How Far Do You Go With Fixed Gear
05-29-16, 04:56 PM
#1
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How Far Do You Go With Fixed Gear
Besides really huge hills, are you hooked on the idea that there is no difference in riding fixed vs. a geared bike? I’ve only been at this for a couple of months. However, since I started I’ve only been riding my fixed gear bike. Today I went for a 50 mile ride with a lot of “hills” and didn’t think much of it. For me it’s a lot more fun than f’ing with what gear to be in. What’s your breaking point for needing gears?
05-29-16, 05:33 PM
#2
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I ride 30 miles without issue on most days, not that I can't take anymore -- but I usually try to fit rides in where I can.
05-29-16, 05:57 PM
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there is definitely a difference, but thats not to say you cant do a lot on a fg
i think my longest fg ride was 135miles with plenty of hills
i think my longest fg ride was 135miles with plenty of hills
05-29-16, 06:00 PM
#4
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As you said, other than really huge hills there is no difference.
05-29-16, 06:22 PM
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I love to go on long rides into the country on the fixed gear. It's old school roadie training.
05-29-16, 07:21 PM
#7
Fresh Garbage
Not so much going up the hills but coming back down. A couple years ago I wanted to do the MS150 on my fixed gear so I tried to see how I'd do going up one of the biggest canyons around. Little did I think about how ****ty it was going to be to descend for 10 miles.
05-29-16, 07:21 PM
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I live on top of a big 8% grade - so no fixed gear for me.
05-29-16, 07:29 PM
#9
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A couple of years ago I did 4 centuries. Unless the wind is blowing hard I would rather do base miles on the fg. Usually do 3 to 4 hours. If building up to a century I will build up to at least 5.5 to 6 hours. For endurance I count hours not miles.
05-29-16, 10:04 PM
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How far/distance isn't an issue for me. I could ride all day, all night on a fixed bike. It's the elevation that kills me. Getting around town and general riding I'm fine with, but living in Denver, I'd never take my fixed gear climbing in the mountains. I can hardly climb with a road bike. Just not my type of riding.
05-29-16, 10:08 PM
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BITD - My longest ride was about 125 miles, but it was basically a flat ride from Manhattan to Montauk. However, I routinely rode long hilly rides in Norther NJ, the Poconos, and Westchester and Western CT. Later on I found and mounted a vintage SA 2-speed fixed hub, which made that bike my primary ride for anything short of extended tours.
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“Never argue with an idiot. He will only bring you down to his level and beat you with experience.”, George Carlin
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05-29-16, 11:01 PM
#13
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As long as my FG is set up with the appropriate ratio, (and I'm not climbing/descending mountains) then yeah, no difference.
05-29-16, 11:19 PM
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If I recall correctly, forum member @Coluber42 does fixed gear randonneuring - that's distances long enough to break me, like 600km, 1000km, 1200km... She might be able to give you some insight.
05-30-16, 06:08 AM
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@The Octopus is our resident FG superman who has written the treatise on climbing and randonneuring with a fg
05-30-16, 08:10 AM
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It seems to me that for some people riding a fg is some sort of heroic feat that is more about checking off a bucket list of lifetime achievements than simple practicality. What I really want to know is how many people have ascended Mt. Everest on a pogo stick.
05-30-16, 08:29 AM
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I've ridden 100 miles at the Superdrome in Frisco (644 laps) on my track bike. Even though we rode it in the sprint zone, my left side was pretty wrecked from the left lean after 100 miles. I'd put on different handlebars if I did it again. (or just take the brakes off the Gunnar and use it)
I'm riding my fixed gear Gunnar 70 miles at the Atlas / Texas 4000 ride this coming weekend which should be a much more comfortable outing.
I'm riding my fixed gear Gunnar 70 miles at the Atlas / Texas 4000 ride this coming weekend which should be a much more comfortable outing.
05-31-16, 02:25 AM
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I ride about 100 miles a week and do hard core training rides with roadies. Sometimes it's tough to keep up when the pace gets up there and I normally run 50x15 on that ride but the sudden stops and hard accelerations are brutal but if I show up with a 50x17 like I did last week I'm surely getting dropped at some point.
05-31-16, 07:23 AM
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My friend did PBP fixed last year and said for long descents he would superman the bike with his stomach on the saddle and legs extended behind the bike. He said people were looking at him like an insane person. Rightfully so. I just removed my chain the one time I descended a long pass while riding fixed.
06-02-16, 09:14 AM
#22
Steel80's
Great question, because my perception of the urban dwellers and hipsters saying "you need only one" is, they must not be going very far.
I live in a river valley on a hill, so I have to climb a lot. A typical after-work training ride for me is about 15 miles. When I go longer, it's 20-25 miles before I need a break or I'm done. If it's somewhere flat, sure, 40 miles is no problem. It's actually not so much the climbing or fatigue, it's also more mentally tiring on a fixed gear.
I live in a river valley on a hill, so I have to climb a lot. A typical after-work training ride for me is about 15 miles. When I go longer, it's 20-25 miles before I need a break or I'm done. If it's somewhere flat, sure, 40 miles is no problem. It's actually not so much the climbing or fatigue, it's also more mentally tiring on a fixed gear.
06-02-16, 10:09 AM
#23
You gonna eat that?
30-40 miles is a typical ride for me on a geared bike.
30-40 miles is a typical ride for me on a fixed-gear bike.
30-40 miles is a typical ride for me on a fixed-gear bike.
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06-02-16, 10:47 AM
#24
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Nascar life.
To the OP. I'm not sure we are a good group to ask. A lot of the active members here have done at least one century fixed.
People put too much emphasis on riding fixed as if it is some amazing feat. As far as I'm concerned it's easier, especially uphill. Downhill on the other hand....
To the OP. I'm not sure we are a good group to ask. A lot of the active members here have done at least one century fixed.
People put too much emphasis on riding fixed as if it is some amazing feat. As far as I'm concerned it's easier, especially uphill. Downhill on the other hand....
06-02-16, 03:58 PM
#25
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Actually the group response has be excellent. Now that I’ve been riding only my fixed gear bike it’s clear to me that it’s not some hipster manly thing to do, look at me type of activity. It’s a bike in its raw form to be ridden within reason. For me, unless I’m heading out on some tour or something similar my fixed gear (and future ones) will be how I get around.
