…and my bike legs were absolutely trashed. It has to be said, riding fixed for 3 hours is like doing 6 on a conventional bike.
What is everyone elses experiences of fixed and what anecdotal improvements (if any) did you find by training on one ? I personally found a smoother pedal stroke and the ability to use high cadences but did any of you get actually ‘stronger’ using one ?
bryce.
Yup, it rips your legs off, I like to think of it as ‘accelerated jellification’: My legs turn to jelly pretty quick on my fixie. I am pretty sure that no one has done any research proving its benefits but it sure is fun. I do all my winter miles here in the UK on mine (I’m a roadie), partly to stop boredom and partly because of the low maintenance.
Certainly when I change to my road bike I feel alot smoother, I don’t coast (very much) anymore, I have a better instinct for when to stop pedalling while cornering and I basically just feel alot more efficient. I ride in a group mostly with mine, I certainly get more of a workout with it than the other riders, especially on the burn-ups (~10 minutes at 130+rpm can only be good for you as it is so lung intensive).
Whether I would be stronger having used a fixie vs not using one is impossible to say as I can’t split myself in two and do both. However, my instinct is that it is better.
This is my first year on a fixie. My longest ride has been just over an hour although with some short steep hills (and cold). My legs were fried. I can’t imagine doing a century on it.
I commute on a fixie twice a week and I love it (26 miles round trip). This was my first summer riding fixed and I am hooked. I have noticed improvement in my cycling and running. I run a 48 X 16, and so it is more like big gear work out than anything else. I know it is a touchy sensitive subject but I have seen more running help from riding fixed than riding regular due to the necessity of spinning circles for fourty-five minutes straight (similiar to power cranks from what I understand, I would buy a pair but don’t have the $).
I’ve been riding on the track for a few years and decided to use a fixie for spring to fall commuting (sometimes I want to be able to coast over ice or snow patches). It was great for that ride - up to about 30km one way if I took a long route. When I retired earlier this year, I tried the fixie for a flat 70 km ride. I was completely trashed by the end. It might have been OK as a single speed with the ability to coast at times but the ride was just too long. Now the fixie languishes in the garage. My older son may commute with it when he graduates in the spring or the younger one may use it to commute to university when his arm recovers, but it just doesn’t seem to fit in my program any more.
I still think that a fixed gear does help improve your spinning and would recommend it for rides up to an hour and a half or so. It also forces you to be more alert since you need to be pedalling all the time and can’t just let the terrain carry you along.
This was also my first year on a fixie, an el-cheapo conversion project (48x15, commuter bike - about 37miles round trip x5/wk). Can’t say whether there was any measurable improvement in general, but I do feel that my climbing has improved a bit. Above all, the fixie was a blast to ride, so any overall improvement is probably due in part to the increased frequency of my rides!
Dr Dre’ used to do his centuries on his fixie, fairly hilly ones~ 5000ft of climbing. I think he used a 40/16, so he had to spin like hell on the downhills.
Of course he did his doubles on his 'cross bike.
Some people need a challenge.
I ride my Fixie in the winter mostly. Weekend rides of between 20 and 40 miles generally. My all time long Fixie ride was 80 miles on rolling hills. I find that initially, the fixie rides are like 1 1/2 to 2 times harder (or by extension, effectively longer) than a geared bike. But, as you become more accustomed to riding fixed gear, this is more like 1.25 x. Clearly, the course you ride makes a big difference. The hillier the route, the tougher obviously. Long downhills are the hardest part of riding fixed gear. Also, your gearing is critical to the effect you get from this type of riding. Many Fixies are riding too big a gear IMO. Something around 67 gear inches is a good compromise if you ride hills. I have front and rear brakes on mine.
After two years off the bike with back problems/surgeries, I’ve been riding a fixie exclusively since July. The first ride over 3 hours wiped me out, but I now ride 2-3 hours at least once a week and another ride of 1-2 hours on it and don’t really notice it. With the varied terrain around here I ride a 42x17, so I’m not pushing anything big.
I did an organized ride in October that was like a friggin roller-coaster. I really should have checked the profile before going out. 3.5 hours (including a couple of stops) to go 40 miles. I was either grinding or spinning like a mad-man.
I will say that the biggest issue for me after a couple of hours, is not being able to stand and coast to stretch.
scott
Best benefit is work at both cadence extremes, speed and strength in one workout. Doing a steady 3 hours gets easier for me if I do it a lot. But riding a hilly ride with coasties who are hammering is murder.
That is my suspicion as well…
Try to find different ways to pedal. Dropping your ankle, pulling up, seated forward, seated rearward. There are so many different methods for turning the cranks, you can really use many different muscle groups.
I’ll frequently do 10 pedal strokes on, 4 off when I’m riding a road TT on my fixed gear. I just lighten the pedal pressure intermitently to reduce the effort.
toughest sufferfest on the fixed gear was a 108 mile loop with our local club, and the local university club and Frankie Andreu on a ride from my old home in Livonia, MI to Dearborn, MI out to Ann Arbor, MI, up to Kensington Metro PArk, back through South Lyon, and back to Livonia. Brutal.
Chamois cream is your friend while descending on a 42x15t!
Have fun.
-SD
Why don’t you ride yuor “fixie” up Mt. Washington (NH) on a 60x11 and then tell me about suffering.
Peace out!
As a somewhat accomplished trackie (you, not me), I’m surprised by your comments. I’d have agreed wholeheartedly if you were talking about lower back or butt, or even possibly hammies/hip flexors - but when a person says “bike legs” I automatically think “quads”.
I spend a LOT of time riding fixed (when I’m in Vancouver long enough to actually ride), and have only noticed my legs being trashed when I’ve not been riding much at all, yet *still *eschew the brake and try to stop with just the legs. I think that it is the eccentric loading from slowing down by resisting the forward momentum of the bike is what really eats legs - but most people (who aren’t courriers) don’t do that. I live in an extremely hilly town, and try to not use the brake unless its an emergency. As a result, when I’m out of shape my legs can get trashed pretty easily. But if I’ve been riding then I actually find riding fixed *easier *than a freewheel bike. Especially when climbing.
Riding a fixie? Guess you finally munched ALL your gears!
I know this one guy that did 6 hours (!!) on it once. Triathlete.
Riding fixed wheel really works on your cadence and improves your ability to maintain a continuous effort. And I’m with experience here.
Muncher…
I usually ride my fixie at lunch during the week. Well this week has been cold and snowy.
One thing to not do … is to ride the fixie over black ice.
I went down like Jan did in the TDF TT a couple of years ago…Ouch!
DB
I just banged out a century with my buddy who is a fixed gear disciple. After every shift I made I would hear him muble “f*@&ing pussy”
108 ? Thats impressive. You’re right about the chamois cream though - I learnt real quick which saddle design fitted me best after a few quick descents of that one…
Khai, your tyres must have massive bald patches from trying to brake on some of Van’s hills.