Last Saturday (Jan. 9th, 2010) I rode a fixed gear century organized by Chuck Bramwell of the Orange County Wheelmen. While this event was also open to multi-geared bikes, out of the 31 riders I counted, 22 were riding fixed.

For total mileage there was a 96 mile and 106 mile option. I rode the 106 and had a great ride, no problems. From Irvine, down Laguna Canyon, up PCH (Pacific Coast Hwy) to the Queen Mary in Long Beach and back. As follows is a ride report from Chuck Bramwell and a link to photos by Shai Shprung.

I’ve never seen so many Fixed Gear bikes out for a Century as we had out on Saturday. It was awesome!!

I was feeling pretty good on the bike until the top of Laguna Canyon road at about mile 80 where there’s a pretty good “dip in the road”. At that point, I was pretty well cooked and any smoothness I had went out the window as the cadence went up. Then the legs started cramping and the “game over” light came on so I took a left on Alton and headed for the showers. J

I rediscovered all over again the following are critical variables to a good Fixed Gear Century:

- A good saddle (mine isn’t good enough)

- Best shorts with best chamois you can find (my Pearl Izumi’s were a whole lot better than last year)

- 1 Quart of the Best Chamois Buttr at the start (I didn’t use enough)

- Get up out of the saddle

- Stay smooth – if you can’t stay smooth, you better slow down or else the Mixmaster is going to grind you up (like Ignaz did to me at mile 80)

Martin Ward described it well: “Think hot coals in your shorts”. J

Here are the mileages that I know of – please let me know of any updates. I assumed most everyone took the 93 mile option by turning Left on Alton instead of the Right from on the Route Sheet.

Jim Beauchamp possibly on his Recumbent Rocketship – 93 Miles

Rich Boehle (?) – 93 Miles

Brian Bowling on his Serotta Titanium / Carbon Fiber – 93 Miles

Chuck Bramwell on his old 1972 Schwinn Paramount “Ignaz” Fixed Gear with a 42x17 – 93 Miles

Rick Burneson on his 1975 California MASI Gran Criterium geared 42T x 15T – 106 Miles who wrote: “I just wanted to thank you for organizing the Fixed Gear Century last Saturday. A great time was had by all (as near as I could tell!).”

Bruce Campbell – 106 + 5 To/From Miles

Chuck Chen on his 48x18 Fixed Gear – 106 Miles who wrote: “Thanks for organize this wonderful ride. What a great way to start a new year/decade!”

Alan Darnell – 93 Miles

Yvonne Darnell – 93 Miles

Clark Dicus on his 42x16 Fixed Gear “Mutt” – 93 Miles

Jill Kahler on her beautiful 1978 "Ugo" DeRosa – 50 Miles – Reports indicate that Jill was FLYING down Laguna Canyon Road at 32 MPH x 5 RPM/MPH = 160 RPM!!

Robert Kahler on his 1988 "Dave" - Built for Speed – Tesche – 50 Miles

Ira Kucheck – 101 Miles

Tom Lavelle – 93 Miles

Jim Leslie on his old 1975 Peugeot PX10LE, 40x16 – 93 Miles

John Marshall – 106 Miles

Vern Medeiros on his 1979 Schwinn Superior with a 41X16 Gear – 93 Miles

Jose Mendez – 93 Miles

Tom Parkes – 93 Miles

Doug Patterson on his old Nishki 39X16 – 93 Miles who wrote: “Can’t wait until next year to do it all over again.”

Maria Perkins on her new fast bike – 31 Miles?

Alan Ptak – 47 Miles?

Troy Raffelson on his 1983 Olmo “Giuseppe” Fixed Gear with a 42x16 Gear – 93 Miles

Andy Reiley?? – 110 Miles

Shai Shprung on his Fixed Gear with a 48x17 Gear – 106 Miles who wrote: “Broke my top speed - I got the 35.2mph (Not that I have long history on a fixed gear, but it just show even more that you made me work hard)”

Frank Sison on his Orange Masi – 93 Miles – who wrote: “Just wanted to say thank you for putting together the ride this weekend. I've never ridden with so many fixed gear riders before.”

Ted Trubenbach on his '84 Team USA Raleigh with a 42x16 Gear. It's sweet – 93 Miles

Martin Ward on his new Van Dessel Fixed Gear with a 42 X17 – 93 Miles

David Wu – 93 Miles

Thanks for the ride,
Chuck Bramwell

Elevation chart on top of page, photos below.

Link to the photos by Shai: https://www.shprung.com/sfvbc/?ride=Cen-2

Nice work! How long did it take you?

Hi dizzy101,

My riding time was 6 Hours, 22 minutes, but with the food/water stops total time was 7 Hours 35 minutes. In addiiton to eating and drinking, we spent a lot of time talking about the various bikes, taking photos, etc.

Rick / OCRR

Well done Rick.
A lot of low ratios in the list. That surprised me. Can you give us specs on the bike you rode?

Hi Brian,

I don't know a lot of specs, but I rode my '75 California Masi with a 42t x 15t (approx. 75 gear inches).

The angles are 73 deg. parallel, tires were Conti 700 x 23 . . . and that's about it on specs I have memorized.

Oh well, on component spec: Campagnolo Record Cranks, Shimano Ultegra headset, Crank Bros. Egg-Beater pedals, Super Record seatpost, Sella Anatomica saddle, Ultegra 1/2 x 3/32" chain, Shimano 15t rear cog, Formula / Alex rear wheel, Campagnolo Record / Mavic front wheel (with QR!), Cinelli Record Stem, Cinelli bars, Tectro brake levers with Modolo Equip brake calipers.

A lot of the riders were from the Santiago club, and their recommended gear is around 65" if I remember correctly.

Rick / OCRR

Hmmm. I'm thinking this fixed gear thing might catch on after all...

Rick, sounds like a nice century bike.

Almost everyone I know (myself included) who has ridden long distance fixed or ss has run a ratio similar to those above. I couldn't imagine pushing 48x16 for 100 miles (unless it was perfectly flat and low/no wind).

I'm not saying I'd ride it higher --- I wouldn't. My preference is 46x17 = 71.4 GI. Sometimes I switch to 46x16 if I know there will be a lot of downhills on a ride.

It just surprised me because sooooooo many folks around here run 3:1 or more ratios and they all look at me sideways when I start talking about spinning. Sounds like Rick&Co. set themselves up right, or at least the way I would run it myself.

Awesome guys! Makes me miss being in CA. Us guys here in Hawaii, AlohaFixed, are about to embark on century this Saturday. Can't wait!

I agree Brian,

The 75" works for me. Shai was running a 74" so almost the same, Chuck Chen has a 72" whereas lots of guys (esp. Santiago Cycling Riders) were at approx. 65". I was spinning like the proverbial gerbal on the descents, but felt fine on the climbs, only standing on the really steep stuff (like Cliff coming off Laguna Canyon / connecting to PCH).

Now there are guys in OC (Irish Mike comes to mind) who run lots taller gears (52t x 17t), but then Mike is just so strong he can do that and get away with it.

Rick / OCRR

Sounds like a good group Rick, and a fun ride. Maybe one of these days I'll try to bump into you all. (But there's a kid three weeks away in my house, so I might be hibernating for a few months here.)

Yes Brian, It was a good group but only two women, so that's not good. I should have told Alicestrong about the ride! Other than that, yes, a great ride.

A kid three weeks away? Congratulations! I'm way past all that; I have three grand-kids. Okay with me, more time to ride!

Rick / OCRR

rick. the aloha fixed kids are doing an island-wide ride tomorrow (approximately 110 miles). I am going to post this thread and your detailed analysis in our forum. aroha!

Hi Sau,

Sure, that would be great. Please post a link so we can check out the fixed gear scene in Hawaii!

Rick / OCRR

rick, aloha fixed forums are located via: https://alohafixed.com/forum

there is also a posting about it here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ANUARY-16-2010

Interesting how only very few completed the 106miles.
Well, a weekend before I was doing 128miles on the fixed gear (the PCH rando 200k) so 106 flat sound like an 'easy' weekend ride, but at the end of the day I realize that I am actually on 48x18 (~70inch) and in the front with the guys that running 74 & 75". (originally I thought I am on 48x17).
While 20mph was ok for 75" gears, I was all ready in 95+rpm and when I got to 35mph, I was close to 170rpm
Rick & I, ended the ride with a bit more than 107miles - it was a nice long day.

Yes Shai,

A 70" would explain why you were spinning so much faster than Chuck Chen and myself. I wonder why so many riders cut it short, but I'm glad we did the whole thing.

That stop at the Subway shop at 88 miles really helped get me to the finish!

Rick / OCRR

LOL! Me? Do you think that you can get me riding centuries? Many have come before you...