Like many other people, I’m spending my time getting ready for St. George in a few months. Everything is going reasonably well, however, due to time limitations, among other reasons, I’ve had to make some minimal compromises on my bike training, which long-windedly leads me to my question (preceded by more statements):
I’m getting in 3 bike rides a week, of varying length (depending on where I am in my plan). 2 of those rides, however, are on a fixed gear bike (42x14). The third is my longer ride, done on my tri-bike (and will be the bike that I am racing with). The two fixed-gear rides are a bit more nuanced. They are 1-2.5 hour rides, contained entirely within city streets. This means there are starts, and a few stops at traffic lights, however when stopped, I’m trackstanding, and presumably still working my legs out somewhat. I am wearing cargo shorts and usually a pullover of some sort, over bib shorts, and I am carrying a messenger bag with tools, as well as my lock (this is to enunciate the point that I’m weighed down and going to be slightly slower).
The actual question I have is this: What is this doing for me? What kind of benefit should I be expecting from getting 1-2.5-hour rides this way? At 42x14 should I expect to climb reasonably well in other 3:1 ratios? The area is not a New York, but it’s not a San Francisco either.
I’ve not experienced any real issues with my longer bike rides (except getting used to the aero position again), but is there something I should focus on in the last efw months? St George will not be my first Ironman, but it will be the first where I’ve done a majority of my rides on a fixie.
I ride my fixed gear about 40-50 miles per week around town. When I’m pushing it, my legs are tiiiiired when I get home after a ~10 mi roundtrip. They’ve got to get you going and slow you down and are moving if you’re moving. Don’t know if anyone’s quantified the differences between fixed and multi gear riding. It also seems to be good practice at spinning high rpms fluidly.
Riding a fixie is supposed to do a whole bunch of things. Because you can’t stop pedaling, your ability to pedal continuously in the race will be that much better, as you will have learned to ride without coasting. On the downhills you will be forced to pedal smoothly and at speed, so you end up with a faster spin rate and a better and more rounded or fluid stroke at all speeds. Be careful about ground and wheel clearance of the pedals, I rode a fixie for many years as a kid and came of a few times on corners.
Gear ratios, no idea, because that depends on your current strength and speed. Ask at your LBS.
I ride my track bike as much as possible. I put short bars on them, and the 75° seat tube allows me to ride in a “triathlon position”. The head tube angle makes it a little unstable, but still OK. When spring comes, I try to ride my “other” bike, bc coasting is weird and I need to get used to it.
Like you, I don’t have much time to train and I believe FG bikes cannot be bad (a little bit like a home trainer would do on training quality).
The main issue is that it needs to be more or less flat… I believe a 2h ride on a track bike equals a 2.5h-3h ride with gears, depending on how hard you ride. I am a very slow but happy rider, with a 2.9 ratio. I think 3:1 is perfect for the everyday life.
And I forgot to say that I have much more fun riding with a fixed gear bike than with a regular bike ;-))
When you say old school you mean toe clips and straps, correct?
I ride using my clipless pedals. The longest ride I have done was a 100 mile gravel road ride with a fixed gear 'cross bike. I think I ran 42x17. My legs hurt for a week after that one.
I alternate my fixed gear and single speed, generally away from fixed when I get knee pain or just to change it up a bit. I have the shimano pedals that can clip or not, but I almost always ride clipped in. Fixie clipped makes you truly “at one” with the bike. It’s awesome. Did a metric century this way once.
When you say old school you mean toe clips and straps, correct?
I ride using my clipless pedals. The longest ride I have done was a 100 mile gravel road ride with a fixed gear 'cross bike. I think I ran 42x17. My legs hurt for a week after that one.
Guess I dont know what ‘clipless’ means, I meant on my bike i have SPD’s (because that’s whats on my shoes from spin class) ie: “clicked in”, in other words inconvenient when City riding around stop lights. Not ‘flat pedals’ that you could wear with shoes.
how many of you fixie guys ride clipped in vs. old-school pedals ?
and I dont mean SS w/ freewheeling hubs, I mean FIXED and CLIPPED IN.
SPD. Locked tight! Ever have a foot fly out on a fast descent?
Fixies are great. Do they make you faster or slower for a tri? I don’t know, and I don’t care. They’re a joy to ride and my legs are trashed when I’m done.
Odd, I had this same conversation with my son tonight. I guess I am showing my age.
When I started riding, I used toe clips and straps. I bought my first pair of Look pedals, which were known as “clipless”, meaning no toe clips. I guess I still think of it that way.
I think you meant not having your feet attached, I guess in my own world I would call those flat pedals.
Back on track, SS is okay with flat pedals, fixed never.
This thread motivated me to start riding fixed again.
how many of you fixie guys ride clipped in vs. old-school pedals ?
and I dont mean SS w/ freewheeling hubs, I mean FIXED and CLIPPED IN.
clipped in, and almost exclusively with my SPD sandals because they’re about the best thing in the world.
I guess a side note to my question would have been if anyone has any experience in knowing whether training for hours on a fixed gear bike would result in a faster time, or if it’s a waste of training. But since I’m spending hours on the bike anyway, I can’t imagine it’s a complete waste…
Any miles spent on the bike will help you, regardless of gearing (unless you’re going 7 mph on a flat which may not help much).
I did a block of training this winter exclusively on a fixie (clipped in) and I could tell I got stronger from it. Use it for what it is though, don’t try and ride it like a geared bike. Attack the hills, spin fast on the flats. Do as many hills as you can as that is where you will really see improvement in your climbing form, and quad strength.
So yes, it is useful, if you don’t just cruise around. Sprint between lights and burn your legs on the hills.
Do you have the Shimano SPD sandals, or something else?
I’ve been rocking the baskets on my fixie because I don’t think I could get into/out of Looks on it in traffic, and because I don’t want to carrying around another pair of shoes. But I’d totally put SPD’s on for summertime.
Any miles spent on the bike will help you, regardless of gearing (unless you’re going 7 mph on a flat which may not help much).
I did a block of training this winter exclusively on a fixie (clipped in) and I could tell I got stronger from it. Use it for what it is though, don’t try and ride it like a geared bike. Attack the hills, spin fast on the flats. Do as many hills as you can as that is where you will really see improvement in your climbing form, and quad strength.
So yes, it is useful, if you don’t just cruise around. Sprint between lights and burn your legs on the hills.
I say that this is mostly in your head. Take a standard road bike and just hammer in the biggest gear possible for as long as possible and you’ll see the same results
Well of course the gearing can be mimicked on a geared bike, but the mentality can’t. So yes, some of it is mental in that you can’t shift or spin.
But the form component cannot be achieved in the same way on a road bike BC there is a momentum factor on a fixie that allows for smoother climbing. Depending on the grade, I can often get into a much better rhythym on my fixie and climb faster because my stroke is more perfect. In 10 years maybe my road stroke will be there, but not currently.
This has been stated over and over again throughout the decades, and I do believe IIRC that it was found to be completely false that you spin smoother on a fixie or learn to spin better than on a road bike and that a fixed gear is a more effective training tool than a road bike. Mentality is just the same. That is the only gear you got and you’d rather die than get off of it. I ride both for years, and actually I found myself riding lazier on a fixed gear as the momentum helps the crank rotate
Mentality is just the same. That is the only gear you got and you’d rather die than get off of it.
Generally I agree. My buddy and I have a saying… “you ride the gears you’ve got.” I couldn’t get rid of my triple until I did. I never needed a compact until I got one. The gear on my fixie is was too tall until I rode it. If you’re not a little disciplined it’s easy to use whatever gears you have available to ride comfortably.
The nice thing about a SS or a fixie is that you’ve got no place to go, gearing wise. So a hill that will be challenging with that gearing will always be a challenge. With a geared bike, one can always bail out. For many of us it can be hard to have the discipline with a geared bike to push ourselves past a certain point. In a sense a fixie or SS can allow you to be mentally lazy and still push yourself, provided you don’t avoid the tough spots altogether.
A fixie is no magic training aid. Like any bike or ride, you quickly figure out how to ride it efficiently so you’re not always pushing yourself. In the back of my mind I know the hills and accelerations are always going to be tougher, so I tend to ease of while cruising more than I would on my roadie. That said, I love riding fixed. I like to spend time at the track and I also have a fixed townie (clips and straps) that I use for errands, etc. That bike will be changed to a SS when I get around to it.
The biggest thing with a fixed/single speed is being forced to ride at a variety of cadences and torque. The fixed gear bike does not let you coast so gives a bit more forced high cadence work but the momentum is not really a factor. If the momentum is pushing the cranks you would be getting the jerk as the chain goes slack going from pushing to pulling (or a freewheel slop/click).
To see what riding one is like just put the bike in a 39x15 gear or so and don’t shift or coast. A hint for short rollers is to push going into the bottom to get the cadence up before hitting the hill.
I don’t ride 39 15 on fixed either. But I know what you’re talking about. And yes, I’ve done it before running ultra low gearing for the whole way. It’s not hard at all. On the other hand, most of my riding is done on 53 16 and I don’t shift on rollers. On steeper stuff, yes, I need the lower gears. What I have found for climbing steep hills, there is no difference at high torque low rpm for fixed and the same for road. It’s the same exact effort if you’re using the same gear ratio.
the best source of info on gear ratios is the Sheldon Brown site. My SS is 48x16… do the math of dividing crank by rear hub (3.0 in my case). 3.0 is quite nice for flats and gentle rollers.
As 1 poster said, you get a much better work out for the miles with a SS – particularly commuting with stop signs and speed changes