# Riding Fixed



## Tel (27 Apr 2009)

Any tips? I.e starting off etc...


----------



## 4F (27 Apr 2009)

Tel said:


> Any tips? I.e starting off etc...



I always start with my left foot in the 10 o clock position. When stopping I either stop in the above position or if not with 1 foot still clipped in apply front brake, lean forward and move clipped in foot to the desired start position.

Do not try and start with your foot behind you as it is bloody difficult and you end up doing a version of the funky chicken.

Practice for a bit on quiet roads before heading out and watch out the first time you go down a steep hill  It's a shock to the system and you will probably wonder what the hell you have done.

But saying all that, it's chuffing great


----------



## Will1985 (27 Apr 2009)

Don't stop pedalling. If you do it un-clipped to start with, get going and just try slowing down to almost nothing then accelerating (with your hands away from the brakes the whole time).


----------



## 4F (27 Apr 2009)

Will1985 said:


> Don't stop pedalling.



I believe that the normal form is after you have done this twice the brain and the legs start talking to each other and you don't do it again.


----------



## Joe24 (27 Apr 2009)

Heres some tips from me:
Relax, keep everything flowing. Dont rush up to things when you first start out. Ride along relaxed taking everything in.
Dont just leg brake at the start. Slowly start leg braking more as you go along. You might find if you just try leg braking to slow you down alot your knees might ache abit. Slowly bring it in.
When its sunny and your bored, go have some fun on your fixed, cruise around on it, go to an empty car park and have some fun. Have a go at trackstanding (very usful skill and look pretty cool), backwards pedling and riding around slowly. Do some skids aswell if you dont mind, that will get you used to how it feels when you stop peddling and should make you less scared of it. Also pretty cool i think
Do some riding around slowly and relax your legs so you can feel the pedals pushing your legs around. This will help with going downhill. 
Go down some hills and get used to pedaling fast, dont go too steep too soon. Find a nice hill, and when you get used to spinning down it try and spin faster down it

This should help you abit and get you used to fixed.
Oh, and when you start off, just push down, get onto saddle and relax that leg so it moves around. You shouldnt be going too fast and you should be able to clip in with the other foot when it comes up, if not then keep relaxed and try again.


----------



## Oddjob62 (27 Apr 2009)

I moved to fixed a few weeks ago and love it now. Don't see my self going back to geared at least for the foreseeable future.

Main thing is, when you start it feels really unnatural, and after your first ride you will be very tempted to go back to geared. If you can fight that urge you'll find you get used to it very quickly.


----------



## 4F (27 Apr 2009)

Oddjob62 said:


> I moved to fixed a few weeks ago and love it now. Don't see my self going back to geared at least for the foreseeable future.
> 
> Main thing is, when you start it feels really unnatural, and after your first ride you will be very tempted to go back to geared. If you can fight that urge you'll find you get used to it very quickly.



I think that is pretty much spot on. After my first down hill I thought I had made a very big mistake however I stuck with it and only been on my geared bike twice since.


----------



## Greenbank (27 Apr 2009)

And please please please promise never to waffle on about "being at one with the bike" and "that connection between me and my bicycle".

*bang*


----------



## zimzum42 (28 Apr 2009)

Geared bikes feel odd after riding fixed for a while....


----------



## Oddjob62 (28 Apr 2009)

Greenbank said:


> And please please please promise never to waffle on about "being at one with the bike" and "that connection between me and my bicycle".
> 
> *bang*



But there's that metaphysical zen state that only fixed gear riding..... j/k


----------



## MacB (28 Apr 2009)

Oddjob62 said:


> But there's that metaphysical zen state that only fixed gear riding..... j/k



that's the bit that impresses the hell out of me, cycling tough enough, being able to do it, whilst your head is inside your anus, amounts to outstanding skills


----------



## Oddjob62 (28 Apr 2009)

MacBludgeon said:


> that's the bit that impresses the hell out of me, cycling tough enough, being able to do it, whilst your head is inside your anus, amounts to outstanding skills



Not been riding fixed for long... can only manage 2 fingers so far


----------



## Tel (28 Apr 2009)

Thanks for the tips. After my second commute things are getting more familiar, I reckon I'll be pretty confident with it in a couple of weeks. 

When starting of I find that being in the saddle is essential where as when I'm on a freewheel I'll generally start standing....I think


----------



## phil120867 (28 Apr 2009)

You'll soon be able to get out and push a fixie up to speed an once its up there then you're away. I've been riding fixed from Edenbridge to Crawley for years and its just as fast as my road bike. What took me a couple of rides to master is to keep pedaling but after a few occasions where the bike reminded me I got the message. Its not a zen thing, its a bike


----------



## Joe24 (28 Apr 2009)

phil120867 said:


> You'll soon be able to get out and push a fixie up to speed an once its up there then you're away. I've been riding fixed from Edenbridge to Crawley for years and its just as fast as my road bike. What took me a couple of rides to master is to keep pedaling but after a few occasions where the bike reminded me I got the message. *Its not a zen thing, its a bike*



Exactly.
The main thing that scares people with standing up and peddling(i think) is that when you do stand up and go to sit down after standing up, you actually freewheel for a small amount of time, and the fixed wheel pushes you around, so you feel it abit.
Its also a nervs thing about standing up and the what ifs.


----------



## Big John (28 Apr 2009)

I must be better at it than I thought!!! I don't feel any different standing up on the pedals to sitting down. After a while everything just clicks and it all feels natural - even plummeting downhill! And if I knew what Zen was I'd probably agree with that too


----------



## Tel (29 Apr 2009)

Yeah I'm okay standing up when I'm going along it was the starting off that was throwing me out and last night I realised why. Normally I put the right pedal at the 2 o'clock position then push but scoot with the left before eventually putting it onto the pedal. Obviously when I try to scoot on a fixed the bike tells me its not a good method. 



> What took me a couple of rides to master is to keep pedaling but after a few occasions where the bike reminded me I got the message.



lol  I can certainly relate to that!


----------



## colinr (29 Apr 2009)

> I give myself a challenge, just for fun, to never use the brakes on my urban commutes (15 miles each way).



I try that and sometimes it works, sometimes I nearly hit things. Does it get easier to slow down quickly on the pedals (without any skidding tricks)? Darned if I can get the hang of trackstands too, feel like I'm missing out there.


----------



## MacB (29 Apr 2009)

User1314 said:


> I give myself a challenge, just for fun, to never use the brakes on my urban commutes (15 miles each way). Always end up using front brake once, maybe twice.
> 
> This morning didn't use brake once!



some might class the impact with the back of the bus as a form of braking


----------



## Brahan (29 Apr 2009)

phil120867 said:


> I've been riding fixed from Edenbridge to Crawley for years



**STALKER ALERT**

Do you enjoy that nice flat road that leads to Lingfield - then accross A22 - then past the Mooman Temple and turn right at Snowhill? I ride those roads all the time. Love 'em!


----------



## Joe24 (29 Apr 2009)

To slow down using the pedals, you can resisant them on the way up, and when they go down you resisant them more here. You pull up more to brake harder.
To skid, you just lock your legs, so pull up with your leading leg and push down with the other one. At first its easier to do it standing up and leaning forward(especialy if you have a bigger gear) and when you get used to it you can just do it sitting down. 
Is it a pull on the knees though until you get used to it.


----------



## MacB (29 Apr 2009)

Joe24 said:


> To slow down using the pedals, you can resisant them on the way up, and when they go down you resisant them more here. You pull up more to brake harder.
> To skid, you just lock your legs, so pull up with your leading leg and push down with the other one. At first its easier to do it standing up and leaning forward(especialy if you have a bigger gear) and when you get used to it you can just do it sitting down.
> Is it a pull on the knees though until you get used to it.



he could have just said, to skid try to pedal backwards, hard


----------



## Joe24 (29 Apr 2009)

MacBludgeon said:


> he could have just said, to skid try to pedal backwards, hard



You dont really try to pedal backwards, you just lock your legs. It isnt that hard to do really, i normally just pull up with my right leg then put some preassure on with my left leg when the wheel has stopped. You arent pedling backwards(might do a slight turn back with the pedals, but you have the leading crank between the 2 and 3 oclock position i find)
Some people dont like it though because they get abit worried about stopping pedling, and if you dont put force into it you normaly just end up back peddling again.


----------



## Joe24 (29 Apr 2009)

User1314 said:


> *Had to use the brake 4 times this afternoon. But one was to make sure I stopped in time to let the babe cross the zebra crossing. Nice smile she gave me - wasn't expecting a cyclist to stop for her at a zebra, especially with no traffic around.*
> 
> Even when I stopped she looked a bit confused and didn't move, until I motioned.
> 
> Worth the loss of brake rubber, that stop.



Should of skidded to a trackstand, that would of got you more of an impressed look.


----------



## yorkshiregoth (29 Apr 2009)

Wish I could trackstand though


----------



## Oddjob62 (29 Apr 2009)

yorkshiregoth said:


> Wish I could trackstand though


Yeah that's next on my list of things to learn. Might start working at it this weekend if the weather's as nice as they say it will be.


----------



## Greenbank (30 Apr 2009)

Trackstanding is for people with the latest mobile phones.

I'm over 30 and have a Nokia 6230i. I have no reason to bother even trying as I'll just look uncool anyway.


----------



## colinr (30 Apr 2009)

> I'm over 30 and have a Nokia 6230i.



I have one of them, I think it's cool and I'm a spritely 28. Better than these new fangled things made of spiders webs with two hour battery lives.

Still wish I could trackstand. Instead I go forwards very very slowly, with moments of stillness.


----------



## 4F (30 Apr 2009)

colinr said:


> I have one of them,.



LOL me too and I cannot trackstand either.


----------



## Joe24 (30 Apr 2009)

Greenbank said:


> Trackstanding is for people with the latest mobile phones.
> 
> I'm over 30 and have a Nokia 6230i. I have no reason to bother even trying as I'll just look uncool anyway.



Rubbish.
I trackstand, its just convineint. Its like when you have normal flat pedals and you move off, no fiddling around clipping in you just move off. When you trackstand you dont have to mess around and lose time clipping in, you just apply power and go. 
And moving off is faster when you dont have to unclip, when we race for signs and get to a road we need to get over with a sign on the other side, everyone unclips(but me, i trackstand) and as soon as theres a safe gap go and leave everyone else who cant catch me because they are messing about clipping in
The way to trackstand is to not use the brakes while trackstanding, just use the pedals to move you forward and back.
Find your leading foot, with me its my right foot. This is the foot i put at the front, and you have to turn the wheel to the right aswell so you dont hit your foot onto it.
You then add a little forward preassure and a little back. Play with it, get some flat ground and just use trainers so you dont clip in.
You will find that when you start to lean one way you will automaticly put pressure on to one of the pedals so your up straight. 
You might end up moving forwards and back until you get used to it, when you can just hold a trackstand dead steady without the bike moving.
Be confident with it, stand up and put some weight forward, relax your hands.
Then when you can do that, do it sitting down(harder at first) then sitting down one handed, then sitting down no handed(not as hard as what you think aslong as your on flat ground)


----------



## MacB (30 Apr 2009)

Joe, I think folks get how to trackstand, and any benefits, it's just a question of whether they can be bothered.


----------



## Joe24 (30 Apr 2009)

MacBludgeon said:


> Joe, I think folks get how to trackstand, and any benefits, it's just a question of whether they can be bothered.



Hmmm sort of. Ive had people have a go at it on my bike and the thing they do is use the brakes to stop themself and to try and hold themself there, rather then the pedals.
Most people say they are too scared to aswell, it was mentioned before.
I dont get why when you wear trainers, you feel yourself going and you just put a foot down


----------



## fossyant (30 Apr 2009)

I can just about track stand on my road bike for about 30-45 seconds, but looking forward to a fixed, as that's cheating.......

I had a mate who could track stand for ages on his road bike.....


----------



## Joe24 (30 Apr 2009)

fossyant said:


> I can just about track stand on my road bike for about 30-45 seconds, but looking forward to a fixed, as that's cheating.......
> 
> I had a mate who could track stand for ages on his road bike.....



I can sort of do it on my road bike, i have to use the back brake and and hope i have a slight incline to push against and i can just about do it, on the flat its abit jerky because i end up throwing my weight around.
On a vid on youtube, theres a guy on a freewheel bike doing backwards circles on it, he was using his bodyweight to move the bike back and spinning his legs a full turn as he was moving the bike back. Pretty skilled.


----------



## fossyant (30 Apr 2009)

You've got to be in the mood for it on a freewheeled bike.... I use the brakes and roll forward slightly on the flat...no expert, but my old club mate was simply awesome..... we'd just unclip and watch him (and joke and try and make him unclip (he did have track bikes though) and he was built like Chris Hoy - you could batter him up hills, but come the sprint for the signs..no chance....


----------



## Bennem (1 May 2009)

Trackstanding is pretty easy and isn't about showing off. It's about being a lazy git and not wanting to have the hassle of putting your feet back on the pedals and clipping in.

Start teaching yourself by finding a small incline either on the road bike or the fixed. Ride to a stop and let the hill push you back a bit and hold it there and turn the handlebars to help keep you upright.


----------

