Lots of people ask me about fixed gears. Some people wonder why and some people wonder how and some people wonder both. There was a great post on the fixed gear mailing list that kind of addresses some of these concerns:
Subject: Re: [FIXED-GEAR] Re: Fixed Century
Date: Tue, Oct 4 2005 8:06:08 PM +0000
I'm going to say something which might almost be blasphemous on this list.... or maybe not.
Riding fixed over a long distance, in the absence of any big climbs/descents, isnt THAT
different than riding a road bike, as long as you're used to the bike and used to riding fixed.
It slows you down a little, and it might be a little more tiring (although I'm not convinced of
that, honestly, in the absence of major hills) but it's basically the same. If you can ride a
century on a road bike, you can ride a century on a fixed gear. If you think about it, all
other factors (weight, wind resistance, distance, etc) are basically equivalent; you still
have to put out the same amount of power to pedal the same rider the same distance in the
same conditions. You won't be riding at your optimal cadence all the time, but your comfort
range for cadence will be quite a bit wider which somewhat makes up for that.
Mega hills will tire you out a bit more, especially if you aren't used to grinding up them on a
fixed gear, and trying to keep up with your geared buddies on the way down will definitely
take it out of you, so if you aren't sure about the idea of riding a century fixed, ya might
wanna try a flat one first! Also, we all know that it's easier to ride a century if you go at a
steady pace than speeding up and slowing down all the time, and that you'll be much more
tired if you sprint for every town line. This is especially true on a fixed gear.
Sprinting up hills and toward town lines against gearies will also take it out of you. Just
some things to keep in mind.
The only thing that will get you in shape for a century is miles; honestly though, a century isn't
that far. If you're in reasonable shape, you can finish 100 mi. You might not do it fast and
you might be pretty zonked afterward, but you'll make it. If you get tired, just picture
the lil'ol'ladies on their cruisers with fat seats who manage to pull off charity rides.
It's a major accomplishment for them, but it isn't impossible. Good luck!
Emily "Archaeopteryx!" O'Brien
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I should also mention that I took my fixed Friday on the lunch ride yesterday. I stayed with them on the flats-- even took a few pulls in the wind. When we went over Gimpl Hill, our wheelbuilder (another ex-messenger form Cleveland and also a fixed rider: he's got a Bianchi Pista and a Bike Friday Pocket Llama he built all himself) and I fought it out to get to the top. He had the lead.. then I caught him.. then he passed me.. then I tried to sprint to the top but he beat me. We left everyone else in the dust and had a nice break at the top. Surprisingly, I wasn't the last one to the bottom. Ted (also an amateur racer for Paul's Bicycle Way of Life Shop's team) challenged me to a sprint on the way back and I stuck with him for a bit, again dropping everyone else. Anyways, I guess the point of this is that my experience coincides with Emily's thoughts.
The Fixed Gear Gallery is currently showing a variety of Bike Friday related works of single geared, direct drive art.
