Hi Sam, I am fairly new to fixed as well, using a hand painted Hobbs that I bought through a local ad. It has a 69/67 flip-flop hub and I find around here, on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds that 69 inch is manageable. We have a few steep but short hills and the rest is flat or rolling. I find that alternating between fixed and geared is the biggest problem, when you momentarily try to freewheel - whoa! It has been remarked before that fixed is excellent for making your muscles more supple and for simply making you more part of the machine. No worrying what gear you are in, just go with the flow and ride. Fixed was standard for winter training in the UK up to a few years ago and has made a big comeback due to the interest of city couriers and young commuters (especially in London), who find it is better for beating the traffic. Choice of gear depends on terrain and fitness, I guess, but there is no crime in getting off on the steep ones! Nigel (can't do sums) Land Barton on Humber UK
Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 11:39:47 -0700 (PDT) From: sam lingo <frameteam2003@yahoo.com> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Fixed ride Message-ID: <20050922183947.28379.qmail@web51511.mail.yahoo.com> In-Reply-To: <009b01c5bfa2$6ec52c30$6501a8c0@ScottPeterson> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Precedence: list Message: 16
I dropped by the lobby at the Houston show for a peek at the frames and to see a couple of old Friends.Got a change to talk briefly with Brian Baylis.He advised sense my work didn't permit regular ride times to try a fixed gear for a more condensed work out.It took me a while to build a fixed gear but finely finished one.I've staked out a nice 15 mile round trip from my house and rode it twice so far.First time the saddle was too high,this time a lot better.This is a self training project and was wondering if others use a fixed gear for training or such?And any tips on this type of ride? always your comments are appreciated---sam sam lingo,pleasanton tx