Fixed for distance
07-12-09, 10:21 PM
#51
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What an informative thread.
Here in Oregon we have the Cycle Oregon week long ride, which this year will cover 450 miles in seven days.
https://www.cycleoregon.com/
I think they call these assisted rides, in which the organizers carry your camping gear and feed you.
Last year they had 2000 riders, and this year the same at $850 each.
They've already sold out on this September's ride.
I'd like to try this on a fixed gear bike.
I noticed the OP's gearing of 73+ gear inches.
I consider 72 gear inches the highest at which I can brake with only my legs.
I presently ride at 61 gear inches, and I would choose that for a 450 mile ride in the mountains.
Over the past year I have really focused on learning how to brake with my legs going downhill, and I find it involves technique much more than it does strength or stamina.
Anyway, thanks for the great thread.
Here in Oregon we have the Cycle Oregon week long ride, which this year will cover 450 miles in seven days.
https://www.cycleoregon.com/
I think they call these assisted rides, in which the organizers carry your camping gear and feed you.
Last year they had 2000 riders, and this year the same at $850 each.
They've already sold out on this September's ride.
I'd like to try this on a fixed gear bike.
I noticed the OP's gearing of 73+ gear inches.
I consider 72 gear inches the highest at which I can brake with only my legs.
I presently ride at 61 gear inches, and I would choose that for a 450 mile ride in the mountains.
Over the past year I have really focused on learning how to brake with my legs going downhill, and I find it involves technique much more than it does strength or stamina.
Anyway, thanks for the great thread.
07-12-09, 11:02 PM
#52
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great thread and stories...
i ride about 20 miles everyday and about 100 or so on the weekends usually. id love to do a full on voyage.
i ride about 20 miles everyday and about 100 or so on the weekends usually. id love to do a full on voyage.
07-12-09, 11:46 PM
#53
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Long distance on fixed gear is good fun and really not that tough once you are used to it. Or I should say that 100 miles is no biggie. I do that pretty regularly, but do not have experience doing longer brevets or ultra distance rides of the type you are thinking about. There is a subset of ultra riders & racers who ride fixed, and if you google the PBP or LEL and fixed gear you'll find a couple of guys who have written about their experiences including bike setups, gearing, tire sizes and the like. Furnace Creek 508 has a fixed gear division and there are some write-ups of that as well.
Bike setup is important, IMO. I can't imagine riding a true track bike over roads for that distance. Or a bike with with the kind of aggressive or urban setup that one sees here and on the street. I have a track bike, but all of my long distance fixed gear riding is on an old steel frame w/classic road geometry and corresponding setup.
Bike setup is important, IMO. I can't imagine riding a true track bike over roads for that distance. Or a bike with with the kind of aggressive or urban setup that one sees here and on the street. I have a track bike, but all of my long distance fixed gear riding is on an old steel frame w/classic road geometry and corresponding setup.
