Am I a complete and utter wimp?

[jay clock]

Have just ordered a singlespeed as an extra bike (one of six). May get used fixed but not sure.

It is this Felt http://www.wiggle.co...010/5360045931/ at a massive discount.

It comes with a 39/16 ratio for the S/S and 39/15 if I used the fixed sprocket.

I live on hills, so went for a mile or so today on my road bike stuck in the same gear as the fixed (34/15). WOW it was hard. I must be a real wimp. And I do tons of cycling.

And there are people saying they run out of gears on this bike and need a bigger gear!

Hope I can manage it

Jay

 

[jimboalee]

Now that's the kind of thing I wouldn't post on this site, IF it happened to me.

68". 30 rpm up a 10% at 300 Watts..... you seriously ARE a wimp.

 

[ColinJ]

34/15 is actually 13% easier than 39/15!  

I think riding fixed uphill in a given ratio is slightly easier than the same gear with a freewheel because the momentum of the bike pushes the cranks round through the 'deadspots' in the pedal stroke.

 

[palinurus]

I live on hills, so went for a mile or so today on my road bike stuck in the same gear as the fixed (34/15). WOW it was hard. I must be a real wimp. And I do tons of cycling.

It's different when you know you can't change down if you want to. Honestly.

Plus after a while you learn to honk slowly and very smoothly.

34 x 15 is pretty low for fixed (about 60"), you'll probably be using a bigger gear than that in practice (e.g. 39 x 15)

 

[palinurus]

I did have to get off and walk once, on the hill above Fairlight Cove.

In my defence I did have two panniers attached, about 2 kg of drinks on the bike, 70" gear, and the hill had at least one chevron on the map. It was getting silly, I was practically stopping part way through each pedal stroke.

 

[PapaZita]

I live in the Chiltern hills and ride a 63" fixed gear. Depending on what your local terrain is like you may want to change the sprocket for something a bit easier, but that's not difficult to do later. I have a sprocket to give me a 70" gear for flatter rides, but I rarely bother to put it on. You need to find a good compromise gear that you can get up the hills on but which isn't to low to make going down the other side unpleasant.

It will seem like hard work at first, especially if you're used to shifting down and spinning up the hills, but it's something that you get used to. On fixed gear you're always in the wrong gear, but that's part of the fun.

PZ.

 

[Ravenbait]

I was forced off on Fife's 1 in 10 Cadger's Brae on a 70" loaded fixed, much to my disappointment and self-beratement. Almost made it, but almost is no banana.

Sam

 

[Fab Foodie]

I used to haul a fully loaded saddle-bag up Ditchling beacon on 42x15... but then I smoked 20 Old-Holborn a day....

 

[jay clock]

I am feeling a tiny bit better in looking again and realising that I had the wrong sprocket on my bike. I think I was doing a 70 inch gear rather than the 62 i thought it was.

I should add that I can cycle fast enough. I did Lanzarote IM bike course in 7.5 hrs. I can do a 40k Olympic distance tri bike in 1h10 (need to save some energy for the 10k run!). I am just someone who spins a mad gear getting up hills!

 

[jimboalee]

I am feeling a tiny bit better in looking again and realising that I had the wrong sprocket on my bike. I think I was doing a 70 inch gear rather than the 62 i thought it was.

I should add that I can cycle fast enough. I did Lanzarote IM bike course in 7.5 hrs. I can do a 40k Olympic distance tri bike in 1h10 (need to save some energy for the 10k run!). I am just someone who spins a mad gear getting up hills!

Then buying a SS will either...
Cripple you, or
teach you to mash.

 

[Ian H]

There's nothing wimpish about spinning a sensible fixed gear. Living in Devon, I use a relatively low 64", which gets me up most hills. But it still allows me to pedal comfortably at 15 - 20mph on the flat.

 

[jay clock]

I am going out on my road bike later and need to start up a long steep(ish) hill. Will check the rear cogs and set it in exactly the gear inches I will get with the new Dispatch. And see how I get on! If I have this right, the single speed sprocket on the new bike is 39/16 so 34/14 on the current bike should be the same. both around 65 inches....

Jay

 

[RedBike]

Last night I failed to climb a hill using a road bike with a compact 34x25 that I used to ride up on a fixie with 48x18.
I must have been mad to have ridden a fixie up those climbs!


It is easier to maul a SS/Fixed wheel bike up a hill than it is a road bike using the same gear ratio.
The more you ride SS/Fixed the easier climbing becomes.

 

[jay clock]

OK, so it went fine! I cycled about 8 miles to see someone, and left the bike in a 65" gear.(34/14). A long steady steep(ish!) hill for about 2k, then another hill of about 800m near the end. Stuck at it and it was do-able. I left it in that gear the whole way there and coped fine. Of course downhills were freewheeling and on the flat I was able to spin along at 29kmh - would have been comfortable to do 26km for a long time I think. Overall I think I was perhaps a bit faster for the trip than usual as I was a fair bit faster uphill and not much slower on the flats.

 

[jay clock]

It is easier to maul a SS/Fixed wheel bike up a hill than it is a road bike using the same gear ratio.

why? purely psychological?