Riding long distance on fixed.

[Wowbagger]

So do you flip the wheel, depending which knee is currently playing up?

[jogler]

no.I either sit on the saddle or turn around & sit on the handlebars

[L CC]

I don't dare try anything longer than 200k fixed as the only time I did (Mildenhall 300 2010) my knee was borked and it was 5 weeks barely riding anything afterwards.

Given what I have discovered since (that my knees are fooked) I'd stress this is only my experience. I wouldn't do the fenland ride fixed. But then, I wouldn't do it at all- anything that flat is likely to be duller than a dull thing in dullsville, however many flower fields you find.

[Chris S]

The worst thing about riding that kind of distance on fixed is not being able to lift your arse out of the saddle and coast for a bit to relieve the pressure.

Which actually is a bigger problem on a flat ride. When there are hills, you can use the climbs to get out of the saddle and relieve your arse. Hour after hour on the flat can really hurt in the saddle area.

I find riding fixed in flat windy conditions harder than with gears. You are inevitably over-geared into the wind, and four hours of this melts your knees; and then you are under-geared downwind which can get as exhausting as spinning downhill.

Fixed works best in rolling terrain, and in hills too if you have a good enough Power-to-weight.

[teethgrinder]

I don't know how people manage to do long rides on geared bikes.
Much easier on fixed.

[Manotea]

...and slightly further away

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/EQoQKb1wCcM&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/EQoQKb1wCcM&rel=1</a>

[Ian H]

Make sure you're as comfortable as possible.
Go easier than you might normally on the first part of the ride*.
Take climbs as gently as possible. Learn to spin smoothly.
Change position frequently, sit up, use the drops, rotate your shoulders and neck.

*It's more difficult on fixed to back off and recover if you've gone off too fast

[vorsprung]

I don't know how people manage to do long rides on geared bikes.
Much easier on fixed.

It was pretty amusing following jwo on the mille cymru.  He'd elected to do the ride on gears for some reason (maybe the 13,000m of ascent).  He was doing all the classic stuff like riding up hill out of the saddle in a far too big gear.

He finished Mille Cymru though, ISTR.  So that's how you do it, just HTFU and remember what that extra lever is for

Jwo is a much stronger rider than me normally.  He did PBP 2007 about a day quicker than I did 

[clarion]

Can I just mention S3X?

You can mention it. But it's not relevant to fixed gear 

The gear is fixed. Just not the ratio

I think for FWC purposes - such aids are not considered cricket - on account that you can change gear, therefore it's not "fixed gear".

I didn't see mention that this was for FWC, which of course has its own rules, rather than riding just for the fun of it.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I find riding fixed in flat windy conditions harder than with gears. You are inevitably over-geared into the wind, and four hours of this melts your knees;

This was my experience of fixed, also.

I used a sprung saddle when I rode fixed. It was a selle Italia that looked like a conventional 'racing' saddle, but the rails went into a tube at the back, with a spring in the tube. Gave way just enough to save my posterior.

It can get very wearying riding on a bad road surface, also because it's harder to unweight the saddle through the bumps.

[rt]

With gears , I tend to rid ethe same position and cadence all the time, just change gear. This I find tiring. On fixed I dont as I have to spin, chug, charge at hills, get out of the saddle etc. Much better.
 
Long distance..........451 miles in 24 hours on a Mercian 86" fixed gear. Felt good all the way

[rogerzilla]

Fixed is more like going for a very long walk than riding a bike.  The Dun Run I did on fixed may just have been the easiest (it was certainly the longest, since we ended up going via Stowmarket).

[Jonah]

i ride fixed regularly and done a few 200kms and one 300km (heart of england).  my (ignorant) question is how do you work out the number e.g.  65 or 71.  i tend to ride a 42tooth crank with 16tooth sprocket.  what does that make it?

Try this Lordy- it's excellent

http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/

[Nonsteeler]

i ride fixed regularly and done a few 200kms and one 300km (heart of england).  my (ignorant) question is how do you work out the number e.g.  65 or 71.  i tend to ride a 42tooth crank with 16tooth sprocket.  what does that make it?

Try this Lordy- it's excellent
http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/

Oi, show some respect and pay tribute to the late Sheldon Brown! Use this
http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

[citoyen]

i ride fixed regularly and done a few 200kms and one 300km (heart of england).  my (ignorant) question is how do you work out the number e.g.  65 or 71.  i tend to ride a 42tooth crank with 16tooth sprocket.  what does that make it?

Try this Lordy- it's excellent
http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/

Oi, show some respect and pay tribute to the late Sheldon Brown! Use this
http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

Sorry, Sheldon, but the Rabbit one is better cos it gives you useful extra info like equivalent gears and what cadence you're doing at a particular speed.

d.

[citoyen]

Hour after hour on the flat can really hurt in the saddle area.

I find riding fixed in flat windy conditions harder than with gears. You are inevitably over-geared into the wind, and four hours of this melts your knees; and then you are under-geared downwind which can get as exhausting as spinning downhill.

Tbh, my verdict is based on relatively limited experience of doing long, flat rides on fixed - I've not done any where the very flat bits are long enough to really take their toll in that way. But there's also an element of personal preference - I think I tend to prefer a significantly lower gear than you, so my experience will be different.

d.

[Jonah]

i ride fixed regularly and done a few 200kms and one 300km (heart of england).  my (ignorant) question is how do you work out the number e.g.  65 or 71.  i tend to ride a 42tooth crank with 16tooth sprocket.  what does that make it?

Try this Lordy- it's excellent
http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/

Oi, show some respect and pay tribute to the late Sheldon Brown! Use this
http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

Sorry, Sheldon, but the Rabbit one is better cos it gives you useful extra info like equivalent gears and what cadence you're doing at a particular speed.

d.

I also agree with Citoyen, but there's no way Sheldon's beard can beaten

[Lordy]

thanks all

[nightrider]

Did 80 miles on the fixed today,my longest ride on fixed so far.It was a nice bike ride,mostly flat,no wind and about 20c.Put on the Carridice saddle bag and 2 water bottles,just to make it the same as I would use on a 200k.Followed Ians advice and rode easy no pressure.My bum was OK too,I have a Brooks saddle and used any excuse to get out of the saddle.I would have preferred to have done 90-100 miles,but I think I should be OK for the 200,unless its really windy.

[jogler]

  nightrider.

[jogler]

I've made reference in the "On The Commute" thread to an average of 25kph being ambitious for me.I see from the Rabbit chart above that with my gearing I need to do 80rpm to achieve 25.5kph.
I don't have a computer on the Langster but I can guestimate,via counting,my cadence & I know I can do 60rpm very easily on the flat so I reckon 80rpm is possible.
I'm going to try it.

[nightrider]

That's why I think its easier to regulate speed.For me a comfortable cadence is70-100rpm.Below this I feel I am getting bogged down and I find it tiring to pedal faster than 100rpm for long.So its nice steady riding for me at about 15mph or so.

[citoyen]

I've made reference in the "On The Commute" thread to an average of 25kph being ambitious for me.I see from the Rabbit chart above that with my gearing I need to do 80rpm to achieve 25.5kph.
I don't have a computer on the Langster but I can guestimate,via counting,my cadence & I know I can do 60rpm very easily on the flat so I reckon 80rpm is possible.
I'm going to try it.

Part of my impetus for trying to increase my average speed, as discussed on the commuting thread, is to get my average cadence up as close to 90rpm as possible. I think I actually spend quite large chunks of my commute at over 100rpm, but the average is brought down quite significantly by the slow sections.

I need a computer that measures modal average rather than the mean.

d.

[Deano]

Make sure you're as comfortable as possible.
Go easier than you might normally on the first part of the ride*.
Take climbs as gently as possible. Learn to spin smoothly.
Change position frequently, sit up, use the drops, rotate your shoulders and neck.

*It's more difficult on fixed to back off and recover if you've gone off too fast

...and it's useful if you can ride no-handed, as you can stretch your back and shoulders while on the bike. I drew a few amused glances (and some gentle piss-taking) on PBP for doing this.

Also, it's cool

[billplumtree]

Also, it's cool

I knew it!  You really are only in it for the coolness points...