Fixed Gear Training



Gio

New Member
Oct 14, 2003
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What do you guys think of fixed gear training?
Is it as benficial as they (the coaches, books and reviews) say?
Is it dangerous in traffic?
What gear to start on?
Should you use a different bike or just change the back wheel?
Will i survive? (I live in a mountainous area!!)
Thanks for your feedback!
Gio
 
Originally posted by Gio
What do you guys think of fixed gear training?

What do you want to do it for?

For me, Im riding a 42/18 through to mid Jan then onto a 42/16 for about another 4 weeks then onto gears.The reason.Well, The gearing is really light and for this time of the year is perfect, its what you want to concentrate on, spinning.

The fixed is superb for smoothing out your pedalling and increasing your max cadence.you really get a feel for the bike aswell, its unique.

Is it as benficial as they (the coaches, books and reviews) say?
yes
Is it dangerous in traffic?
same as riding gears,just need to concentrate more.You are always concentrating on not stopping pedalling.You will forget the 1st few times and get the fright of your life and maybe skid the back wheel but after that, its like 2nd nature.you just seem to keep on pedalling as you know you have to.

What gear to start on?Should you use a different bike or just change the back wheel?
Will i survive? (I live in a mountainous area!!)
Thanks for your feedback!
Gio
Gearing, well for this time of year and depending where you stay it can vary.If you are racing, its all about building a base and gaining a bit of strength.Get a few sprockets and try different combos.Whats easy on the flat might not be suitable for multiple climbs especially on long weekend runs(as ive found out).If you live in hills areas, put on a low gearing.

Mind if you wanting to ride a fixed you have got to have horizontal dropouts.There is another option about using some mech with vertical drops but dont really know about it.

Id recommend it.
 
Thanks for your v. helpful and encouring info bikerjoe but what do you mean by "horizontal and vertical dropouts"?
Gio
 
Originally posted by Gio
Thanks for your v. helpful and encouring info bikerjoe but what do you mean by "horizontal and vertical dropouts"?
Gio

See, where you put your rear wheel in, thats the dropouts.Most bikes now have vertical dropouts where the wheel slides up into them, but track bikes and older frames use horizontal so you can move the wheel back and forth.The reason for this is that you need to get the chain length and the tension right and you can only do that by having horizontal dropouts.SheldonBrown has a good site, which covers this.

think its http://www.sheldonbrown.com
 
As a trackie I ride a fixie around town and train on one fairly often. I don't really live in a mountainous area, although in Hamilton we a have a nice escarpment that provides killer climbs and wicked descents. The fixie wll definitley smooth you out, improve your power, and make you a more versatile pedaller. you will hit the extremes of the pedaling cadence ranges, and if you choose a small gear, you can increase your cruising cadence to make yourself more efficient. you will have to pedal faster becasue you will not be able to upshift. a great training tool in my opinion
taras
 
In my view fixed gear training is most beneficial as a winter time training tool, on rollers. The main benefit to fixed gear training is the development of sound pedalling technique, something I see being neglected by younger riders today.

On rollers you will be better able to "feel" the pedals under your feet and to feel the delivery of power and how that varies at each point throughout each revolution of the crank and pedal. Fixed gear training is about developing a good sound "spin", keep that in mind. In addition, you should also be better able to feel any bad habits you may have developed in your upper body, like bouncing or rocking back and forth. Sometimes these things go unnoticed on the road, but on the rollers they become very evident.

I have no experience riding fixed gears in traffic as I have only used it on the track and at home on rollers, but I know riders who do and they have never had any problem. Concerning the hills, well...you could always throw the top tube over your shoulder and cyclocross over the top if you run out of pedalling legs!
 
I've got a question... I'm not worried about going up the hills, its going down them I'm worried about. Do you use a set of brakes, or is it just a track bike? :)
 
One of my co-workers has a front brake on his fixed-gear bike that he rides to work everyday. The frame is a track frame with a fork he took off of one of his old road bikes.

You could also just convert an old road bike frame to a fixed-gear configuration and use both front and rear brakes. It doesn't really matter, the point is that the "fixed-gear" aspect is what is most important, and its value as a training aid. I've known a few people who, due to lack of funds, have converted road bikes into track bikes, mainly for training, it's not perfect but when you are poor it's better than nothing.
 
Front brake is fine for a fixed on the road,as you can put a little presure backwards on the pedal to stop.Thats what I use and its fine.