Re: Fixed gear bicycle sighting

On Sep 11, 3:37 am, John Thompson <j...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 2007-09-10, CNN_news <Nagit...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I'd like to get a fixed gear but I live in an coastal, mountainous
area and you can generate some pretty high speeds. Do you use clipped
pedals to 'lock' yourself onto the drivetrain to control the speed?

That, and to prevent your legs from being pummeled into hamburger by the
rapidly rotating pedals if your foot should come off the pedal by
accident. Track riders often use toeclips with double straps to ensure
that they don't come loose.

Don't ride brakeless on the road, and especially not down a mountain.

If I use a low gear for climbing I will have a very high cadence when
descending unless I am really very strong.

Strong is only part of the issue. Being able to spin the pedals
smoothly and rapidly is also important. If you're bouncing around
a lot you're likely lose control at some point.

Is it recommended to use a fixed gear in hilly areas?

It is doable if you have brakes. The uphills are managable; the
downhills are where you'll have problems.


Downhill with no brakes requires that you keep it at a walking pace if
the hill is of any length. Definitely not the fast way to go, but
risking getting too much uncontrollable speed is probably even dumber
than riding in an urban area with no brakes.

I ride my track bikes on the road with no brakes but I live in a rural
area with a very relaxed traffic pattern. I also only use the bike on
specific roads that are well suited to the task, and more importantly
I ride very relaxed and super conservatively. That is the point of
this bike, to take it easy and enjoy the scenery and to not overdo it.
When I rode with a brake, I allowed myself to get into situations
where I needed it, and in general my rides were more intense which was
something I was trying to avoid by riding fixed in the first place.
That doesn't happen now. If I want to go fast, I take my road bike. If
I used the bike anywhere where there was any traffic or there cropped
up reasons to have to stop, I'd use a brake no question.

The roads I use are also popular with roller-skiers. A track bike with
no brakes is whole orders of magnitude safer and in general less of a
menace that roller skis!

Joseph

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: How I crashed
    ... Gently and progressively apply the brakes. ... for even more braking, when it's not required, at least by the bike... ... The comfort zone is what gives you the additional traction ... matter) the vanishing point dictates corner speeds. ...
    (rec.motorcycles)
  • Re: Effects of transit on congestion
    ... hub brakes, or a "track bike" where the cranks always spin when the ... (If your feet ever come off the pedals while you're descending a hill, ... of bicycles. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.fandom)
  • Re: Effects of transit on congestion
    ... pushed the pedals *backwards*, because like an old ... My father learned to ride on a fixed-gear bike. ... Which illustrates one of the reasons we put coaster brakes on ... joy beeson at comcast dot net ...
    (rec.arts.sf.fandom)
  • Re: Trek Madone 2008
    ... Were many mountain bike riders having lots of problems with cantilever rim ... brakes and demanding disc brakes or were we all led there by the bike ... Last year I went from cantis to V brakes to discs on my ... from 6 to 9 speeds. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: Folding bike?
    ... pedals does not result in a speed increase. ... The bike also seems to get less ... stable when it reaches these speeds. ... being rude to him? ...
    (uk.rec.cycling)
Loading