Physiology of Fixed

I've just got my fixie together and went out for a quick ride.

I found that when I went up a local hill that I do in bottom gear (32") at
around 60 rpm I managed to blast up at around the same revs in 57".

I usually like to spin at around 100 rpm and use a triple and 14-25 9 spd
block to keep in a fairly narrow band. If I let the revs drop it feels
strained. If I get out the saddle my legs hurt after 30 secs or so.

On a fixie you just get on with it. Two gears, sitting and standing. It
hurts a bit but not that much.

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?



--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK


Love this:
Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

"AndyMorris" writes:

I've just got my fixie together and went out for a quick ride.

I found that when I went up a local hill that I do in bottom gear
(32") at around 60 rpm I managed to blast up at around the same revs
in 57".

I usually like to spin at around 100 rpm and use a triple and 14-25
9 spd block to keep in a fairly narrow band. If I let the revs drop
it feels strained. If I get out the saddle my legs hurt after 30
secs or so.

On a fixie you just get on with it. Two gears, sitting and
standing. It hurts a bit but not that much.

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?

I dunno for sure, but I've noticed that I climb moderate hills easier
or faster (but not both) on my fixed gear, and also on the same bike
with a single speed freewheel. I think it's just the much simpler
drive train- no chain threading through jockey wheels- and that the
bike is just more mechanically efficient.

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:06:24 +0000, AndyMorris wrote:

On a fixie you just get on with it. Two gears, sitting and standing. It
hurts a bit but not that much.

Nah, three. Sitting, standing, and walking...

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?

The psychology is, I think, on the other side. If you have a lower gear,
it seems really attractive on a hill, as it should. If you don't, you
just go for it. A fixed gear just brings you to that point sooner.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | More people object to wearing fur than leather because it is
_`\(,_ | safer to harrass rich white women than motorcycle gangs.
(_)/ (_) |

AndyMorris wrote:
: Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?

it's purely in your head. if you don't believe me find a really long hill.
it'll seem way harder on a fixed.
--
david reuteler

"AndyMorris" wrote in message

I've just got my fixie together and went out for a quick
ride.

I found that when I went up a local hill that I do in
bottom gear (32") at around 60 rpm I managed to blast up
at around the same revs in 57".

I usually like to spin at around 100 rpm and use a triple
and 14-25 9 spd block to keep in a fairly narrow band. If
I let the revs drop it feels strained. If I get out the
saddle my legs hurt after 30 secs or so.

On a fixie you just get on with it. Two gears, sitting
and standing. It hurts a bit but not that much.

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in
my head?

I'm still assembling parts for my fixed, and to choose the right cogs I set
my derailler bike into a gear I thought was good and decided to leave it
there for a while.

For a few days after, I kept wanting to shift, and reaching for the levers
or actually shifting before I remembered my plan. Once I got out of the
habit, I found that I didn't really want to shift anymore. My riding is on
relatively flat terrain, and is largely stop-and-go in traffic. I've been
riding for about two months in the same gear, and haven't noticed any
increase or decrease in physiological strain or travel times. I am standing
a little more often, but it doesn't seem to strain my legs and actually
feels good to move around on the saddle a little more.

I did some touring in very hilly terrain this summer, and having 21 speeds
saved my life, but I'm completely convinced that for mostly flat city riding
a derailer is an unnecessary complication. I can't wait to ride fixed.

AndyMorris at wrote on 12/3/03 4:06 PM:
I've just got my fixie together and went out for a quick ride.

I found that when I went up a local hill that I do in bottom gear (32") at
around 60 rpm I managed to blast up at around the same revs in 57".

I usually like to spin at around 100 rpm and use a triple and 14-25 9 spd
block to keep in a fairly narrow band. If I let the revs drop it feels
strained. If I get out the saddle my legs hurt after 30 secs or so.

On a fixie you just get on with it. Two gears, sitting and standing. It
hurts a bit but not that much.

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?

You'll find you definitely approach riding differently on a fixed (or
singlespeed). If you want to make it up a decent pitch, you'll find that
attacking the hill and maintaining your momentum is the only way.

I've found that on my geared bikes, a certainly laziness creeps in - you
tend to ease up as the pitch increases, then downshift until you find a more
comfortable spot in the gearing. A ride or two on the fixed/singlespeed
cures that in a big hurry, and will make you ride geared bikes in much the
same way.

Hope that helps,

-- Jim

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?


I just started riding fixed gear myself and I have noticed the same
thing. I don't know for fact but I do have a theory:

The fixed gear carries you legs through what might otherwise be a weak
spot in your pedal motion. I think people just naturally are able to
put more power in the pedals when they are around the 3:00/9:00
position then when they are around 6:00/12:00. When churning up a
hill at low rpms on a free wheel type bike you end up slowing down
with each stroke at the weak spot and you have to power your legs
through that spot instead of the bikes momentum helping to carry you
through that spot.

What do you all think of this theory ?

snip
On a fixie you just get on with it. Two gears, sitting and standing. It
hurts a bit but not that much.

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?


Ain't it amazing what you can get up and over if you don't have any choice?!

I found the same thing when I was commuting fixed a few years ago. I used
to get up and over hills in my 42/16 that on a geared bike took dropping to
my 39/23 to get over.

Part of this goes back to my theory that you only get as strong as your
smallest gear. If you only have one, that's how strong you get.

Mike


--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK


Love this:
Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

Someone asked:

Is there any physiology going on here? or is it purely in my head?

Matt Cahill wrote:

I just started riding fixed gear myself and I have noticed the same
thing. I don't know for fact but I do have a theory:

The fixed gear carries you legs through what might otherwise be a weak
spot in your pedal motion. I think people just naturally are able to
put more power in the pedals when they are around the 3:00/9:00
position then when they are around 6:00/12:00. When churning up a
hill at low rpms on a free wheel type bike you end up slowing down
with each stroke at the weak spot and you have to power your legs
through that spot instead of the bikes momentum helping to carry you
through that spot.

What do you all think of this theory ?

I sometimes ride with my wife, and when I first converted her to fixed
gear, 25 years ago or so, I would notice the top run of her chain
drooping every half stroke of the cranks, as this was happening.

However, as she became more habituated to fixed riding, this stopped,
and the top of her chain stays taut all of the time, so there can't be
any flywheel effect in play here.

I too, like most fixed-gear addicts, have found that I can comfortably
climb in a considerably higher gear on a fixer than on a multi-speed coasty.

Some of this probably results from lighter weight.

Some probably results from the more effecient drive train.

Some probably results from knowing that you don't have the option of
shifting.

For me, at least, some comes from the confidence that nothing is going
to skip or slip...I get nervous standing pedaling on multi-speed bikes.

Sheldon "Ficksed" Brown
+------------------------------------------------------+
| You only get as strong as your smallest gear. |
| If you only have one, that's how strong you get. |
| -- Mike Shaw |
+------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Part of this goes back to my theory that you only get as strong as your
smallest gear. If you only have one, that's how strong you get.

Doesn't that mess up your knees, or is that an extreme case and with bad
form?


--
Phil, Squid-in-Training