How much slower would a fixed gear bike be then a multi speed in a half or full IM ? I did a 100 miles yesterday on a fixed and had one of the best rides of the year. The ride had no big hills. Are 2 brakes required for an IM?
Thom
Maybe the question should be, how much quicker would a fixed gear bike be for a flat ironman.
Maybe the question should be, “why?”
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i think you can and people do do IM w/ fixed gear. I use FG 48x16 for 75% of my training rides, usually from 3-6 hour steady rides on rolling terrain. I like it a lot for training purposes - I got the whole set up on ebay for half the cost of a set of PCs and I feel it really has helped my pedaling action and leg strength. But I am always slower… down hill, flats… small hills actually I can climb faster but at greater enegy costs.
IM would be tough… no coasting and rarely optimal gearing…
The penalty comes on the run. I love my fixie, and have raced a 1/2 IM on it. (You can find my race report by searching “dumbassville”) Over/under gearing issues aside, your legs will pay the price later on in the day.
If you don’t care about your time, however, it’s a kick.
48x16 wow ! Well I am a whimp !! ha ha
How much coasting does one need.
It’s like riding a paper route bike.
Why ? it,s not about the race it’t about the training.
Thom