Re: Fixed Gear (Fixie) vs Single Speed Gearing

"Worthwhile" is relative to one's preferences. A 2-mile, 25 mph downhill
hill wouldn't be too bad in the reverse, evening, upward direction in a 65"
to 70" gear, as long as you could warm up first. My erstwhile commute of
15-16 miles involved some 7 miles of climbing, admittedly gradual for most
of it but still -- (from Coors and Montano at Rio Grande level at 4900 feet
to just shy of the Sandia foothills at Juan Tabo and Central, ABQ, NM, at
about 6500 feet; and I've ridden further and steeper, from Juan Tabo to
Tramway and then most of the way or circa 1 mile, to the Sandia Peak Tram
station at about 7000 feet on a 75" -- 10% or so average grade -- friend's
flat stopped us before I had to get off and walk). At any rate, it is all a
matter of what you prefer. I've grunted 45 lb in a 67" gear up a short, 4/10
mile slope rising to 12%: as low as 4 mph and 20 rpm. (But I had a modest
tailwind.) Great fun!

Speaking of multispeed fixed gears, years ago I saw a post somewhere about a
-- not quite "multispeed fixed" but, at least, a "multispeed-no-coasting"
bike: dual drivetrains, standard derailleur multispeed on right, single
speed fw on left. The  left-side fw prevented coasting and therefore allowed
the chain to move safely between cogs on the right without inadvertently
ripping the rd off by trying to coast. I suppose the downside would be, that
you couldn't walk the bike backward. Not sure if that is the best or worst
of both worlds.

On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 11:33 AM, Andy Goodell <[email protected]> wrote:

> I've got no problem with fixed gear bikes in concept, it's just my
> hills don't make them very worthwhile here. My commute starts with a 2
> mile downhill coasting around 25 (though I do often pedal to bring it
> to 30 so I don't feel as lazy or cold in the winter). Then I have ~1
> mile of several stop lights through traffic before climbing a shorter
> steeper hill. I do okay on my race bike with 40x23 gearing, but even
> that's only 46.5 inches. Anything slower than that and I feel like I'm
> really pushing my knees.
>
> That's why I'd love a fixed multispeed bike. Then I could still ride
> anywhere from 36 - 117 inches on my commuter and still be fixed. Best
> of both worlds (well, minus still having to maintain all the parts).
>
> Andy
>
> On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 12:50 PM, PATRICK MOORE <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> > I ride in rolling hills (and in windy conditions) in 67" to 75" gears,
> > depending on bike and load (gofast, 75", groceries, 67" or 65") and have
> > found over years of fixed riding that you adapt tremendously to different
> > torques and cadences -- one of the pleasures of riding fixed and, to a
> > lesser degree, ss/coaster. In fact, I now find that uphills are often
> less
> > of a challenge than long or steep downhills. You learn to push hard and
> > slowly or, where one must be careful of one's knees (mine are almost 56
> > years old), you learn to stand for a mile at a time. And for the very
> steep
> > sections I don't mind walking.
> > That said, for very long hills, I do run flip flop hubs but rarely flip
> > unless the hill is 3 miles long or more and steady and steep; most of the
> > hills I ride are rolling, so that even long and steep climbs have respite
> > with half mile standing sections interspersed with shorter sitting
> sections.
> > AND, most of my riding is short distances -- sub 35 miles -- where a
> fixed
> > gear's liabilities don't appear. I am sure that for longer distances I'd
> > start thinking hard about coasting if not multiple gears.
> > I do love hills, though, on a fixed -- for me, one of cycling's great
> > pleasures. And again, to emphasize, you do adapt surprisingly to torque
> > demands.
> > I do realize that my cycling tastes are very peculiar, but I do indeed
> like
> > grunting up steep hills fixed better than flying down long inclines
> > coasting.
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-- 
Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact
Patrick Moore, ACRW at [email protected]