Underground

For some reason, I want to train to try the MS150 on my fixie/SS bike. I would most likely run single speed to take advantage of the freewheel. I just ordered a new rear cog and will try some climbs on the bike to see how well it does. I may get a new rider or two coming along with me, so the pace wouldn't be all that challenging (14-15mph). Right now I have a 42/16 setup, I just ordered a 17T cog. Not a big difference, but a little can go a long way.

Do you have any gearing recommendations for me? I just want to try to ride without worrying about needing to change gears. I plan on doing several rides with it this summer to help prep myself for the long ride next year.

If no recommendations on gearing, feel free to talk me into/out of this.

StephenH

My previous bike was a single-speed cruiser. On the one hand, it was heavier than the normal fixie, but on the other hand, it is geared 2:1 (42:21 or 44:22, I forget which). Anyway, you can ride a lot of hills on something like that. The question becomes "Is it fun?" (BTW, that gearing is good for up to about 15 mph, anything over is sort of a challenge and makes liberal use of the coaster function and intermittent pedaling.)

One lesson I learned the hard way was that if you're in marginal shape to do the ride in question, then you want everything stacked in your favor, not stacked against you. So if the MS 150 is something you can crank out without thinking about it, go for it. If it's all you can do to get through it anyway, then reconsider.

One thing I find in general riding is that if I'm fresh, I can go up a hill a lot faster than I can if I've been riding hills all day- as I get more tired, I'll use lower gears. That would make it a little tricky to pick the right gear ratio for a long ride based on results from a short ride.

Underground

At 14-16 mph, I can sing along with my small waterproof radio I keep on the back of the bike. I was chatting with anyone and everyone along the route. I'd sit back and take it easy, letting my friend take off ahead, then I'd sprint up to him, just because it was fun. This year was insanely easy and we still arrived at the destinations in a reasonable amount of time.

As the day went on, I challenged myself more by using a bigger gear and grinding up some hills. Only on 3 or 4 hills did I drop all the way to my 34/26 gearing. That was mainly because I did not want to drop my friend on the way up the hill. I'll see how the 17T goes, most likely I'll drop to an 18 or 19T, then take a day off and head up to Bastrop to ride some hills up 71. If that feels ok, then I'll do it. I'll also try to do some long rides on it and see how I feel as well.

Thanks for the info!

aggarcia

I have seen it done before, but in the hills you will suffer. A 42 is a long way from a 34. I rode the MS150 on a 39/53 full double with a 12-27. When tired the 24 and 27 were nice to have.

gresam

I just did it on a fixie, not a huge ordeal but it was challenging and a lot of fun. 42 x 16 is a good gear and you just need to work on cadence and some power to tackle the climbs. I'm not so sure about trundling along at 14-15 mph simply because your leg speed will be so low you'll end up with angry knees. My cruising speed on a 42x16 is 18-20 mph solo and slightly higher in a pace line without feeling overspun or overworked.

Just start putting in some miles on the fixie and you'll be fine. I ran a front brake only and pulled off the commuter racks to keep weight down. You'll need to attack climbs a bit more to keep your leg speed up, if you lose cadence at the base you will only suffer more as you climb and lose even more speed. The key to being on a fixie is staying on top of the gear and having a reasonably high cadence. By reasonably high I am talking about 95-105 RPM. There are plenty of cadence calculators out there (Fixed Gear Fever) that allow you to back into any value based on gearing, speed or cadence.

Underground

Thanks for the tips gresam. Makes me feel better about aiming for this. I'll start logging some rides on it while the riding is good. Thanks!

aaronechang

It's doable, just make sure you're in good riding shape. Our team had 3 guys riding fixed gear bikes. One of them rode all the way from downtown Houston to Austin and was the 4th rider on our team (out of about 60) to arrive in La Grange at the end of Day 1.

Aaron

OneArmedScissor

46x17 should be easy

hills in texas are gimpy little things.

I did tons of road rides on a 46x17 and I never needed easier gearing.

granted that's a useless gear at the velodrome.

anyone have a 48+ laying around they want to swap?

dstrong 

Isn't there a route split after La Grange that allows you to bypass the hillier sections in Bastrop?

danagrams...hills and their relative wimpiness depend on what you're used to (ask Velo Gator). The hills in Bastrop are short and won't exceed 10% but if you're used to riding in and around Houston or to Galveston and back, I suspect they could present a challenge (especially on Day 2). The good news is it's not that far of a walk up to the top of each climb.