Fixed gear - hints for an aging hipster?

[chuckred]

To follow up the "who's got a fixed gear" thread...

I finally broke down and converted my mid-70's Paramount to a fixed/single speed. I've ridden the single speed side, but not yet the fixed, other than a circle in the driveway.

Any hints to avoid disaster? (Yes, kept both front and back brakes).

And, no, I'm not out to buy skinny jeans... just figured it would be a fun thing to try in the off season.

[Fixed]

Your bike looks great the biggest thing I see with most fixed gear bikes is they are geared too high Small gears are better IMHO for older riders
Cheers

[christian]

Keep pedaling. That's about it, really.

[tkbike]

Your bike looks great the biggest thing I see with most fixed gear bikes is they are geared too high Small gears are better IMHO for older riders
Cheers

Just out of curiosity...What do you consider an older rider? If it is mid 50's, which I hope it is not, small gears are definitely not the way to go! Maybe when I hit the 60's, I will have to consider "small gears", but until then why bother!

[illuminaught]

You can't go wrong, unless you're riding brakeless and flat the front :banana:

As someone who rides a lot of fixed... and a lot of steeps...
once you're more comfortable...consider getting rid of the rear brake. Seriously.
You'll know why I'm suggesting it once you start experimenting beyond the driveway...

Best,

[djg]

To follow up the "who's got a fixed gear" thread...

I finally broke down and converted my mid-70's Paramount to a fixed/single speed. I've ridden the single speed side, but not yet the fixed, other than a circle in the driveway.

Any hints to avoid disaster? (Yes, kept both front and back brakes).

And, no, I'm not out to buy skinny jeans... just figured it would be a fun thing to try in the off season.

I think that the brakes are a pretty good way to avoid a slow disaster for aging knees. Especially in Colorado (unless you're near Kansas) or really, any place with hills, you might find it pretty hard on the knees if you have to do all your speed control at the pedals. That's not to say that you cannot ever slow or stop without hitting the brakes -- even I do that -- but judicious use of brake levers and calipers can be a big help. Plus it makes the tires last longer.

What they said about reasonable gearing -- start with something you can spin and if you decide later to move to a bigger gear/smaller cog then that's fine, but don't start with something that seems like a big gear drill on a 2% grade.

Ride. Enjoy.

And nothing wrong with buying a pair of skinny jeans . . . if that's what your teenage daughter really wants.

[Louis]

And nothing wrong with buying a pair of skinny jeans . . .

Selvage

[Fixed]

Just out of curiosity...What do you consider an older rider? If it is mid 50's, which I hope it is not, small gears are definitely not the way to go! Maybe when I hit the 60's, I will have to consider "small gears", but until then why bother!

I rode mid sixties to low seventies ..:)
Cheers inches that is :eek:

Unless you plan on riding with friends who are on road bikes or riding on a track

[pakora]

Keep pedaling. That's about it, really.

Yes.

Though I did appreciate reading somewhere around when I started Sheldon Brown saying it was one of the few ways one can fundamentally change the basics of riding a bike. That made me appreciate that it was (a very little) more than just keeping pedaling while it's also just keep pedaling.

[mtechnica]

Skinny jeans are great for casual riding. The stretchy denim ones are amazingly comfortable but I digress...

Fixed gear is just something you have to get used to, drugged up kids and random people with no riding experience seem to get used to them quickly so I wouldn't worry! The only difficult part is remembering (initially) not to try to lock up your knee and coast.

[Don49]

I converted my '70's LeJuene to SS/fixed several years ago. I initially tried it fixed but never got comfortable with it in traffic as a fixed. Seemed like the pedals were always in the wrong position when stopping and starting. Probably nothing that more practice wouldn't have remedied however. It seemed important to have the feet well affixed to the pedals and I used clips and straps. And I was never comfortable cornering with the 170mm crank arms but never hit one either, so just nervousness I guess.

Within a few days I flipped to singlespeed and continued to this day using it as a commuter and town bike. Now I'm tempted to have another go at fixed. My fixed cog was two teeth bigger than the SS cog FWIW.

[ultraman6970]

Use a very light gear at the beggining, in case you have to stop quick (skid). Once you master that you can move to other gears.

[mtechnica]

Skidding is a wasteful (decent tires aren't cheap) and a slow way of decelerating.

[monkeybanana86]

Skidding is a wasteful (decent tires aren't cheap) and a slow way of decelerating.

true the wasteful part is why I don't do it anymore especially now that I have two beloved road bikes. BUT it is a lot of fun. Track bikes is how my broke self got into bikes and I have now been going 8 years strong!

funny story. When I got my first adult bike I didn't know bikes came in different sizes (how dumb of me) so I got conversion (like the OP is doing) which was a 57 cm (I ride a 52) so at stop lights i'd have to do the lean the bike at 60 degrees and lean with my body with my left foot down haha. I even rode that thing from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. So I guess my tip is make sure it's the right size? But you already knew that.

[bironi]

I converted my '70's LeJuene to SS/fixed several years ago. I initially tried it fixed but never got comfortable with it in traffic as a fixed. Seemed like the pedals were always in the wrong position when stopping and starting. Probably nothing that more practice wouldn't have remedied however. It seemed important to have the feet well affixed to the pedals and I used clips and straps. And I was never comfortable cornering with the 170mm crank arms but never hit one either, so just nervousness I guess.

Within a few days I flipped to singlespeed and continued to this day using it as a commuter and town bike. Now I'm tempted to have another go at fixed. My fixed cog was two teeth bigger than the SS cog FWIW.

flip the wheel. I just don't get ss. Try it, and tell me the benefit of ss, other than being lazy on the descents.

[christian]

flip the wheel. I just don't get ss. Try it, and tell me the benefit of ss, other than being lazy on the descents.

The CX dismounts are easier. OTOH, climbing is harder.

[AngryScientist]

Aside from whats been said, ill add: dont force it. Fixed isnt for everyone, dont push too hard or force yourself into it, its just another riding discipline. Good luck, have fun!

[rustychisel]

Your bike looks great the biggest thing I see with most fixed gear bikes is they are geared too high Small gears are better IMHO for older riders
Cheers

Listen to Fixed, he's knows what he's talking about.

It's worth noting he isn't talking about very low gears, just reasonable gears to keep the spin going rather than always having to push hard and struggle to 'get on top of' your gear. for that reason something around 68~70in is considered an excellent gear by those who no longer have to manfully prove they can push an 85in on the roads.

If you want to ride a fixed gear bike then do it right from the start so you have a chance to 'like' it rather than do as so many seem to... build it, try it twice, then flip over to the freewheel side. There is no benefit, no compelling reason whatsoever to riding single speed freewheel.

some ideas
- ride it, love it. Begin in quiet area or backstreets and concentrate on being smooth. It is much better to have a smooth pedalling style than to be a masher. When you forget to pedal - there is no 'if' in this equation, it's a matter of when - a smooth pedal style will see you get a gentle push from the drivetrain to remind you rather than a violent 'thrown over the bars' action.
- use foot retention and brakes. They exist for a reason, use them. Riding in the city is greatly eased by being able to clip in / unclip with either foot and to 'prop' with either leg, you're only half a revolution away from a safe stop and can easily adjust pedal position. If you can't, learn and practise. Extended trackstanding is for egoists.
- begin easy, build to expert. Know what you and your bike is capable of before testing the limits... of... braking before the back wheel lifts, of steering before the fixed drivetrain pushes your front end into the turn... what sort of lean you can dial into a corner before you need to worry about pedal strike... of whether you can bunnyhop small obstacles at any speed... of whether you can scratch your arse whilst riding fixed... whether you can safely look over your shoulder without wobbling like a loon into the middle of the lane... what your comfortable cadence actually is... on the flat... what your theoretical maximum cadence is so you don't find out halfway down a hill that you're not in control...
- a note about cadence and being on top of your gear. Regardless of what you think, you're not as fast as you think, and any claims of 'I regularly hit 200rpm' should be treated with the scorn they deserve. Want to know more about cadence and gearing; I could write you a small book on the subject.
- if you're going to do any serious riding on a fixed gear you'll get caught with the wrong gear at some point, indeed there's a school of thought which suggests fixed gear bikes means always being in the wrong gear. I tell new riders to choose a gear which will allow them to get home the last 15 miles of a ride into a 20mph headwind.

[monkeybanana86]

^ oo yeah good point/advice. I found ~70 inches to be good in my hilly area I could get pretty much up all hills.

[Jack Brunk]

Drop your seat .5-1cm from your normal road height. You will forget to keeping pedaling and with your seat a tad lower it won't throw you over the bars. I would find a flat area with few lights to get used to the fixie side. Once you get a hang you will really dig the fixed geat thing. Good luck!

[chwupper]

Drop your seat .5-1cm from your normal road height. You will forget to keeping pedaling and with your seat a tad lower it won't throw you over the bars. I would find a flat area with few lights to get used to the fixie side. Once you get a hang you will really dig the fixed geat thing. Good luck!

Ha -- I did not know that about seat height. I was simply going to comment that, yes, you will try to coast at some point and it will be a rude surprise when you can't.

[rustychisel]

Ha -- I did not know that about seat height. I was simply going to comment that, yes, you will try to coast at some point and it will be a rude surprise when you can't.

old roadies trick to lower the COG very slightly and smooth out the pedalling action, especially when you do the funky rocking pelvis at higher cadences. Some like the suggestion; I think there's some merit in it but don't always do so.

[chuckred]

Your bike looks great the biggest thing I see with most fixed gear bikes is they are geared too high Small gears are better IMHO for older riders
Cheers

I didn't post a photo... Are you lurking in my basement?

It's geared 42x18, and pretty hilly here. I struggled up some of the steeper climbs on early single speed rides. Not sure I can go any lower...

[chuckred]

Some responses...

Ok, not aging that much. 56, still a kid at heart, but the grand kids are starting to scheme to beat me up the hills on bikes and down them on skiis, so I need to keep a step ahead.


My teenage girls are now mid to late 20's! They could wear skinny jeans, but now that they're paying their own bills, practicality has trumped short lived fashion...

Gear inches are 63... Seems like a good start?

I spent a lot of years on that bike as a 10 speed, so have a good feeling for how it handles, but it sure feels different without the coasting!

So, a couple of new ?s... Any reason that clip less pedals will be a problem? I still have my old campy pedals with clips and straps, but no shoes with the old style cleats.

With horizontal drop outs, I'm using my old quick releases... Is that going to have a bad outcome?

Thanks again!

[professerr]

I'm in my 40s and rode a fixed gear a fair amount in winter during my 20s but on pretty flat roads.

Fast forward a few years and I pulled out the fixed gear for riding rolling roads one glorious summers in California. I found the biomechanics of pedaling downhill at a very high rpm with almost no load caused weird aches in my knees, which had always been very trouble free. My theory is that the patella doesn't track properly when you pedal with no load, and doing that at 120 rpms or whatever is therefore a bad thing. Just a theory.

So my advice is flip to single speed if there is any significant down hill slope, and flop to fixed if you're just riding around the flatlands.

[monkeybanana86]

Some responses..

With horizontal drop outs, I'm using my old quick releases... Is that going to have a bad outcome?



in the words of sheldon brown:

Quick-Release or Nutted?
Track hubs generally come with solid axles and track nuts. This is because most velodromes have rules requiring this type of wheel attachment.
As a result, it is widely believed that quick-release axles are not suitable for fixed-gear use. This is false!

It is my belief that the velodrome rule dates back to long before the invention of the quick-release, when the choices were standard nuts or wing nuts. The protruding "wings" of wing nuts might constitute a hazard in a crash, and I believe that's why the rule was instituted. Since quick-release skewers don't have any sharp projections, that becomes a non-issue in practice.

If you are going to use a quick release with a fixed gear, you should make sure to use a good quality enclosed-cam skewer.


I've never tried it because I didn't want to chance it riding brakeless.
you could use tensioners though I'm not sure how compatible they are with horizontal drop outs

http://businesscycles.com/trtool_chaintugs.htm


riding clip less will be no problem

[oldpotatoe]

To follow up the "who's got a fixed gear" thread...

I finally broke down and converted my mid-70's Paramount to a fixed/single speed. I've ridden the single speed side, but not yet the fixed, other than a circle in the driveway.

Any hints to avoid disaster? (Yes, kept both front and back brakes).

And, no, I'm not out to buy skinny jeans... just figured it would be a fun thing to try in the off season.

Don't stop pedaling.