Fixed across Iceland

[IanDG]

(I think I've got it this time)

[maxcherry]

Blooming eck!

It's like some planet off a syfy movie. No way would i take my baby there (think of the paint work )

Not that i would be brave enough to attempt it in the first place 

[vorsprung]

http://thatemilychappell.com/ went to iceland.  I think she used a fat bike though not fixed gear cyclocross bikes like the dudes in Windy's video

[Riggers]

Windy-pops, I see you got a big  from Alastair Humphreys (he who cycled solo round the world and wrote a couple of books' worth about it).

Doh! I've read the bloody thing properly now!!! Thought you'd done it initially Winders.

[Jonah]

MEGATRON!

[interzen]

Strangely enough, since I've now got the build of my dingle-speed 1x1 more-or-less where I want it I've been gazing longingly at maps of Iceland with particular emphasis on the F-roads (4x4 trails by any other name) through the interior.

However, I'm unlikely to get round to doing something like this for a while yet - my next few years-worth of silly bike adventures are already taken care of

[andrewc]

That brought back some memories, not least the wind !

This was a frequently seen sign,   "Tarmac Ends"

[interzen]

... but the Fun begins.

[andrewc]

At the end of one day I had difficulty holding things because my hands were numb with the vibration.   No bouncy bits on my bike!  Drop bars & 1.9" tyres. 
That was the road 862 that led from Myvatn to Dettifoss and a primitive campsite.  The end bits were tarmaced,  the middle wasn't.

[Hello, I am Bruce]

The Sprengisandur route they rode north gets its name from the way your horses lungs will explode (springa) after riding it.  I guess riding it fixed will have a similar effect.

[interzen]

At the end of one day I had difficulty holding things because my hands were numb with the vibration.   No bouncy bits on my bike!  Drop bars & 1.9" tyres. 
That was the road 862 that led from Myvatn to Dettifoss and a primitive campsite.  The end bits were tarmaced,  the middle wasn't.

I'm looking at getting the wheels of the 1x1 rebuilt with wide (45-50mm) trials rims - means I can run a pair of 26x3.0 Knards now that Surly have finally given in to pressure and made them ... suspension is for wusses, (semi)Clown Tyres^TM FTW

ETA: I really fancy one of those Malbik Endar signs to put on the wall of Mission Control, but I'm not sure if I can justify spending nearly £70 (at current ISK->GBP exchange rates) on one.

[mrcharly-YHT]

At the end of one day I had difficulty holding things because my hands were numb with the vibration.   No bouncy bits on my bike!  Drop bars & 1.9" tyres. 

What pressures where  you using?

I could ride along the rumble strip on 2" tyres and barely feel them. Were the Icelandic roads corrugated?  Australian gravel roads get like that.

[interzen]

At the end of one day I had difficulty holding things because my hands were numb with the vibration.   No bouncy bits on my bike!  Drop bars & 1.9" tyres. 

What pressures where  you using?

I could ride along the rumble strip on 2" tyres and barely feel them. Were the Icelandic roads corrugated?  Australian gravel roads get like that.

Wouldn't surprise me - although the speed limit on Icelandic gravel roads is something like 50mph, I'm given to understand that some of the more remote roads are prone to washboarding because of people driving too fast. Whilst Route 1 is being sealed bit by bit, a lot of the remoter roads and 4x4 trails aren't.

[Hello, I am Bruce]

Were the Icelandic roads corrugated?  Australian gravel roads get like that.

The unsealed roads (with a packed surface) get like washboards, but smooth dry sections are great to ride on.  The mountain routes are made from whatever gravel and rocks were there anyway, you can get fist-sized cobbles sitting on the surface.

From experience, most gravel roads are ridable on 32mm tyres, the Kjolur mountain route is ridable on 35mm 80psi tyres, but both are more comfortable on a hardtail with softer tyres.

[interzen]

Sounds like a job for Pugsley 

[mrcharly-YHT]

It does to me, as well.

When I was a yung-un, I lived at the end of 2.5miles of 'gravel' road in australia. The surface of said road varied from 2-3" of sand, washboard like rock, to deep, deep loose gravel.

Cycling on it was a nightmare. I'd have *loved* something like a pugsley. I bought an mtb when they first came out - 2"x26" tyres were such a relief compared to 1 1/4 27"s

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Part of the testing for the early Moultons over 50 years ago was a camping trip across the middle of Iceland. Fat tyres aren't the only way to skin a cat.

[mrcharly-YHT]

moultons would be useless on the sort of road I described.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I know, I've tried it. Fortunately Iceland tends not to have soft-surfaced roads.