Winter fixie build
 

Hi there,

First time posting in this forum. I've been commuting on an old ten speed road bike in Pittsburgh for the past couple years. I'd like to build myself a winter bike and just looking for a little advice (hopefully from some people who are familiar with the roads, weather and terrain around here. I know there are at least a few Pittsburghers on this forum).

In the flats, I usually cruise at 67 gi and ~17-20 mph. If I want to try to kill it I shift up to 85 gi and, right now, I top out at around 24 mph. (I'm not the strongest, but I'm getting better)

I've been practicing riding single gears on my road bike to try to simulate as best I can, the fixed gear experience (even going so far as to ride the brakes on most of my descents so I have something to pedal against so I can get a feel for the cadence that will be necessary on my downhills.) On my morning commute I climb a 4-5% grade for a little over a mile and the rest is downhill or fairly flat (up Nobles/Brownsville and down 18th to the bike path, then pretty much stay on bike paths all the way to the Northside, in case you know Pittsburgh.) On the way home I reverse it. Climb 18th (a little over a mile at ~6%). All of this I can do quite comfortably at 67 gi or quite strenuously at 75 gi. I've got one additional climb though on my way home with several short sharp inclines in the 9-12% range. The tallest gear I've used for this section is 62 gi and it was tough but doable on the steep sections. Round trip I ride 20 miles each day.

So I have a mid 80s Takara mountain bike that I want to use for my winter bike build. It's pretty much a stumpjumper clone. My thought right now is to get 26x1.75" knobbies (I might get a studded tire for the front, not sure yet.) and to run about 60 gi to account for increased effort through snow and slop on the road. I will likely continue to use my road bike when the weather is nice, and just use the fixie on messy days. I'm keeping both brakes on the bike. I'm not doing this to be "cool." I want any easy to clean drivetrain, and I like the idea of the fixie to feel the road better in slippery conditions. So, just wondering if I'm in the right ballpark for tires and for gearing. Wondering what others use for a winter bike, especially my Pittsburgh brothers and sisters.

I've ridden ten winters in Syracuse/the hills just south of. Most of the season I just use a converted tourer with deep v's, 28mm slicks, full fenders, toeclips and the biggest gi I can handle on my hills (because spinning in the cold sucks hard). I've got a converted 80's mtb geared 39/18, a giant front fender, a beavertail, and 700c deep v's with 35mm studded kenda klondikes that I've used a whopping seventeen days since I got them in 2010. Really, gatorskins work fine most of the time. Deep v's 'cause slop caking up on box sections sucks. This year the ice bike got used a couple of extra days because of a serious wet-snow storm that really had me considering getting one of those walmart fatbikes or just driving. I've tried up to 2.5" mtb tires, in most types of snow I can get through with less effort with skinny tires. The unavoidable potholes this spring were so plentiful that I went up to a 35mm touring tire on the back.


As peaceful as riding in the snow sometimes is, it really brings out the hardcore jackass in people who really seem to have gotten their license by miracle. I'm selling my studded bike tires and I'll be getting studded tires for my car this year.

Thanks. I'm thinking biggish tires for the added float over potholes and such. When the road is clear I have no problem avoiding debris and holes, but when all that stuff is hidden by a little snow or slush...

My everyday tires are 27 x 1 1/4 serfas secas. I'm not really tempted to ever go skinnier than that for anything.

Never thought about that benefit of deep V rims. interesting. I'm not buying wheels right now, though. Starting cheap and I'll add on as I go if I like riding it fixie. I guess another option I'm sort of considering is a 3-speed coaster hub, but well... I don't know. I'll try fixed first. At this point all I need is tires, a cog, a lockring, and some loctite. It might as well be free.

Well I don't often post, mostly just glean info, but I have done ALOT of Fixed winter commuting!

First off, fixed is the way to go in snow, but more importantly with small patches of ice it really gives all the feedback you need to stay up, saved my butt more than once!

The bike I've used is an old Peugeot that I use a 700c studded tire in the front and an unstudded cross tire in the back. I found that studded in the rear didn't help enough to warrant the increased weight and rolling resistance. The first wheel build I used was a Sturmey Archer S3X, but it only held up for about 1000 miles, which didn't make good sense for the price of it. If you wanted a three speed option I would check out Sheldon browns site and use his instructions to rebuild an old Sturmey Archer hub into a fixed hub, guess they hold up much better. What I use now is a Surley Dingle fixed cog, it allows for two gearings one for the clear days and one for the snowy or windy days. Used it all last winter and found it to work out well.

Goodluck with you build!

Thanks for the ideas. That's too bad about the s3x hub. That always looked interesting to me.

The S3X hub has a good track record. If it seems the right answer, try it. There'll always be people with bad experiences, it's not usual those experiences cover the whole range ... and yes, I have one.

I winter commuted on a fixed gear Surly Crosscheck in Toronto for a while. I had studded tires front and back. It was fine. It sounds like you have your gearing pretty much worked out. I'd trust your experimentation over advice given by any of us. The only thing I can add is that you want studded tires on both wheels. The rear can fishtail overwise.

You cant simulate riding a fixed gear bike on freewheel bike, doesnt work that way. Riding a fixed gear bike is very different than a freewheel bike. You push the bike and the bike pushes you, there is noway to simulate that on freewheel bike.

I am just gonna ride my Purefix this winter, I am not going to change the tires or the gearing.

Thanks, I understand how it works. What I wanted to get a feel for is what my top speed would be on downhills and what my cadence would be at that speed, so I used my brakes to stay at a manageable speed and kept pedaling instead of coasting. Going to the bike shop this afternoon to pick up some parts. It'll be a fun experiment.

Good luck this winter.

I have to give some love to Kraynick's bike shop, the best bike shop on the planet. Went yesterday evening to get parts for my ghetto fixie, I got a new chainring, new cog, BB lockring, chainring nuts and bolts, a big stack of axle spacers and washers, and a healthy dose of Jerry's inimitable wisdom for under $25. I LOVE going to his shop. This: Kraynick's Bicycle Shop: Pittsburgh, PA | Bicycling Magazine will give you an idea of what it's like going to Kraynick's. THE BEST!