The dangers of a fixed wheel

Sunday I went out with the CTC for a nice gentle ride and took the oportunity to take my new fixer
for its first serious ride.

Changing the pedals so I can use my normal LOOK cleats rather than toe-straps helped enormously with
starting which has been the main reason I have been nervous taking it out on the road.

The first steep downhill was an experience. I was probably only doing about 30mph[1] but suddenly
realised that I was slighly out of control. My feet would go around fast enough but there was no way
I could slow down using them and I needed to brake. Unfortunately, my automatic instinct when things
start going wrong is to stop pedalling. Fortunately, possibly partly because I have the saddle about
half an inch below where it ought to be after other comments here, I suffered nothing more than a
slighly uncomfortable sensation as I bounced up and down on the saddle a couple of times before I
got my legs spinning again. With gentle braking I managed to keep things vaguely under control until
the bottom of the hill where I got back to a much more comfortable speed.

Then I met up with the CTC group and we set off on a much more sedate ride. This was thoroughly
enjoyable and I started getting the hang of controlling the speed with the pedals. On a few of the
steeper hills I did occasionally have to resort to the front brake as I lacked the technique (or
strength?) to keep the speed down using just the pedals but I didn't have any more scarey moments.

I had one longish, steepish hill to climb. I knew I had to just go at it and haul my way to the top.
At the top I was plesantly surprised how painless it had really been although the double incentive
of not being able to change down and knowing that there is no way I could get going again if I
stopped and so having to walk up the hill in LOOKs made sure there was no way I was going to give up
unless I physically couldn't continue

Monday I didn't ride at all but my thighs certainly knew they had had a hard day (I suspect I did
about 60 miles at a very lesurely pace but it felt like a 100mile hard ride) which I think is
partially at least due to the effort of slowing the bike on downhills.

Today I was back on the windcheetah on the way to work. First couple of junctions were no problem -
must brake and stop type of affairs. Then came a fastish bit approaching a roundabout. Me 25mph, car
starts coming around, me just starts pedalling a bit slower ..... hmmm, I'm going to hit that car.
HOW DO I SLOW DOWN. Grab for the brake. I doubt that the car even noticed my minor panic as I had
plenty of room and time although I ended up losing most of my speed rather than just 5 mph or so. I
was amazed how quickly the control of the speed just through the pedals would become ingrained.

After another respectable ride I will probably consider the fixed wheel for my commute occasionally
although I will have to modify my journey slightly as I have a difficult hill and roundabout
combination that I would need a lot more confidence with starting before I would risk.

For those who are thinking of trying a fixed wheel, I can strongly recommend it. But, at the
beginning at least, make sure you have good brakes and keep your speed down when going downhill

Regards,

Tim

[1] No speedo on the bike (yet)

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

 

Hi,

Not really sure I understand your post fully. When you say fixed wheel, do you mean non
quick release?

Are they faster?

Thanks,

Gary.

"Tim Woodall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sunday I went out with the CTC for a nice gentle ride and took the
oportunity
> to take my new fixer for its first serious ride.
>
> Changing the pedals so I can use my normal LOOK cleats rather than
toe-straps
> helped enormously with starting which has been the main reason I have been nervous taking it out
> on the road.
>
> The first steep downhill was an experience. I was probably only doing about 30mph[1] but suddenly
> realised that I was slighly out of control. My feet would go around fast enough but there was no
> way I could slow down using them and I needed to brake. Unfortunately, my automatic instinct
when
> things start going wrong is to stop pedalling. Fortunately, possibly
partly
> because I have the saddle about half an inch below where it ought to be after other comments here,
> I suffered nothing more than a slighly uncomfortable sensation as I bounced up and down on the
> saddle a couple of times before I got my legs spinning again. With gentle braking I managed to
> keep things vaguely under control until the bottom of the hill where I got back to a much more
> comfortable speed.
>
> Then I met up with the CTC group and we set off on a much more sedate
ride.
> This was thoroughly enjoyable and I started getting the hang of
controlling
> the speed with the pedals. On a few of the steeper hills I did
occasionally
> have to resort to the front brake as I lacked the technique (or strength?) to keep the speed down
> using just the pedals but I didn't have any more scarey moments.
>
> I had one longish, steepish hill to climb. I knew I had to just go at it and haul my way to the
> top. At the top I was plesantly surprised how painless it had really been although the double
> incentive of not being able to change down and knowing that there is no way I could get going
> again if I stopped and so having to walk up the hill in LOOKs made sure there was no way I was
> going to give up unless I physically couldn't continue
>
> Monday I didn't ride at all but my thighs certainly knew they had had a hard day (I suspect I did
> about 60 miles at a very lesurely pace but it felt like a 100mile hard ride) which I think is
> partially at least due to the effort of slowing the bike on downhills.
>
> Today I was back on the windcheetah on the way to work. First couple of junctions were no problem
> - must brake and stop type of affairs. Then came a fastish bit approaching a roundabout. Me 25mph,
> car starts coming around, me just starts pedalling a bit slower ..... hmmm, I'm going to hit that
> car. HOW DO I SLOW DOWN. Grab for the brake. I doubt that the car even noticed my minor panic as I
> had plenty of room and time although I ended up losing most of my speed rather than just 5 mph or
> so. I was amazed how quickly the control of the speed just through the pedals would become
> ingrained.
>
> After another respectable ride I will probably consider the fixed wheel for my commute
> occasionally although I will have to modify my journey slightly as I have a difficult hill and
> roundabout combination that I
would
> need a lot more confidence with starting before I would risk.
>
> For those who are thinking of trying a fixed wheel, I can strongly recommend it. But, at the
> beginning at least, make sure you have good brakes and keep your speed down when going
> downhill
>
> Regards,
>
> Tim
>
> [1] No speedo on the bike (yet)
>
> --
> God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.
>
> http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

 

Tim Woodall wrote:
> Fortunately, possibly partly because I have the saddle about half an inch below where it ought to
> be after other comments here, I suffered nothing more than a slighly uncomfortable sensation as I
> bounced up and down on the saddle a couple of times before I got my legs spinning again.

Heheheh, first time I ever rode fixed wheel, similar problem, going downhill, strapped in and trying
pedal braking, but my left hand crank snapped, so my right leg suddenly became a piston .. and I was
a passenger on the top of it ..

Now *that* was an uncomfortable situation ..

--

Completed 1662 Seti work units in 12668 hours http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

 

On Tue, 13 May 2003 12:47:44 GMT, RAGOS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Not really sure I understand your post fully. When you say fixed wheel, do you mean non quick
> release?
>
Well it is non quick release but it really means that there are no gears and no freewheel so you
can't stop pedalling (unless you stop) which is why going downhill can be an interesting experience.

> Are they faster?
>
AIUI, (almost?) all track races are done with fixed wheels.

But for general road use I can't believe that they could be faster than the same rider with an
appropriate selection of gears.

Regards,

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

 

> Well it is non quick release but it really means that there are no gears and no freewheel so you
> can't stop pedalling (unless you stop) which is
why
> going downhill can be an interesting experience.

Wow - thats sounds, erm...interesting I like to Freewheel I think. You must be a lot fitter to
cyclie like this I suppose...the hills must be difficult.

Thanks,

Gary.

 

Tim Woodall wrote:

> AIUI, (almost?) all track races are done with fixed wheels.

HPVs tend to use gears as being recumbents more often than not you can't get them to speed by
standing on the pedals. Also the case that the terminal velocity (and thus top gear) will be rather
higher than a typical upright track machine.

http://www.kingcycle.co.uk/hpvs/Hachi2.html shows the Kingcycle Hachi, which I assume is the machine
Rob English took the national pursuit squad to the cleaners on recently at a velodrome. Note the
gear block just in front of the handlebars

http://www.kingcycle.co.uk/hpvs/Mango5.html notes of the fully faired Mango "I was happily spinning
round at 27mph, still in first gear"...

> But for general road use I can't believe that they could be faster than the same rider with an
> appropriate selection of gears.

Since a fixer has less weight, a cleaner chainline and no transmission losses in the freewheel setup
it is an intrinsically more efficient system than a set of gears though of course your one gear must
be right for all the circumstances you encounter. That's entirely possible for someone used to a
good variety of cadences living somewhere reasonably flat: as with a track bike it's a bit of a
heave getting going, but once you have speed needn't vary too much. Not really the case over a
varied course though, which is why road machinery generally has gears.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

"Peter Clinch" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Tim Woodall wrote:
>
> > AIUI, (almost?) all track races are done with fixed wheels.
>
> HPVs tend to use gears as being recumbents more often than not you can't get them to speed by
> standing on the pedals. Also the case that the terminal velocity (and thus top gear) will be
> rather higher than a typical upright track machine.

Is there a safety issue too? With fixed wheel and no brakes you can't do sudden deceleration so
being in a pack should be more predictable?

(would love to take the tandem on a track though...)

cheers, clive

 

Clive George wrote:

> Is there a safety issue too? With fixed wheel and no brakes you can't do sudden deceleration so
> being in a pack should be more predictable?

Track experience is zero and race not much more, so I'm guessing, but my guess is that's a positive
side effect rather than a design goal. Why bother with brakes when you don't need to slow down?

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

Peter Clinch wrote:

> HPVs tend to use gears as being recumbents more often than not you can't get them to speed by
> standing on the pedals. Also the case that the terminal velocity (and thus top gear) will be
> rather higher than a typical upright track machine.

Terminal velocity on a tight velodrome is probably not much higher for a streamliner than for a
track sprinter, though, as it gets difficult to hold the thing down once they start to get up around
45-50 mph.

> http://www.kingcycle.co.uk/hpvs/Hachi2.html shows the Kingcycle Hachi, which I assume is the
> machine Rob English took the national pursuit squad to the cleaners on recently at a velodrome.

It is indeed.

> http://www.kingcycle.co.uk/hpvs/Mango5.html notes of the fully faired Mango "I was happily
> spinning round at 27mph, still in first gear"...

They probably lowered the gearing post-Battle Mountain; the Mango was initially set up with a bottom
gear of something like 140". In spite of which it reached 50 mph impressively quickly...

> Since a fixer has less weight, a cleaner chainline and no transmission losses in the freewheel
> setup it is an intrinsically more efficient system than a set of gears though of course your one
> gear must be right for all the circumstances you encounter. That's entirely possible for someone
> used to a good variety of cadences living somewhere reasonably flat: as with a track bike it's a
> bit of a heave getting going, but once you have speed needn't vary too much. Not really the case
> over a varied course though, which is why road machinery generally has gears.

A fair few London couriers use fixers due to the light weight and reliability-through-simplicity;
central London lacks much in the way of hills. I, however, am an idle sod, and like gears. Lots
of gears...

Clive George:

> Is there a safety issue too? With fixed wheel and no brakes you can't do sudden deceleration so
> being in a pack should be more predictable?

Yes. Plus it's simple to control your speed very precisely with a fixed, which is a Good Thing when
charging around in a bunch on a tight track, or trying to maintain station in a team pursuit.

Dave Larrington - http://legslarry.crosswinds.net/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

 

Tim Woodall wrote: <snip>
> The first steep downhill was an experience. I was probably only doing about 30mph[1] but suddenly
> realised that I was slighly out of control. My feet would go around fast enough but there was no
> way I could slow down using them and I needed to brake. Unfortunately, my automatic instinct when
> things start going wrong is to stop pedalling. Fortunately, possibly partly because I have the
> saddle about half an inch below where it ought to be after other comments here, I suffered nothing
> more than a slighly uncomfortable sensation as I bounced up and down on the saddle a couple of
> times before I got my legs spinning again. With gentle braking I managed to keep things vaguely
> under control until the bottom of the hill where I got back to a much more comfortable speed.
<snip>

I think this must be a fairly common thing to do, I had a speedo on when this first happened to me
and I hit 35mph on a 42x16 when I thought jeez this is fast and promptly forgot to keep peddaling, I
then promptly shatmeself(tm) as I had my moment and rode the rest of the way home with out the need
for lights, I was as white as a sheet!

It dosnt happen often though and I cant remember the last time it happened to me so you'll soon get
good at remembering to pedal and saying things like "gears are for sissies!" and opening beer
bottles with your teeth.

Daniel.

 

On Tue, 13 May 2003 16:55:54 +0000 (UTC), Alex Graham <[email protected]> wrote:
> What gear are you using? Mines about 67" and I havent ventured anywhere properly hilly yet as I
> might come a cropper
>
It's 42x16 on a 700C wheel which, I think is about 70"

Regards,

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

 

Tim Woodall wrote:

> It's 42x16 on a 700C wheel which, I think is about 70"

Yeah, just over 69" according to my slide rule. Wheel size does vary slightly though.

I originally had 52x20 (70") but couldnt get enough chain tension so had no choice but to put a 21
sprocket on to give a bit more adjustment.

Yes, ive only been at about 35mph max on it and its erm interesting, but fun!

--

-Alex

----------------------------------
[email protected]

http://alexpg.ath.cx:3353/cycling.php http://www.westerleycycling.org.uk
----------------------------------

 

> "Peter Clinch" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Tim Woodall wrote:
> >
> > > AIUI, (almost?) all track races are done with fixed wheels.
> >
> > HPVs tend to use gears as being recumbents more often than not you can't get them to speed by
> > standing on the pedals. Also the case that the terminal velocity (and thus top gear) will be
> > rather higher than a typical upright track machine.
>
> Is there a safety issue too? With fixed wheel and no brakes you can't do sudden deceleration so
> being in a pack should be more predictable?
>
> (would love to take the tandem on a track though...)
>
> cheers, clive

Legally you are required to have two independently controlled braking mechanisms. On a fixed wheel
bike, the rear wheel constitutes one, with front wheel brake the other. You would be foolish indeed
to rely solely upon the fixed wheel to control your speed. The original poster doesn't say whether
he had brakes fitted.

I use front and rear caliper brakes on my fixie.

Robert

Robert

 

On 13 May 2003 12:09:58 -0700, Robert Saunders <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Legally you are required to have two independently controlled braking mechanisms. On a fixed wheel
> bike, the rear wheel constitutes one, with front wheel brake the other. You would be foolish
> indeed to rely solely upon the fixed wheel to control your speed. The original poster doesn't say
> whether he had brakes fitted.
>
> I use front and rear caliper brakes on my fixie.
>
I have both front and rear brakes. And, indeed, I did say I had to use them on a few downhills.

However, I would expect that, with practice, you could probably manage without using the brakes on
all but the very steepest hills (or in an emergency)

OTOH, AIUI (but I've never ridden on a track) some tracks require competitors NOT to have
brakes at all.

Regards,

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

 

"Robert Saunders" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

news:<[email protected]>...
> > "Peter Clinch" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > > Tim Woodall wrote:
> > >
> > > > AIUI, (almost?) all track races are done with fixed wheels.
> > >
> > > HPVs tend to use gears as being recumbents more often than not you
can't
> > > get them to speed by standing on the pedals. Also the case that the terminal velocity (and
> > > thus top gear) will be rather higher than a typical upright track machine.
> >
> > Is there a safety issue too? With fixed wheel and no brakes you can't do sudden deceleration so
> > being in a pack should be more predictable?
> >
> > (would love to take the tandem on a track though...)
> >
> > cheers, clive
>
>
> Legally you are required to have two independently controlled braking mechanisms. On a fixed wheel
> bike, the rear wheel constitutes one, with front wheel brake the other. You would be foolish
> indeed to rely solely upon the fixed wheel to control your speed. The original poster doesn't say
> whether he had brakes fitted.

Indeed this is true for the road. But we were talking about on the track, where the opposite
is the norm.

cheers, clive

 

Robert Saunders wrote:

> I use front and rear caliper brakes on my fixie.

Thing is if you have brake levers with hoods, you will want two for comfort when riding. As a rear
brake is hardly very heavy you may as well have one.

Those nutcases in NYC zoom around on brakeless fixies though. Or so I've heard.

--

-Alex

----------------------------------
[email protected]

http://alexpg.ath.cx:3353/cycling.php http://www.westerleycycling.org.uk
----------------------------------

 

Tim Woodall wrote:

>
> OTOH, AIUI (but I've never ridden on a track) some tracks require competitors NOT to have
> brakes at all.

Under racing rules the _only brake_ permitted in track racing is the fixed wheel.

When I used to race I rode to the track with a filed down brake on the front wheel, with a short
cable to a clamped lever, both of which had to be taken off before competing.

I remember once being thown off Reading's Palmer Park track one afternoon when I ventured onto the
track on my road bike. Jobsworth Park Keeper knew the 'Rules'.

Nowadays some racing is done on tracks on road bikes such as the evening league roadman series at
Portsmouth but fixed and free are _never_ mixed.

John B

 

On Tue, 13 May 2003 19:47:34 +0000 (UTC), Alex Graham <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Those nutcases in NYC zoom around on brakeless fixies though. Or so I've heard.
>
That probably isn't true. I've just found http://www.rightofway.org/research/cyclists.pdf which
rebuts the NYPD claim that 75% of cyclists fatalities are cyclists error.

I suspect that this "zooming around on brakeless fixies" is another of the cycling myths
of the city.

Regards,

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

 

In article <[email protected]>, Alex Graham wrote:
> Those nutcases in NYC zoom around on brakeless fixies though. Or so I've heard.

No they're not[0] and yes they do, e.g:

http://www.oldskooltrack.com/

cheers

daniel

[] Well, ok maybe some of them are (nutcases) ^_-

 

In article <[email protected]>, Tim Woodall wrote:
> That probably isn't true. I've just found http://www.rightofway.org/research/cyclists.pdf which
> rebuts the NYPD claim that 75% of cyclists fatalities are cyclists error.

It would also appear from http://www.ahalenia.com/memorial/ that, sadly, there are more dangerous
places to cycle than NYC[0].

> I suspect that this "zooming around on brakeless fixies" is another of the cycling myths of
> the city.

Not a myth. There are people "zooming" around NYC on brakeless fixed. The myth is that they are
_all_ reckless.

regards,

daniel

[] San Fransisco