Going Fixed

[Shuttle Cock]

I'm just after some information and tips about riding fixed, I have a bike that I just need to flip the wheel around, and one of my riding buddies keeps going on at me to try it, as he is an ex-track racer. So what can the PH collective add in the way of help?

Thanks in advance

[shouldbworking]

To make it even more useless you should really go brakeless too. Then talk a lot about how clean it looks and how light it is. For the full effect this should be followed by some sort of accident involving you being unable to stop and / or forgetting you were riding fixed.

[TheInternet]

Shuttle Cock said:

one of my riding buddies keeps going on at me to try it

Friends don't let friends ride fixies. He sounds like an ahole.

[S10GTA]

I ride SS, but I ride in town quite a bit. I wouldn't ride fixed for this reason.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Give it a go round a park, not for me I can see the appeal, cant be fussed with the consequences of a lapse of concentration though

[80sMatchbox]

shouldbworking said:

To make it even more useless you should really go brakeless too. Then talk a lot about how clean it looks and how light it is. For the full effect this should be followed by some sort of accident involving you being unable to stop and / or forgetting you were riding fixed.

How many miles have you ridden fixed?

[shouldbworking]

80sMatchbox said:

shouldbworking said:

To make it even more useless you should really go brakeless too. Then talk a lot about how clean it looks and how light it is. For the full effect this should be followed by some sort of accident involving you being unable to stop and / or forgetting you were riding fixed.

How many miles have you ridden fixed?

probably about one as a child, when my freehub broke. Getting home from such an event is the only occasion in which it is acceptable to ride fixed.

[daddy cool]

OP, do you have a beard?

[Shuttle Cock]

No beard here, and some of this not very helpful, when did I mention about going brakeless, I maybe mad for wanting to try fixed, but I'm not stupid!

[uncinquesei]

I ride fixed every day, it just takes a while to get used to it - years of freewheeling without thinking takes time to unlearn...
When you do get comfortable though, it's great - you learn to be more aware, it focusses your mind when you're faced with hills etc. I wouldn't ride brakeless though, that's just perverse. I was riding my road bike to work and the route is along the seafront so the sand was getting into everything. I built an old bike up as a single speed (with a flip flop wheel) for cheapness and simplicity and it was great but even then, the sand was buggering up the freewheels and it's like grinding paste on the rims / brakes. With this in mind, I flipped the wheel and have never looked back (mostly because I'm scared to... ); fewer moving parts to wear/ maintain and using the fixed gear to slow down (but not relying on it). I recently felt confident enough to get some straps for the pedals to help with climbing and keep my feet secure and it's even better now.

• I do not own a messenger bag, skinny jeans, have a "sleeve" or work in "new media". (I may have a beard.)

[daddy cool]

Shuttle Cock said:

No beard here

Its a matter of time.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

I ride fixed at least once a week and all through the winter. It has made me a much stronger rider and improved my peddling technique/cadence massively.

My tip is to use SPDs because they are easy to get into. I just couldn't get on with toe clips.

If you live in a hilly area it is time to MTFU! Climbing is hard but rewarding - leg weight training on a bike. Going down hills be prepared to use the brake - don't let the bikes drive make you spin faster than you are comfortable with.

[outnumbered]

If you do go fixed, don't forget to change your bar tape for some sort of brown faux-retro-leather stuff too.

But apart from all the banter, it's a great idea, winter training on fixed gear is a very traditional thing, give it a go and see how you get on.

[Dammit]

This is my current fixed trainer/commuter, it's got a dynamo in the front wheel feeding power to the Supernova E3 lights, mudguards, and a Powertap G3 track hub at the back to collect data and feed it to the Garmin on the bars.

Both brake levers operate the front brake via a Problem Solvers device- the little cylinder above the front light.

It's just what I need for training in and around London and no more.

I've put 2,000 miles on it since this years Bespoked show at the Lee Valley velodrome.

[Batfink]

I rode fixed for a long time. It was pretty high geared so not really easy to skid stop. I ran a front brake but would run a rear if I was riding in winter with it again. Mostly you can slow a fixed gear bike using your legs but big downhills and random events require a little more control.

If you do try fixed don't try to pedal fast initially. You will probably end up trying to coast along and end up with your legs getting flunge off the pedals. It does not take long to get used to constant pedalling. I now rarely stop pedalling on my road bike.

[Shuttle Cock]

That's a bit more like it, useful advice, not just sarcy comments. Thanks chaps, I think I might go off the garage and flip my wheel. There is also still so e doubt in my mind, not about the riding, more about the location of my razor!

And Dammit, your bikes are just awesome.

[Dammit]

Hah, wait until you see my history before you say that!

This is my old Allez:



Then I swapped to a Cannondale, here in road format:



And here in track format:



Sadly my epic power destroyed that frame, so I replaced it with this:



Which was a Ridley Oval - "proper" track bike, and I have to say I didn't like it much- track geometry on a frame so stiff it will shake your eyeballs out is not much fun commuting 20 miles per day through Londons famous London.

The Path Racer is the best of the bunch- the geometry was lifted from my Serotta CSi, but with the BB raised to account for the fixed drivetrain.

In heavy traffic (once you are used to it) being able to control your speed without having to grab the brake becomes second nature- feels much safer than a freewheel.

And in London you really only need one gear.

[Dammit]

Not Allez - Langster.

[47p2]

If you never try it then you'll never know...


I have a preference for single speed over fixed, but I do enjoy riding fixed sometimes when the mood takes me. Don't go brakeless, the law requires a front brake minimum on a fixed gear bike. Don't try and go too fast downhill until you know what you are doing, if your speed gets too fast you'll end up fishtailing the rear end and a nasty accident could happen. The most obvious is don't stop pedalling, but you will and you'll learn quickly not to do that again in a hurry...


This is my track bike, Ridley Oval that only gets used at the velodrome so I can't really compare with Dammit's comments on it being too stiff for road use



Fort Veto RO.78.DB2 fixed gear bike running a 48T-18 which equates to a 70 gear inch, front brake only, back bridge un-drilled. Originally used as a track bike at Meadowbank Stadium, but makes a very comfortable road bike


My single speed is a Genesis Skyline, it has a flip flop wheel but for some reason it doesn't feel right running it fixed. Kitted out with mudguards and lights I use this during the winter months

[TheInternet]

Dammit said:

And in London you really only need one gear.

Depends if you stop at the lights or not, but I pity you if you do.