A SS-rider vs a Geared-rider

[colinr]

And your legs will thank you for the break when they don't have to do all the braking. Well, mine do.

 

[fossyant]

I was concerned about my legality actually, since Ive passed a few police cars on my training route, manchester to stockport and back.

You don't have any brakes other than leg braking...... sheesh.....you aren't riding fast enough then.... I'm surprised you don't slam into half the idiots that cut you up TBH....

I need both my brakes and legs to stop this beastie.....

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

It doesn't need to cost a fortune. Get an old ten speed racer, (it doesn't have to be a high end one for a hack bike, the important part is that the main components are usable) remove the five speed block, the derailleurs, the cable and changes and throw in bin/parts box, fit a BMX freewheel (or track sprocket if you're going fixed) and space and disk the rear wheel so that it lines up with the inner chainwheel, fit a new chain and off you go.

That's exactly what I did. Except for a cheap fixie I fitted an old BMX freewheel that had completely seized, had someone run a weld on it just to make doubly sure. And put the brakes in the parts bin too.

It rode well, to say it had chromed steel cottered cranks and 27 x 1 1/4 chromed steel wheels.

That was in my previous incarnation as a cyclist about 14 years ago and even then my commute (yes, I commuted on it) was remarkably flat for Sheffield and i was much fitter.

I'm tempted to make one up again at some point. But I will keep the brakes, I'm older and less daft! But not sure how I'd handle my commute now. NONE of the hills I face have any way of conserving momentum, there are junctions at the bottom of every one.

 

[GrasB]

I need both my brakes and legs to stop this beastie.....

+1 Not to long ago after a stopping from a >35mph hill decent I had to stop in a hurry & I could smell the brake dust burning. Leg braking is all very well but I don't think it could get close to that kinda power & repeatability.

 

[fossyant]

+1 Not to long ago after a stopping from a >35mph hill decent I had to stop in a hurry & I could smell the brake dust burning. Leg braking is all very well but I don't think it could get close to that kinda power & repeatability.

Lycra tights are good for keeping the knee caps from shooting down the road.....just so you can find them........scrabbling in the undergrowth for them can't be fun.

TBH, I don't know how folk ride no brakes at all..... much more skilled than me obviously.

I took to fixed in May 09 - from not really having ridden fixed before, other than an hour taster session 10 years previously at the Mcr drome). Was fine, bit scarey going down hill for the first couple of weeks, fine now. OK up hills, some 1 in 10's feel like 1 in 5's, but do-able (not recommended really).

Low maintenance for me means no fettling of mechs/cassettes (i.e. keeping clean) - Fixed are really easy to look after for an OCD bike clean freak like me - the guys at work who ride maybe once a week - their bikes are dirtier than my daily ride.....and they keep saying so. After a wet ride, it's let dry in garage as I get clean/have tea/run kids about, later.....wipe chain, quick oil (dropper bottle only), quick wash with sponge and back away..... takes 10 minutes.

Fixed are good for training..out and out you will not outpace someone of "similar fitness" on a fixed than someone on gears, gears will win - this depends upon the fixed ratio though. If in low 70's then you will lose, but with a good battle

Lots of Londoners run 80 plus inches and above, then the game is on.......

 

[GrasB]

I know someone who does & really they just end up be very pushy & take a lot of risks when dodging things, generally pissing people off in the process.

Depends how you're riding & what terrain, your power & how wide your power band is, I developed massive grinding strength before someone suggested moving my saddle & I learnt that I'm a spinner. The result is I have a massive power band which means I can deal with over or under geared bikes reasonably well compared to others. Oh & I'm one of them who can handle an +80" gear for day to day riding with reasonable ease, hell I can do a short 7.3% climb without much problem in that gear.

When racing a geared bike will win but A to B over flowing roads with gentle undulations & the rider doing their own thing I oft find the fixie is faster. It'll be interesting to see the long-term averages between my "BeOne Red-Perl" & the road fixie they're about the same weight. have very similar geom. & are setup with the same aggressive rider position. From HR v's speed the fixie is marginally faster, it benefits from far less drive train mass, but I've not done a flat-out back to back ride over a more challenging route.

 

[arnuld]

Daft question, but whats an FM?

Ah.. forgot to tell, its my cycle. People at BZ say I should name it, so named it Red Spider (as its LA-Sovereign's Spider) , that is feel good name but then I thought FM is better because its technically correct to call it my Fitness Machine a I primarily bought it because I sit on computer all day writing C programs and have no exercise. It was very hard in the beginning, it was tough and at some point I think I should buy a motorbike but I wanted to test it for 1 month and I go everywhere on this, I pedal it to all the places I can because its takes care of my health and fitness, my thighs have become stronger, my stamina has become better. Check all the pics on my thread, here is one for you

I've ridden virtually nothing but singlespeed / fixed wheel bikes for the last 6months now.

IMO single speed bikes work because they are more efficient. The increased efficiency comes partly from the lack of rear mech and partly from the decreased weight.

I did a highly un-scientific test a few months ago to see just how my single speed measured up to my geared bikes.
http://redbikes.blogspot.com/2009/09/hill-climbing-fixed-wheel-vs-single.html

Nice small and practical test you have done. I still want to buy a geared one to know what kind of ride it is. Regarding a fixed-gear, Sheldon Brown have scared the hell out of me., so I am never going to ride one. 2nd there are no fixed-gear cycles in India, no one manufactures them.

 

[arnuld]

Hub gears I can see being advantageous, I just can't get my head around the overall benefit of a SS.

Actually, I think everyone missed my original point. Its not about getting a better stamina and good thighs, you get them anyway if you cycle a lot. The point is The SS-er remains in contact with the environment, he has to think about the road, potholes, rough or fine road, about the traffic, about the people passing by at fast or lower speeds as he is helpless on changing a gear to get more speed and power, he has to continuously remain in sync with his road and environment, that makes him an an alert rider and gives him a better awareness than the geared riders. I take it as a enhancement in the skill required for safer riding.

 

[Debian]

Actually, I think everyone missed my original point. Its not about getting a better stamina and good thighs, you get them anyway if you cycle a lot. The point is The SS-er remains in contact with the environment, he has to think about the road, potholes, rough or fine road, about the traffic, about the people passing by at fast or lower speeds as he is helpless on changing a gear to get more speed and power, he has to continuously remain in sync with his road and environment, that makes him an an alert rider and gives him a better awareness than the geared riders. I take it as a enhancement in the skill required for safer riding.

I would utterly refute that. Certainly to use that as almost the only reason to run fixed is, IMHO, nonsense.

I am as aware as I can be when road cycling, and so should every cyclist be whether (s)he runs fixed, SS, 3 gears, 8 gears or 27 gears. I'm certainly aware of potholes, drains, etc, at least I haven't ever unknowingly ridden into one yet and I'm certainly aware of changes in gradient, junctions, etc up ahead as it's far better to change down slightly in advance than wait till you're on the climb/at the red lights, etc.

I think, if anything I'd be less aware of the road on a SS as I'd always be looking for the next problem point and worrying about it rather than being generally road-aware.

I'm not saying you shouldn't ride SS, just that I don't think the awareness reasons you give are entirely justified.

 

[Garz]

I really can't see how a SS can possibly be faster than a geared bike, all other things being equal. If SS was faster and more efficient wouldn't all the pro racing teams be using them?

All I would say is maybe people are poor at gear selecting, or like to justify the convert to SS. They may encourage fitness by forcing no wimp-out moments uphill but to broadly state they are 'better' is nonsense as debian puts the racing example.

 

[RedBike]

Nice small and practical test you have done. I still want to buy a geared one to know what kind of ride it is. Regarding a fixed-gear, Sheldon Brown have scared the hell out of me., so I am never going to ride one. 2nd there are no fixed-gear cycles in India, no one manufactures them.

I'm running a fixed wheel MTB too at the moment. Because of the much higher bottom bracket compared to a road bike striking the pedal on the road while corning is nearly impossible. The lower gear ratio (than a road bike) also makes the bike much easier to control via the pedals. Its certainly an experiance worth trying.

I can't see the correct side of the bike from that photo but by the looks of it provided thats a screw on freewheel on the rear wheel all you'd need to do is take that off and replace it with a track sprocket.

Ideally when using a track sprocket you also need a lefthand threaded lockring to stop the fixed sprocket coming undone, but your hub is very unlikely to have the correct threads for this lockring. However, don't worry, provided you dont start skidding the rear wheel all the time you should be fine without one. Just use a bit of locktite or a right hand threaded old bottom bracket lockring.

 

[Rob3rt]

m

You don't have any brakes other than leg braking...... sheesh.....you aren't riding fast enough then.... I'm surprised you don't slam into half the idiots that cut you up TBH....

I need both my brakes and legs to stop this beastie.....

Yes I cycle conservatively when riding my fixed, I dont hamer it then need to slow down fast, I probly have a moving average of about 15-16mph which is quite slow (I dont have a speedo so could be miles off). I cycle this way because I dont have brakes atm and because Im not used to cycling much in general since my teen years never mind riding fixed, hehe. Plus there are no steep hills that I have encountered yet. Steepest ive encountered is probly the long decent down onto stockports travis brow when approaching from parrs wood, which is not very steep at all. But I do really love the fixed riding. I dont have a preference between SS and Road bikes in terms of performance, I have no idea which is technically better etc etc, I dont really care since I dont compete, I just know I really love riding my fixed around. It feels nice to ride, it feels more relaxed and leisurely. Maybe thats cause with a relativelly expensive road bike(by my standards) I feel I need to make my performance riding it match its price and dont really relax on it.

Takes me 1 hr 45 mins to do a 20 mile ride through city centre traffic. If thats is slow, its slow


I need to buy a computer too see how fast I am!

 

[swee'pea99]

All I would say is maybe people are poor at gear selecting, or like to justify the convert to SS. They may encourage fitness by forcing no wimp-out moments uphill but to broadly state they are 'better' is nonsense as debian puts the racing example.

To quote St. Sheldon:

"A fixed-gear bike is considerably lighter than a multi-speed bike of comparable quality, due to the absence of the rear brake, derailers, shift levers, and extra sprockets. A fixed-gear bike also has a substantially shorter chain.

A properly set-up fixed gear has a perfectly straight chainline. This, plus the absence of derailer pulleys, makes a real improvement in the drive-train efficiency, an improvement you can feel."

 

[jimboalee]

I've got a SS.

A Moulton Mini.

14" tyres. Sachs Torpedo 'coaster' rear hub ( with Sturmey Sprocket mounting ).

Original equipment was a 52 tooth ring and a 14 tooth sprocket, giving a gear length of 52". Low and behold, that's the same as Starley's Rover.

The OE crankset had 5 1/2" crank length for a small child.

I've installed a 46 tooth crankset with 6 3/4" cranks so suit me, an adult ??

I changed the sprocket to a 15 tooth to give a 43" gear.

That should get me up most hills.

I have an 18 tooth sprocket spare which would give a 36" gear.
Now my flat road speed would be 9 mph at 85 rpm.

I'll stick with 43". 11 mph at 85 rpm.

 

[Debian]

I'll stick with 43". 11 mph at 85 rpm.

Now that's another downside for me. It's about my preferred cadence but I can be doing 18 - 20 mph for that on my MTB.