Fixed commuting and road racing
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Fixed commuting and road racing
I've been thinking of getting a fixed Bowery to get around town and to go to school etc, but I also race on road bikes and was wondering if riding a fixed will make me develop some 'dead spot' in my pedal stroke or make me be used to pushing higher and less efficient gear. I doubt I would be able to put in as many miles on my road bike in a week as on a commuter fixie due to a long commute and lack of free time, so how will riding a fixie affect me on the road bike performance-wise? I've heard stories where fixed riders were switching to geared bikes and had trouble, so I'm a bit concerned.
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I ride multiple bikes all week and have no issue switching fix to free or back. I do however find that I am stronger since getting my fix. 42x18 fixed in the Colorado mtns. I say go for it, you can only benefit.
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I've been thinking of getting a fixed Bowery to get around town and to go to school etc, but I also race on road bikes and was wondering if riding a fixed will make me develop some 'dead spot' in my pedal stroke or make me be used to pushing higher and less efficient gear. I doubt I would be able to put in as many miles on my road bike in a week as on a commuter fixie due to a long commute and lack of free time, so how will riding a fixie affect me on the road bike performance-wise? I've heard stories where fixed riders were switching to geared bikes and had trouble, so I'm a bit concerned.
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I've heard fixed can sometimes make you more lazy about dead spots... for example, I think I tend to always push my pedals, rather than push and pull, so for part of every pedal stroke, I may be allowing the fixed drivetrain to carry me through.
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I've been thinking of getting a fixed Bowery to get around town and to go to school etc, but I also race on road bikes and was wondering if riding a fixed will make me develop some 'dead spot' in my pedal stroke or make me be used to pushing higher and less efficient gear. I doubt I would be able to put in as many miles on my road bike in a week as on a commuter fixie due to a long commute and lack of free time, so how will riding a fixie affect me on the road bike performance-wise? I've heard stories where fixed riders were switching to geared bikes and had trouble, so I'm a bit concerned.
The second thing I noticed was I became better at spinning. I've always been a masher, that comes from XC I think, but after a few year son a fixed gear I found that I was far more comfortable spinning in a "efficient" gear on a geared bike. In fact in the winters I would generally run a higher gear inch on my fixed bike so that I did simply spin when i was riding.
Lastly, this was big on a road bike for me, my hips became much more solid. I credit spinning on a fixed gear bike, especially high cadence on downhills with forcing me to learn to keep my hips solid.
So in the end I think training mostly fixed helped my road and XC riding. I definitely had better results when racing the last 2 years and noticed improved times over routes I've ridden for years. Some of that was conditioning I'm sure...but I credit fixed riding with that too.
Moving from a fixed to a free bike will feel odd for the first 5-10mins, but you'll adjust. Being able to coast was odd for me for a few mins everytime I'd switch over but you'll adjust.
I enjoyed my fixed riding so much it's now all I ride. I had my frame builder build me a frame with the road geometry I liked but with a slightly higher BB of a fixed gear. The last time I was on a geared bike was Dec 2007. As I said, I'm not racing this year and probably won't next year...but I'm putting 100-300 miles a week in completely fixed out on the roads. I've even been playing around with fixed XC riding, though that is a much tougher sell to me. But I live in NYC, so my XC riding is minimal anyway.
I know you are just commuting so worry even less about the transitioning back and forth. You won't regret it. Don't worry about it.
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I "raced" at Kissena a few times last summer. By raced, meaning getting my arse handed to me by the guys that live there. Not my taste really. It was fine but nothing I really dug that much. If we had a indoor high bank velodrome in NYC then I'd be down for that. I've ridden on those multiple times and that is amazingly great fun. Kissena is just like a high school track, no thanks. Plus I think I'm done with racing, I've lost that drive...and if I do race again it will be single-speed marathon XC stuff.
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If you pay attention to your technique, you aren't going to develop any dead-spot bad habits.
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I find I shift a bit less since I've been riding fixed and singlespeed but it hasn't hurt my road bike riding at all. Small hills I tend to just mash on up instead of trying to maintain a cadence by downshifting.
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I feel like riding fixed almost exclusively during the winter helped my road racing significantly. My overall fitness was much better coming into spring and my "powerband" was broader -- meaning that I could push a particular gear over a much wider range of cadences more efficiently.
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heard from who? "I've heard" that fixed can help with developing a good spin. I see plenty of riders of geared bike who pedal in "squares" rather than circles---
Back to the OP--- my previous commute was 40 miles round trip--- fixed. It turned me into a diesel engine--- I lost all my top end because I never did any intervals. It had nothing to do with riding fixed and more to do with riding so much at the same intensity.
I cannot imagine having trouble related to the bike being fixed. I can see trouble from general commuting blowing away any sort of structured "training" program--- if you are into that.
For me, I don't have much time--- and I hate driving. Having a fixed bike allows me to commute to work and not worry about my more expensive road bike-- and promotes riding in all sorts of weather, night, etc. I say go for it.
Back to the OP--- my previous commute was 40 miles round trip--- fixed. It turned me into a diesel engine--- I lost all my top end because I never did any intervals. It had nothing to do with riding fixed and more to do with riding so much at the same intensity.
I cannot imagine having trouble related to the bike being fixed. I can see trouble from general commuting blowing away any sort of structured "training" program--- if you are into that.
For me, I don't have much time--- and I hate driving. Having a fixed bike allows me to commute to work and not worry about my more expensive road bike-- and promotes riding in all sorts of weather, night, etc. I say go for it.
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I feel like riding fixed almost exclusively during the winter helped my road racing significantly. My overall fitness was much better coming into spring and my "powerband" was broader -- meaning that I could push a particular gear over a much wider range of cadences more efficiently.
That was the first reason i started training fixed. At the time it was winter and my time was limited...so training fixed maximized my training effort and time. It's really great for winter long slow base mile spinning at the very least.
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Plus it's got that Old School Cred!
Good comment about the steady hips. I noticed that too.
Good comment about the steady hips. I noticed that too.
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the best is when you see fixed riders pedaling in squares, like going for a seated acceleration and having the whole body kind of bob slightly with the forced pedal stroke.
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I work with a guy who races Cat 3. He and I ride for fun quite a bit and he swears by riding fixed helping his racing skills.
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If you mash big gears I might be able to see relying on the pedals to push your feet around. But with higher cadences and screaming down hills you need a pretty good spin of your own. Riding fixed made my spin nice and round on my geared bike. Now if I can remember that I can coast on that bike too when I switch. ;-)
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most roadies I know train on fixed in the winter, but usually run a lot smaller gear than the track stars you see on the street.
I cannot see any drawbacks to riding fixed. It will improve your technique, make you a better bike handler, and allow you to ride outdoors in sketchier conditions.
You can now do what thousands of euro pros have done before you; ride fixed in the winter.
I cannot see any drawbacks to riding fixed. It will improve your technique, make you a better bike handler, and allow you to ride outdoors in sketchier conditions.
You can now do what thousands of euro pros have done before you; ride fixed in the winter.