I did a 40-some mile ride today, fixed on the route that I usually only ride on my geared bike because of the hills.

I ended up walking 3 times: On a gravel road with a sketchy descent, I was worried that the front wheel would wash out and finally just walked to the bottom. I only have a front brake.

The other two were uphills from flat, i.e. no downhill to build speed. Both times as my cadence slowed more and more I was worried about being able to clip out if I had to stop, so I just quit and walked up.

Any tips for getting up hills with no transition? Northern VA is mostly rollers and these hills are climbable in a minute or two on my geared bike. I'm on a Langster running 42x16.

On hills that aren't quite as brutal, practice standing up and mashing a really low cadence...get comfortable doing 40-50 rpms for a minute or two. Once you're comfortable doing it, try it on a steeper hill where you need to really put down the power. What kind of pedals are you running that you can't comfortably clip out?

As for the descent, you have a front and rear brake. Slow down with your legs and your front brake. If the gravel is not deep, like on a crappy driveway, you should have no problem,

Silas

Both times as my cadence slowed more and more I was worried about being able to clip out if I had to stop, so I just quit and walked up. Any tips for getting up hills with no transition?


1. Consider losing the clipless pedals. I switched to toeclips and couldn't be happier.

2. Climb serpentine-style, going as wide as you need to to level out the climb. Takes a little longer, but not any longer than hiking!

I use Egg beaters on my fixed. I'm a nervous Nelly when it comes to getting stuck clipped in, I've always been that way so I guess I'm stuck in that regard. I climb on my mountainbike no problem but gear ratios are a little easier.

Never considered clips/straps, haven't used them since '94 or so.

Roads around here are busy even on back roads so serpentine might be a problem...

Just keep practicing on the hills, you'll be surprised how quickly your climbing can adapt.

I learned how to ride my fixie brakeless in Boulder and Fort Collins, CO, so I know hills and dirt roads.

For down hill on the dirt: Road bikes, and fixies, are way more capable on dirt road than most roadies give them credit for. Just think about Paris-Roubaix, Flanders, and the old-school Giros and Tours when dirt roads in the mountains were a matter of course. When in doubt, slow down a bit (you've got a break) and keep the bike perpendicular to the ground.

For up a steep hill: you can probably get out of the saddle and mash a quick sprint to the base for some speed. You can also carve if you're getting desperate. What also works is grabbing the bar and pulling your body forward with each forward stroke and letting your body slide back as the next pedal comes over the crest. This helps shift your weight as eases up each stroke a bit.

I tried toe-clips, but normal shoe soles are too squishy.

Where in NoVa? I would think you could make it up quite a bit of what's around here in a 42/16, but each of us has a different set of knees, and I'm sure you could find a hill here and there to change my mind. You might try humping it to see what you can do--you may really surprise yourself by finding the climb more manageable than you think, and it shouldn't be that hard to clip out if you must.

As for getting off--if you feel unsafe, it's just the right thing to do. If sketchy downhills are part of your routine, you could think of installing a rear brake--easy to feather on the way down to control your speed.