Ok, poll time

Triathlon Forum
1

Here’s the deal. In just over a week, I will toe the line at the inaugural Oliver Half IM. I have not trained sufficiently for this race, and have therfore declassified it from a “race” to simply a (long) fun day in the sun. I am told that the course is flat (it consists of “the flat part” of the IMC bike course).

I am toying with the idea of leaving my Softride at home and riding my fixie. It currently has a 42x17 and I’m pretty sure I have a spare rear brake kicking around to slap on and make it legal.

So… Who votes for the Softride, and who votes for the fixie?

2

Doing a half on a fixie?? Oi! Save yourself a lot of hurt…Softride. Could make for a longer season otherwise.

3

"who votes for the fixie? "

Now that’s jackass of the week nomination material. But If you can pull it off, you’re a better man than the rest of us.

4

Personally I vote for your fixie with out a seat on it. He He He.

5

… and 60 psi in your tires…

6

the drawback to the softride is if the beam breaks thats gonna be some painful butt crack rash.

8

you gotta go fixed man—thats epic. 40 years from now you can impress your grandkids with the fact that you did an IM, but even more impressive is doing it fixed.

I was thinking of doing a fixed century, but IM is awesomely crazy.

jeremyb

9

If it were an early season race the fixie would make sense. But, even though using it doesn’t make any sense this late into the season, it would make for an interesting race and more fodder for your war stories chest. :slight_smile:

I’d like to hear your split time if you do.

-Robert

10

Dude!!! just do it!!!

Get that gear up to speed and float it like a piece of poo in the ocean!!!

11

Ride the fix, break out your spiderman costume for the run, and do the swim with a shark fin strapped to your head.

And have fun!

(I keep saying I’m going to do my next race in a clown suit, but my wife tells me that would be redundant.)

12

It will be more fun if you ride the Softride- so I would ride the Softride!

13

Course is flat, right? Fixie, but increase the gear. 42/17 seems low for a 56 mile ride, unless you love to spin.

14

I really don’t get the point of a fixed gear bike. Just don’t shift on your regular bike, what’s the problem>

15

Ride the fixie and be man’s man. Just put a flip-flop on it and carry a wrench (In case you are dying a slow painful death) :slight_smile:

16

ride the fix, khai. i would also say you may wanna gear that mofo up some, tho.

as you know you aren’t really giving up much, if anything, anyway. best part here is, you can even tell the gearies that it is no handicap, and they still will not believe you.

all you need is one. one is more fun. one fucking speed. etc etc. :slight_smile: have a good time.

17

Riding a fixie isn’t the same as riding a singlespeed. Fixed is the way it was meant to be, bicycles as God intended, in their purest form.

Plus a great laugh if you forget to keep pedalling.

18

I have actually done a sprint and an Olympoc distance race on a track bike. Got started when our bikes were on the roof rack and my buddy drove under the carport. We had to find 3 replacement bikes in about 10 seconds so the trackie was called into service( with no front brake). The course was a tad hilly but I rode pretty well, then came the run. Now I usually suck on the run, but that race I really sucked.
With the fixed gear you get zero rest and when the road gets rough you ride thru it. Without a brake at all you have to work even harder. And as a much wiser person now than then I would have thrown my sorry ass out of the race for doing that. But back in 81 I was usually way out in front on the bike anyhow. My buddy (on my other road bike) chased me down on the run and I got second overall. So I really didn’t indanger anyone but myself on the ride. Did a flat sprint race (with a brake)to see if that was true again (or I’m just stoopid) and stoopid won . Since I TT fixed all the time, I was thinking that those races were pre- aerobars so maybe I should try once more.
I think a half would be a real hero on a fixie. G

19

Do the Softride. The fixie will murder you on a half that you have not sufficiently trained for.

If you do the fixie, you will have my admiration forever. I am not endorsing the choice of a fixie for a half.

20

So what happened? Did you go fixed or not? How was it?

21

IMC has been done on a fixie, so if this course consists only of the flatter parts of the IMC course you should be fine. BTW, the guy who does IMC on a fixie also wears a shirt and tie, so don’t disappoint us.