Finally Fixed

Hjalti · 04-12-2004

The weather, work and the rest of the world finally relented and let me get out on my bike last Friday. I didn’t want to drive anywhere, and the state of the trails was questionable anyway, so a local road ride seemed in order. I had recently put an ENO hub/wheel on my MTB, and while I have done a couple of short rides with the freewheel side; I hadn’t yet braved the fixed cog.

So, with the weather warm and breezy, I flipped around the wheel and took the extra powerlink out of the chain, switching from the 40/23 freewheel setup to a 40/17 fixed. I didn’t even have to adjust the brakes, the wheel went back into almost the same position.

The ride went pretty well. There were a couple of times when I began to stop pedaling out of reflex, like when posting over some potholes and cresting hills, but I quickly got into the groove. Clicking into the pedals was no problem. And stopping and clicking out was OK too. No panic stops yet, so we’ll wait and see about that.

On one hill I was passed by a roadie, who thought a MTB was a lot of weight to be hauling around. He didn’t even notice I was fixed. Nice guy though, and I don’t see enough bikes around here anyway.

Descending proved to be the hardest thing to get. Long cranks and relatively low gearing had me spinning out like crazy. I was comfortable cruising along at 12 to 15 mph, but I got up to 29mph on one hill and was very uncomfortable. I usually slowed down before getting the spin too high, and I really was sliding forward on my seat and putting a lot of pressure on my hands and wrists. It wasn’t too bad, and I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon. Position and bike fit seem to be more important when fixed.

I liked it. Saturday after a ride with my daughter on the tandem (my last derailleur equipped bike), I played around with trackstanding, curb hopping, and using my legs to control speed while she worked on her mad 5 year old bike skilz (the training wheels are coming off this week, really). I can’t wait to try commuting with it now.

People say it is a different feel, and it is. Hard to explain, but for me, good.

If you are reluctant to give it a shot, I say try it. If I can do it, anyone can.

Here are a couple of Pics.

1. Leaving the driveway
2. Beautiful central Maryland rolling farmland
3. More farmland, with the Launch facility, I mean concrete plant off in the distance
4. Hey Mister, can we huck in your yard?

Cheers

H

Hjalti · 04-12-2004

5. Mmm, gravel
6. Launch facility closer.
7. More gravel
8. Gratuitous bike shot

riderx · 04-12-2004

Excellent. Plenty of time to get in some fixed road rides w/ all of this rain we've been getting. What rim did you wind up going with?

If you shoot for somewhere around 67 gear inches you'll probably find that a little better for your terrain.

32seventeen · 04-12-2004

Nice pics, where in Maryland is that? They look like some nice roads for my Crosscheck.

Hjalti · 04-13-2004

I went with the rhynolite. I wanted stout. I'm thinking about going to a 15t cog which would put me around 66 gear inches. Since I'm changing the chain length anyway, it shouldn't be a big deal. What I really want is for Herself to release funds for a full time road fixie. We'll see....
H

Hjalti · 04-13-2004

Frederick Co. side of Union Bridge. Low Traffic - Fountain School, Coppermine, Bessie Clemson, Clemsonville, Molasses Rd. Gravel- Dotterer Rd, Repp Rd. Pearre Rd. I think Harp still has some gravel too. Shouldn't be too far for you to come, Todd. We should hook up after work sometime.

riderx · 04-13-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hjalti

What I really want is for Herself to release funds for a full time road fixie. We'll see....
H

What size frame are you looking for? Do you have parts to build it or will you need to get a complete bike? I'll keep my eyes out for you if you give me that info...

_K9_ · 04-13-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hjalti

Descending proved to be the hardest thing to get. Long cranks and relatively low gearing had me spinning out like crazy. I was comfortable cruising along at 12 to 15 mph, but I got up to 29mph on one hill and was very uncomfortable. I usually slowed down before getting the spin too high, and I really was sliding forward on my seat and putting a lot of pressure on my hands and wrists. It wasn’t too bad, and I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon. Position and bike fit seem to be more important when fixed.

I just had my first fixie ride and came to the same conclusion: downhills are the hardest (scariest) part! I had to slow myself down with the brake a couple times because the spin was just too fast for me. I'm hoping after a few more test runs I'll get the hang of it.

Kevin

ShivaSteve · 04-13-2004

Great pics Hjalti! Now that I am on the right side of the river, I'll have to come *Check* out your neighborhood!

Last year, while training for the SM100, I realized I might like mixed tarmac/country dirt road epics (i.e. century +) on the Cross Check more than mountain biking. Well, sometimes

So yeah, we should disorganize some of that.

32seventeen · 04-13-2004

Is this (Hjalti) John? Yes, a ride after work sounds fun. Let me know when.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hjalti

Frederick Co. side of Union Bridge. Low Traffic - Fountain School, Coppermine, Bessie Clemson, Clemsonville, Molasses Rd. Gravel- Dotterer Rd, Repp Rd. Pearre Rd. I think Harp still has some gravel too. Shouldn't be too far for you to come, Todd. We should hook up after work sometime.