16, 88 gear inches, 6.8 gain ratio, 15-20mi daily commute. I need to reduce my gain ratio... any ideas?

Dude...you need pictures!

I used to commute fixed once in a while. I started out with a '77 Gitane Gypsy Sport conversion:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/...50b0c08d94.jpg

a few months later I replaced it with a Surly Cross Check:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2629/...a21a0e3c11.jpg

I used a 46-18 combo for a while, but eventually got lazy and dropped it to 42-18. Then I moved to a new house and my commute ends with about 250 feet of climbing in the last quarter mile, so I put gears on the Cross Check. Yesterday I climbed the hill in a 36-25 gear, by the end of the summer I may be ready to go back to fixed.

Honestly though, for some reason I think I enjoyed riding the Gitane fixed more than the Cross Check, and I definitely like the Cross Check better with gears, so I may end up rebuilding the Gitane.

BTW, if you skid, you should consider going with a 17T cog to maximize your number of skid patches and save your tires. I like brakes, so it was never an issue for me.

SS & fixies are only really practical in the cities. I think most of us are loathe to give up the efficiency that multiple gear ratios give.

I think if I were to get a SS, I would probably go with something relaxed, & upright, rather than something with drop bars. Might as well admit that I'm not going anywhere fast on it.

I'm seriously considering fixing my folder... though I love the three speed hub... Maybe something like the S3X hub?

06 Pista, 50x16 fixed. Round trip is 11 miles.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...3/IMG_0802.jpg

My knees just screamed out in horror when I opened this thread.

:)

Bianchi San Jose SS - 42 X 17. Love it for commuting in the suburbs and busy areas. There are only a few short hills where I ride, so SS works well.

Attachment 150479

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/...1dd1c0d7_b.jpg

I've been taking my Salsa Casserole for 22 miles each way on my commute. My fastest time has been 1:10 when the wind was perfect, my worst time has been 1:40.

My commute is half on the MUP, and half on a back highway including a segment that runs through a wildlife reserve.

IMO if you're going further than 5 miles fixed > singlespeed my legs need the slack.

I commute ~10 miles each way, w/ a few hills to deal with but nothing too steep. Commuter #1 is a '76 fuji track bike w/ nitto bullhorns, geared at 50 x 19. Commuter #2 is a mid 80s bianchi track bike, geared at 49 x 18.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...DSCF2714-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/006-1.jpg

I ride most of my commutes in time trial mode, I like to go fast!

Where I live is rather hilly so I ride a 42t up front and a 16t freewheel in the back on commutes. For exercise I use a 15t fixed cog.

Some of you guys either live in really flat places or your legs are made of iron. Some of those chain rings look like trash can lids in comparison to my wee 42t chain ring. :lol: Maybe someday I will give a 50t+ ring a try.

Stock Specialized Langster. 42/16

I recently purchased a seat post mounted rear rack for the bike. I chose that route because I like to take it off if I don't need to use it.
http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/t...dLangster1.jpg

50/19 is almost the same g.i. ratio as 42/16.

My fixed commuter met its death this winter at the hands of an unusually large pothole (the frame was bent beyond repair), and I've really been missing it lately.

Fortunately, I recently found a mid-eighties Fuji Del Ray on craigslist. It's in really good shape and working well with the original gearing, but I'll be converting it to fixed for next winter, if not sooner.

But 88 gear-inches makes my knees hurt just thinking about it. I run something around 70. Even if my commute were flat, I wouldn't go much higher. Too much work to get going from a stop, and I rarely spin out on flat ground unless I have a big tail wind.

As a matter of fact, I rode my fixed gear to work today. Right now it's running 42x16 (70 g.i.)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18...o/DSC02408.jpg

but I have had it set up with a 52x15 (ludicrous g.i.) last summer when I had a wild hair to do the local TT series Eddy Merckx style:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18...pring09161.jpg

It was great out on the open road, but murder in town going from stop light to stop light.

My main mode of transportation is a FG conversion... 52X17. I live in a relatively flat city but then there can be quite a substantial difference between a head-wind and a tail-wind.

Too many different bikes, I commute on any of them given my mood and plans for after work. My SS/FG commuter is a Bianchi San Jose, currently set up 39x17 fixed. 42x17 is better for general riding, but this is also my cyclocross bike, and they like the courses hilly around here, so I swapped out the 42T chainring. thinking about getting a 15 or 16 tooth cog for the commute.

This is probably my most fun, versatile bike. not sure why i haven't been riding it more lately.

It would be easiest to get a 18 or 19t cog. You might need a some more links in your chain though.

In other words, you'd be desiring a beach cruiser:

http://www.nirve.com/mens.asp?cat=cruiser

That's cool, it's a lot like the bikes people used to ride as kids. I had a lot of fun with my 1-speed coaster brake bike as a kid myself :)

What I like about single speeds is that they're mechanically simple, so they're easier to fix when the drive train breaks down. They are also more efficient on their one gear than the same specific gear ratio on a derailleur'ed bike (I'm not so sure about internal gear hubs). Hills? I'd just do the "stand-and-mash" like what I did as a kid. Of all the bikes I have ridden and test ridden as an adult, I found myself having the most fun with this one:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/i...ine925-800.jpg

Too bad the current version uses bullhorn bars. I really liked the moustache bar on the original. I have no experience with fixed gears, as the bike shops don't allow me to test ride them on the fixed side of the flip/flop hub :(

My next bike is going to be a SS/Fixed Gear to provide something different from my current touring bicycle (Surly Long Haul Trucker). I just can't decide whether I should go with something like this:

http://www.traitorcycles.com/Bikes_LuggernautSS.cfm

Or something cheaper and lower-key (not as much of a theft magnet) like the Redline 925 above. I just like lugs too much :p

My commute is a 29 mile r/t beginning with a half mile 16% descent in the dark, then a stepwise climb back up to another coastal mesa. If I can hitch a ride to a point five miles from work then I'll take my fixed gear Ti road bike and ride all the way home for a 20 mile day. It has rear facing dropouts and a front brake, a 45 tooth chainring, and a Phil flipflop hub with a choice of 15 and 17, giving me an 81" gear with a 66" available for climbing.

I ride a 2008 Redline 925. Commute is 15 miles R/T. I run the stock 42/16 as a singlespeed. It's had almost 6000 miles and is still going strong.


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2680/...58e8f4f9c2.jpg

Sorry, the pic above isn't exactly bike centric, but its the only one i have on me right now.

riding a single speed Schwinn World Tourist (early 80's i think) 23 miles a day. Chicago is flat, i only need one gear. The hub still has 5 cogs and a derailleur, but the cable has been cut, so i can flick the chain to another gear if i ever want to. I'll be replacing it with a SS hub as soon as I figure out how.

I'm a newb here, have no idea what Gear Ratio/inches means. But I'm sure I'll be learning soon enough. ;)

I went from 42/17 to 42/18. I have a 19t cog that I have used w/ 48t chainring but don't see it w/ the 42 unless it's deepest darkest winter. I could totally see myself back at 17 right now or even 16 maybe.

But, now that my wife is back to biking, I am at least splitting if not taking all of the trailer/trail-a-bike miles, so I am geared until winter comes again (except for the occasional days she drives).

Kilo tt Pro for the last 2 years or so. I run 48/17 on a 30mi round trip.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...1_edited-1.jpg

I commute and do recreational rides on fixed and singlespeed. I have a KHS UNO set up as fixed gear, it's customized according to my own taste. I also have a Surly 1x1 with 700cc wheels set up as a singlespeed. Sorry no pics I don't have a camera.

48x16 fixed every day with a front brake - it's just smart. (plus gatorskins are too damned expensive to skid on). It's fast, as long as there isn't a head-wind. I have only a six mile commute each way, but six miles against a strong wind on that high a gear can feel like 15 miles. this is why I'm looking into either an LHT or Pacer for commuting, as my late 70's Univega Sportour finally gave up the ghost, so the fixed is my only bike at the moment.