Which fixie?
andwags wrote:Take this advice with a grain of salt, because both Sheldon Brown and the Fixiespotting website have some misleading and under-developed information - they are seriously biased in the one way is right camp.
Having ridden fixed for donkey's years I can't find anything on the link I posted that's is duff information. I may be wrong, care to point the errors out? etab wanted to know where to find an ultra low budget fixie, the FAQs are full of budget fettles.
Which Fixie?
Don't give up on the idea of a fixed wheel bike, it can be done at a fairly low cost. Try asking round at your local cycling club. Cyclists are renouned for keeping bikes and frames that they will never use again. You may just get lucky, just keep asking, it's well worth the effort.
John.
John.
Hi Glueman
I never said you gave him bad advice, nor did I say that there are 'errors' on the sheldon brown and fixie website, I just said that the info is biased.
What I meant was that these people are seriously biased to the point of often making statements that are half-truths.
I'll give you one example from Sheldon Brown:
Quote: 'When you need to climb, you don't need to think about when to change gears, because you don't have that option. Instead, you know that you must just stand up and pedal, even though the gear is too high for maximum climbing efficiency. This makes you stronger.'
This statement is incomplete because this kind of climbing can completely destroy your knees, but he doesn't mention that.
I never said you gave him bad advice, nor did I say that there are 'errors' on the sheldon brown and fixie website, I just said that the info is biased.
What I meant was that these people are seriously biased to the point of often making statements that are half-truths.
I'll give you one example from Sheldon Brown:
Quote: 'When you need to climb, you don't need to think about when to change gears, because you don't have that option. Instead, you know that you must just stand up and pedal, even though the gear is too high for maximum climbing efficiency. This makes you stronger.'
This statement is incomplete because this kind of climbing can completely destroy your knees, but he doesn't mention that.
I dont understand how the quotation posted but the associated question disappeared! 
I agree that Sheldon does come across as a bit Gung Ho on this topic, and should, therefore, not be allowed the last word.
We all know the risks associated with straining away at excessively high gears.
In an earlier contribution Richard highlighted the problem resulting from gearing too low.
I just wanted to ask if you had any advice about choosing appropriate gear ratios for fixed and (probably of more relevance to me) single speed bikes.
Checked after posting!
I agree that Sheldon does come across as a bit Gung Ho on this topic, and should, therefore, not be allowed the last word.
We all know the risks associated with straining away at excessively high gears.
In an earlier contribution Richard highlighted the problem resulting from gearing too low.
I just wanted to ask if you had any advice about choosing appropriate gear ratios for fixed and (probably of more relevance to me) single speed bikes.
Checked after posting!
Dave P, you won't go far wrong if you aim for 67" give or take, perhaps 72" in summer on fixed. For a freewheel I'd go lower, the mid to high 50s. Riding a fixed here in the pennines is a compromise between not stalling up hills or spinning out of control down them. Most places aren't that difficult.
Ruining your knees may or may not be a valid, I'm no doctor, but it smacks of 'damaging your eyes' by reading in low light i.e. a received wisdom with dubious provenance. One summer for the sheer halibut I rode my tourer everywhere in top gear (about 100"). We lived in the flat lands then and I can't say it did my knees any harm. The rest of my body was another matter.
Ruining your knees may or may not be a valid, I'm no doctor, but it smacks of 'damaging your eyes' by reading in low light i.e. a received wisdom with dubious provenance. One summer for the sheer halibut I rode my tourer everywhere in top gear (about 100"). We lived in the flat lands then and I can't say it did my knees any harm. The rest of my body was another matter.
Ah gear ratios...
I think that the gear ratio you choose to live with is very personal. Probably the best way to choose is to pretend your existing geared bike is fixed and pedal everywhere in a gear that you believe would be the best. After doing that you should have a good idea of what you're going to be happy with.
That said, if you ride a lot in extremely varying terrain and/or load your bike up with gear on occasion then I don't recommend one gear as this will punish your body.
The problem with pushing your knees and other body parts this way - the hips get it quite bad when you have to spin too quickly - is that you may not feel any pain till it's too late.
For instance, people who have their seat too low and apply force when their knee is bent more then ninety degrees. They may not hurt from it but they are destroying their cartilage and it will become evident later in life.
I think that the gear ratio you choose to live with is very personal. Probably the best way to choose is to pretend your existing geared bike is fixed and pedal everywhere in a gear that you believe would be the best. After doing that you should have a good idea of what you're going to be happy with.
That said, if you ride a lot in extremely varying terrain and/or load your bike up with gear on occasion then I don't recommend one gear as this will punish your body.
The problem with pushing your knees and other body parts this way - the hips get it quite bad when you have to spin too quickly - is that you may not feel any pain till it's too late.
For instance, people who have their seat too low and apply force when their knee is bent more then ninety degrees. They may not hurt from it but they are destroying their cartilage and it will become evident later in life.
I recently did about 20 miles stuck in a lowish gear - I hated it at the time but my aches and pains the next day were much less than expected. It's thinking about this that has made me think that a SS hack could be good for me. A bit more research then...
Pedalling effort...low saddle...more than 90deg...
I'm just so glad I missed out on BMX
Pedalling effort...low saddle...more than 90deg...
I'm just so glad I missed out on BMX
I live in Pembrokeshire where it's quite hilly. I started off with a 57" gear - I'm now riding a 72" gear. I could climb the hills ok with a 57" but coming down was hell. (I personally think knee damage by fixies is not due to climbing in high gears but through back pressure when descending). You'd be surprised just how steep a hill you can climb in a high gear on a fixie, but you need to be prepared to get out the saddle and "honk" up.
I would suggest that if you're using a double fixed rear hub an 18 and 20 tooth cog combined with a 48 tooth front ring should put you in the right ballpark. Be careful though - if you're dropouts aren't long enough you may not have enough spare length to cope with more than a 2 tooth difference without changing the chain.
I would suggest that if you're using a double fixed rear hub an 18 and 20 tooth cog combined with a 48 tooth front ring should put you in the right ballpark. Be careful though - if you're dropouts aren't long enough you may not have enough spare length to cope with more than a 2 tooth difference without changing the chain.
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thirdcrank
- Posts: 36740
- Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm
Richard wrote:I would suggest that if you're using a double fixed rear hub an 18 and 20 tooth cog combined with a 48 tooth front ring should put you in the right ballpark.
I'm not sure if I've missed something here. Are you suggesting a return to the dark ages and turning a wheel round to change gear during a ride? They used to do that in the TdeF because the organisers disapproved of multiple gearing. It's supposed to be how Signor Campagnolo came to invent the q/r hub. The bicycle has moved on.
Nowadays, partly because of the traffic conditions on main roads, much more cycling is on much hillier roads.
I can see advantages in fixed in some limited circumstances: less to be spoiled by the grit and general sh|t in bad weather; more control in traffic in a flattish city centre. I've ridden my share of fixed, and I remember a time when derailleur gears were widely seen as rather immoral, like everything else from across the Channel, especially when there was an R in the month. I would not be prescriptive about other people's equipment but I fear it is a fad.
It may be a fad in which case one's personal torment was to be fashionable before one's time. I think it's just practical, gone are the days of cleaning and polishing a bike after every ride. Seasonal is enough these days with a regular oily squirt on the chain. The bike doesn't seem to mind. Fixed helps if you're a bit lazy, like me, with a nice flywheel and a regular prod if you slack.
A double fixed isn't a very clever idea, though I do have one. A dropout that will take up the extra chain slack when you flip the wheel as well as the mucky hands (remember the bike's filthy) would have to be a specialised affair or old and long. The hills hereabouts push fixing beyond the pleasuredrome but anywhere flatter and I doubt I'd ride 'owt else.
A double fixed isn't a very clever idea, though I do have one. A dropout that will take up the extra chain slack when you flip the wheel as well as the mucky hands (remember the bike's filthy) would have to be a specialised affair or old and long. The hills hereabouts push fixing beyond the pleasuredrome but anywhere flatter and I doubt I'd ride 'owt else.
I wasn't suggesting a double fixed so it can be used mid-ride, although why not? Double fixed hubs are around £30 and with two cogs it's a cheap and easy way to try a range of gears. Also, there is a degree of flexibility in choosing gears for the terrain/weather conditions to be cycled in, saving on having two wheel sets.
As for it being a fad, I don't think so. I think it represents a desire for some people to return to something simple, rejecting the consumerism which is such a big part of cycling today. Fixed isn't ideal, but nor are gears. It's about what's right for you, in the conditions you use it. As long as we all get pleasure from our cycling, is anything actually "better"?
As for it being a fad, I don't think so. I think it represents a desire for some people to return to something simple, rejecting the consumerism which is such a big part of cycling today. Fixed isn't ideal, but nor are gears. It's about what's right for you, in the conditions you use it. As long as we all get pleasure from our cycling, is anything actually "better"?
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thirdcrank
- Posts: 36740
- Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm
Richard wrote:As for it being a fad, I don't think so. I think it represents a desire for some people to return to something simple, rejecting the consumerism which is such a big part of cycling today. ?
And I note from the weekly newsletter that somebody has just ridden to China on an ordinary bicycle (AKA penny - farthing.) As I said earlier, I would not want tp be prescriptive about other people's equipment, but it's something I shan't be trying.
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hubgearfreak
- Posts: 8212
- Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 4:14pm
Richard wrote:As for it being a fad, I don't think so. I think it represents a desire for some people to return to something simple, rejecting the consumerism which is such a big part of cycling today.
maybe, maybe not...but if this position is to hold any weight, then one's fixed needs to be homemade from an unused (or gifted) bike.
to spend £300+ on a new made in tawain jobbie is rather defeating the object of rejecting consumerism