Fixed Wheel Challenge question.

[Chris S]

I'm taking Elephant Tranquiliser Grade pain killers at the moment, following a knee injury. These make me spacey and more than a bit delirious.

Most of last night, in my fevered way, I was playing the same scenario over and over again in my head, and it was this:

If riding my fixed on an Audax, I swapped the wheel around to a freewheel sprocket for a section of the ride (say, a hilly section for example) and then swapped it back to fixed afterward, so most of the ride was fixed, and it was all single-speed, would that disqualify me from claiming fixed wheel points for that ride?

I'd say "yes", but the more fevered part of my brain says "no".

[annie]

I don't know the answer to this question but someone will be along shortly who does

You sound as though you are on some nasty old tablets there.  Have you been hallucinating?

[Chris S]

I don't know the answer to this question but someone will be along shortly who does

You sound as though you are on some nasty old tablets there.  Have you been hallucinating?

Some sort of Codeine/Paracetamol/Heroin mix. Codeine always does it for me - it feels like everything is happening in slow motion.

[Ian H]

You wouldn't qualify for the fixed trophy, but you could go for the single-speed trophy*.





*This doesn't, as yet, exist, but you could create it.


Hope the knee's fixable - I mean, er...you know what I mean.

[Polar Bear]

Would both the fixed sprocket and the freewheel sprocket need to be the same size to qualify as single speed?

[Chris S]

Would both the fixed sprocket and the freewheel sprocket need to be the same size to qualify as single speed?

Ha! You must be on the same tablets as me - these are just the tortured, twisted circles my brain was wrestling with all night long.

[Phixie]

I'm taking Elephant Tranquiliser Grade pain killers at the moment, following a knee injury. These make me spacey and more than a bit delirious.

Most of last night, in my fevered way, I was playing the same scenario over and over again in my head, and it was this:

If riding my fixed on an Audax, I swapped the wheel around to a freewheel sprocket for a section of the ride (say, a hilly section for example) and then swapped it back to fixed afterward, so most of the ride was fixed, and it was all single-speed, would that disqualify me from claiming fixed wheel points for that ride?

I'd say "yes", but the more fevered part of my brain says "no".

Hi Chris,

Sorry to read about your problem on the Manningtree 400 and hope everything soon reverts to normal.

I think the short answer is "Yes"  As Ian has pointed out, it is a Fixed Wheel Challenge, not a Single Speed Challenge, so 100% of qualifying rides must be done on fixed.  If we imagine a hypothetical ride where the first part is steeply uphill, and the second half equally steeply downhill, on your logic, you could twiddle up the climb in a nice low gear, then at the top switch to a freewheel (or simply remove the chain) to enjoy an effortless descent, having deleted part of the "Challenge" of that section.

It does not nececessarily follow that you would be limited to a single gear; ISTR Mal Volio used a D/S fixed hub on PBP with two different size sprockets - the larger one for when his legs were tired.  I cannot now remember if he used both, but would not have a problem with validating the ride had he done so.  The same would apply to other riders using this option on other rides, although the potential range of gearing is limited by the length of the dropouts, and not everyone wants to cart round a bag full of dirty cogs.  OTOH, if it were a Single Speed Scheme you would be restricted to just the one height of gear.

All that being so, like many AUK claims, it is self-certified, and therefore a matter between you and you conscience.

[rogerzilla]

A Sturmey-Archer ASC 3-speed hub would make life easier too, if you could find one and live with its quirks.

I may put a 16T bail-out freewheel on one side of the wheel for the Dun Run, but there are two big disincentives to use it:

(a) the bike becomes illegal the moment the rear wheel is turned around, because it doesn't have a rear brake.

(b) to get proper chainline with the freewheel, I need to remove all the chainring bolts and put the ring on the outside, rather than the inside, of the spider.  This would be rather a faff in the dark.

[harrumph]

...Codeine always does it for me - it feels like everything is happening in slow motion.

The drug of choice for weekends?

Now, where can I get an over-the-counter drug with the opposite effect for weekdays?

[Phil]

I think turning up to work on speed isn't a terribly good idea...

[Zoidburg]

A Sturmey-Archer ASC 3-speed hub would make life easier too, if you could find one and live with its quirks.

I may put a 16T bail-out freewheel on one side of the wheel for the Dun Run, but there are two big disincentives to use it:

(a) the bike becomes illegal the moment the rear wheel is turned around, because it doesn't have a rear brake.

(b) to get proper chainline with the freewheel, I need to remove all the chainring bolts and put the ring on the outside, rather than the inside, of the spider.  This would be rather a faff in the dark.

We have got one at the recycling project if anyones intrested

[rogerzilla]

How much?  Does it work?

[Mr Larrington]

(b) to get proper chainline with the freewheel, I need to remove all the chainring bolts and put the ring on the outside, rather than the inside, of the spider.  This would be rather a faff in the dark.

Add an extra chainring the same size on the outside of the spider?

[rogerzilla]

That would look kind of cool. The only difficulty is that my cheap 1/8" 110BCD chainring supplier is based in the US and the lead time is about 5 weeks.