# super hilly area



## david1701 (28 May 2011)

Hi,

I live in north cornwall and would quite like to build a pretty SS (with a flip flop hub so I can try fixed) partly as a challenge, and partly as a training thing (fixed). My issue is that I've been told its dumb by my friends (and I feel that they may have a point) because of the very hilly nature of North Cornwall. There are a lot of steep climbs and descents if you take any of the back routes (including just getting home) so this would mean I'd choose a pretty low gear, but then I'd never get anywhere if I chose the lowest gear I ride in.....

Should I try riding my whole trip into town and see what is the highest gear I can make the big hill in, then build a bike with that gearing? Or just ditch the whole plan?


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## colinr (29 May 2011)

Don't ditch it, you have to prove your friends wrong!

Not being overly familiar with these "steep climbs and descents" you talk of I couldn't speculate on an appropriate gearing but remember whatever gear you have to climb the hill in is the same gear you have to spin down the hill in.

Me, I know that I *can* climb inclines in a higher gear on fixed than I might choose to when I have a choice of 18.


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## byegad (29 May 2011)

I live in County Durham and have the choice of fairly flat, but hilly compared to anything in say Norfolk, runs and really hilly ones. The really hilly choices range from sedate 1 in 6 or 7 hills to 1 in 3. 

I'd love to see anyone on a fixed ride the 1 in 3! More seriously I ride the up to 1 in 5 regularly and have managed 1 in 3 on occasion. I use gears, me!


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## Bokonon (29 May 2011)

Just go for a low gear! Not a problem if you single speeding; you can freewheel down the hills! Low gear on fixed is fun, or scary, depending on the situation, and may not be the fasting thing on the flat though it will teach you to spin.

For what it's worth, I currently have fixies with 60" and 66" gears. I can comfortably get up 1 in 8 on the 66" and steeper if required. I can just about do sustained 1 in 5 on the 60" and steeper over very short climbs. Your milage will vary depending on how strong a rider you are and your riding style, but you will be suprised at what can be ridden up when only one gear is available.


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## david1701 (29 May 2011)

hmm I do ride a 1 in 5 on a training route I like. If I built a bike with say a 60" gear and found I coped pretty well then I could buy a new cog for the back and just shorten the chain?

I'd idealy like to ride fixed rather than SS for the way it improves technique but with a flip flop hub its just turning the wheel round?


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## yashicamat (4 Jun 2011)

I live on the edge of the Peak District and ride a 65" SS (SS rather than fixed so I can go faster on the downhills). I can tackle long-ish 10% climbs and shorter 15% climbs, but I try not to tackle anything steeper than that as I'm very likely to have a clipless moment at the speed I'm likely to be moving at!


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## david1701 (5 Jun 2011)

any thoughts on spotting viable donor bikes? I'm digging on ebay and having no luck


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## skudupnorth (5 Jun 2011)

I know your hill's are hilly...they nearly finnished me off last year on my ride down from Manchester ! But i saw a guy riding up from Macclesfield towards the Cat & Fiddle on a fixie so i guess it is do-able even on some big hills !


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## bonker (8 Jun 2011)

You can do hills on a fixed, but do you really want to?

I ride 47x17 and my hilly route home during training last year ( for the Alpe d'Huez triathlon) took in plenty including a short 1:5 or more leg breaker. You wouldn't want to do it everyday but it's completely doable. I think the harder bit is having to do the steep descending. If you chose an easier gear up you wouldn't stand a chance on the way down.

When I first tried big hills on a fixed it did seem like they couldn't be cycled. I had to get off and walk ( the first time for years). But when you chase the pedals round in a more dynamic pedalling style you get a lot more momentum.

I know your area ( haven't ridden it fixed) but it could be done, it's mind over matter. I'm an old git (48 now) and only started riding fixed 3 years ago.


It would certainly build your leg strength but I don't know what it would do for your knees/ achilles.


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## AlexStevens (25 Jul 2011)

I live in a hilly part of Wiltshire and I am still building a singlespeed!

Take a look at the build so far : http://buildingabicycle.tumblr.com/


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## david1701 (25 Jul 2011)

nice build will follow with interest


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## AlexStevens (29 Jul 2011)

Good good, lots of progress recently


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## AlexStevens (29 Jul 2011)

david1701 said:


> any thoughts on spotting viable donor bikes? I'm digging on ebay and having no luck





I found a community bike workshop where I got my frame with forks, headset, cranks, BB and handlebars for £25!


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## david1701 (30 Jul 2011)

it is looking niice, blue bar tape sounds cool can't wait till its on. No such luck round here I'm afraid


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## Smurfy (19 Aug 2011)

david1701 said:


> No such luck round here I'm afraid



There must be loads of old 1980s and early 1990s road frames knocking around with horizontal dropouts. An old Reynolds 501 or even a 531 would be good.

At the moment my free time is rather precious, so I bought a single speed all set up and ready to go. It came with 42x18, which on 700 tyres is about 61 inches. I ride in the Yorkshire Dales and I can get up a single chevron hill rather slowly, and the freewheel lets me whizz down the other side. It's a bit spinny on the flat but I'm hoping to use a larger gear when I get stronger. I can only ride weekends at the moment, just done three rides so far but my leg muscles feel bigger already.


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## Old Plodder (31 Oct 2011)

Whatever gear you choose, fit 2 brakes, there is no (safe) way of going down your hills without!!!!


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## Bicycle (31 Oct 2011)

fatmac said:


> Whatever gear you choose, fit 2 brakes, there is no (safe) way of going down your hills without!!!!




+1.


I can be a fairly brain-out cyclist at times, but living in a very hilly area there is no way I have the nerve to ride fixed with only a front brake.


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## Dan_h (4 Nov 2011)

There is no reason the terrain should stop you from building a single speed. Mine is geared around 68" and I can get up most hills. There are plenty of accounts on the net of people doing everything from touring to Paris-Brest-Paris to the Great Divide race on fixed or single speed bikes.

Before I tried it I did think that I would really struggle and would need a gear that would be about the lowest one I regularly used, but when I tried it I learned that I was clearly under gearing my bike for most climbs. I was also a few minutes faster over the 13 miles that I commute each way simply because I was quicker up the hills!


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## totallyfixed (7 Nov 2011)

This is my guilty secret, I use gears in your part of the world which we visit every year. This particular hill is just down the coast from Bude. Absolutely no way I could get up this on fixed, even if I ran a low enough gear going down those hills just wouldn't be feasible. If you stay away from the coast and select your route with care I would say it's doable on around 65" but as others have said you will need 2 brakes and maybe an anchor


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## Dan_h (8 Nov 2011)

Of course you can get up a 30% hill with a fixed, you get off and push! HTFU Dude!!


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## Smurfy (14 Nov 2011)

Dan_h said:


> Of course you can get up a 30% hill with a fixed, you get off and push! HTFU Dude!!



Exactly! It's a *push* bike!

One thing I discovered when planning routes is that OS maps aren't always much use when trying to identify steep hills. I was defeated on the final bend on the Southerly ascent of Fleet Moss by a very short stretch which felt much steeper than a single chevron. I think the difference between the average gradient over say 100 yards and shorter stretches can be very high. There can also be a very big difference between the inside and the outside of a bend.


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