Is this a good thing? A scary thing? It's hard to tell...

I finally got my Lemond Fillmore ready to ride. This included attaching pedals, changing the seat, securing the front wheel, pumping up the tires and some minor adjustments. The sad thing is, it's been sitting in my dining room like a lonely puppy for the last three months. It really didn't need anything major done to it, I was just too lazy to go buy a new set of pedals for my road bike so I could swap them out. I finally got around to it yesterday, and after much swearing and frustration, the pedals were off the road bike and onto the fixed gear.

I'd insert a picture here, but my camera battery is dead. It's nothing special, just the black and cream Fillmore with white bar tape and front and back brakes! I still think it's really purty though. It's got a flip-flop hub, but it's currently set up for fixed gear.

I was a little concerned about learning to ride a fixed gear. I've heard horror stories about fingers getting chopped off, getting vaulted off the seat when attempting to coast, etc. So I decided to just go for a little 45 minute spin down the road. I clip in my left foot, as I normally would, and push off... out of habit, I coast to clip the other foot in and am immediately reminded by the crank that it's not a good idea. I pedal up the hill on my street (while trying to clip in) and I'm a little surprised that it's not as hard as I expected it would be. This is a bigger gear than I'd ever push up this hill on my road bike. I stop and adjust my seat 4-5 times before I even hit the main road. The main road wasn't a big deal, the hills were easier than I expected, but this part is all uphill. I hadn't done any downhill yet. I pass over the metal plate on the road that I usually bunny hop on my road bike, but I don't have the balls to try that on a fixed gear yet. Though I was about to and caught myself at the last minute! At the turnaround, I decide to go down a big hill. One that I'd normally hit 45 mph on. Well, I didn't even come close to 45 mph. I think for the first time in my life, I braked going downhill! My legs were spinning probably 130rpm, though. I thought I was going to bounce off the saddle! After grinding back up the hill, the ride back home was uneventful (thankfully), though I did notice how darned tired I was for a silly 45 minute ride. I felt like I was coming back from a 2 hour ride. (And I swear I'm in shape!)

A newbie's thoughts on fixed gears:
1. Uphill is way easier than I thought it was going to be.
2. Downhill is way harder than I thought it was going to be.
3. My legs got tired very quickly and I could feel the burn immediately.
4. It wasn't too hard to remember to always pedal, but high-speed cornering is tricky.
5. That was actually kind of fun...

A newbie's thoughts on fixed gears:
1. Uphill is way easier than I thought it was going to be.
2. Downhill is way harder than I thought it was going to be.
3. My legs got tired very quickly and I could feel the burn immediately.
4. It wasn't too hard to remember to always pedal, but high-speed cornering is tricky.
5. That was actually kind of fun...

Dang - I thought you'd gone fixed ages ago... In any case, welcome to the club.

Except for #3, your summary is a good overview for even old school fixed gear riders. I'm trying to figure out what got your legs so tired. If you rode mostly uphill for the start, it might have been that you were just riding a bit too hard/fast. Like anything else, finding a good, sustainable pace for a given style of riding takes a little experimentation. When I switch from lots of fixed riding to a geared bike I sometimes climb too fast, because the easier climbing gears trick me into thinking I can push harder than when I'm grinding up on a fixie. You might have just done a similar thing, but in reverse. Overall I think fixed gear riding on varied terrain takes 10%-20% more work/effort than a geared bike, so I bet you won't feel fixed gear rides so much once you calibrate your pace & effort.

Braking on descents is a Fine and Noble Thing on a fixed gear bike. That 130 rpm cadence seems to be a magic number. Up to that cadence I've found that I can do sustained descents without ill effect. If I let the descending cadence go much above that for very long (10 minutes?), some odd fatigue effect kicks in and leaves me feeling thrashed. I think Doug has experienced a similar sensation, so I think it's not entirely just in my head. Maybe a slower descending cadence will help you for now?

Have fun....

Dang - I thought you'd gone fixed ages ago... In any case, welcome to the club.


Well, I bought it 6 months ago... it was delivered 3 months ago... and just today finally got ridden! :D

I think I probably did go out too hard. I couldn't believe how easy it was to climb (I was really dreading that on a fixed gear). Granted, they weren't any massive climbs... it's just a slight uphill grade all the way out. But I didn't think fighting gravity on a fixed gear would be fun. I was annoyed at how slow I was going on the flats, even though I was pedaling as fast as I possibly could... that's probably where I overdid it. My legs weren't at the "I can't physically pedal anymore" stage, but they were at the "Hmm, I'm gonna feel that in the morning" stage.

I should've stuck my gps unit in my pocket to see how slow I actually was going. I may have been averaging about my normal speed. It could just be in my head.

I thought it was pretty funny how I kept grabbing for gears to shift, and they just weren't there. :)

Part of the pain I experienced when first starting out with a fixed bike was not taking a few moments to stand up and crank every now and then. I suppose the lack of opportunity to coast makes you forget to stand and stretch, especially on long flat rides. So that's another thing to keep in mind.

Aside from the leg pain as Mark said everything sounds par for the course. How long till you try to fit cross tires to it? :D

Welcome aboard


Be carefull, fixies multiply

I couldn't believe how easy it was to climb (I was really dreading that on a fixed gear). Granted, they weren't any massive climbs... it's just a slight uphill grade all the way out. But I didn't think fighting gravity on a fixed gear would be fun. I was annoyed at how slow I was going on the flats, even though I was pedaling as fast as I possibly could... that's probably where I overdid it.

You might be a candidate for a stiffer gear. I did one tour with a 65-66 inch gear (44x18) and got whipped by friends riding fast flats (-1%) around 20+ mph. The next year I switched to a 69-70 inch gear (44x17) and had much more fun on the fast flats. I worked a bit harder on climbs, but descents were a bit easier too.

I thought it was pretty funny how I kept grabbing for gears to shift, and they just weren't there. :)

My fancy fixed gear bike has Campy shift/brake levers, because I can switch between fixed & geared riding on the bike. On some long climbs I'll slide that right thumb shifter down for a little respite, only to come crashing back to the reality of the choice-of-bike I'd made earlier that day.

you let a new bike sit around unridden for 3 months??!

That second one is the same one I have. :)

You might be a candidate for a stiffer gear. I did one tour with a 65-66 inch gear (44x18) and got whipped by friends riding fast flats (-1%) around 20+ mph. The next year I switched to a 69-70 inch gear (44x17) and had much more fun on the fast flats. I worked a bit harder on climbs, but descents were a bit easier too.


You might be right... I'm apparently riding a 46x19. That's if I counted right. ;)

you let a new bike sit around unridden for 3 months??!

Technically it wasn't new. It was used... just new to me.

Mine came with a 44 tooth chainring, 18tooth freewheel, and 16tooth fixed cog.
Did your's come with a 46 chainring as mentioned above?

The white track bike is monster geared at 48x15 currently. Haven't put a front brake on that one yet, waiting to find some clincher wheels for it first.

If what MB1 and others proclaim, the deraileured bikes will be getting ridden less and less.

Technically it wasn't new. It was used... just new to me.


ah, technicalities...

Mine came with a 44 tooth chainring, 18tooth freewheel, and 16tooth fixed cog.
Did your's come with a 46 chainring as mentioned above?

The white track bike is monster geared at 48x15 currently. Haven't put a front brake on that one yet, waiting to find some clincher wheels for it first.

If what MB1 and others proclaim, the deraileured bikes will be getting ridden less and less.

I don't know what it originally came with, but the last owner is a bike mechanic and probably tinkered with it a bit.

As for gears vs. gear... my 20-gear road bike will still be my main bike. :D This one is for fun and commuting to work. I might use the fixed gear for an odd ride now and then, but in general it's probably not great for days when I have specific training to do.

You might be right... I'm apparently riding a 46x19. That's if I counted right. ;)

That seems kind of low. You might want to put a 18 tooth cog on the back - it would get you closer to 70".

Congratulations on the new (to you) bike, though. If you think riding fixed makes your legs feel weird, wait until you go back to a geared bike after riding fixed for a while. It feels like you're totally out of control.

This one is for fun and commuting to work. I might use the fixed gear for an odd ride now and then, but in general it's probably not great for days when I have specific training to do.

Some folks might like the gearing that's currently on the bike might for in-town stop&go traffic. The shorter gear makes it easier to get going between stops, and relatively short distances between stops keep one from spinning up to full speed anywho. OTOH, with any amount of open-road riding, commuting or not, I bet you'd like a stiffer gear.

Now then, if you sometimes ride with friends who don't ride as fast as you like to, the fixed gear is a great equalizer. I find that adding just that extra bit of effort keeps me from having those twitchy conniptions for which the only cure is to ride off ahead to get my yayas out. It feels good to do, but isn't very sociable.

You might be right... I'm apparently riding a 46x19. That's if I counted right. ;)

I'm not sure about the year of your fillmore but the '06's were 44/16 fixed and 44/18 freewheel. The 06 is a black frame with silver logos. Congratulations on your new ride, I've had mine about 6 months and ride it more than my DA equipped 'shifty bike'. I agree that 70 gear inches is about right for most folks, I run a 44/17 on mine now. I have an 18 that I use for really steep rides but it kills me on the flats. I'm considering a second chain so that I can run a 44/15 for some of the flatter centuries around here (Central VA) I do sometimes wimp out when the descents get long and flip to the freewheel side. I did thunder ridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time a couple of weeks ago, 13 miles and 3300 feet of climbing in one climb. Up on the 44/18 fixed and down on the freewheel..

VA

Great ominous title. All will be one of us soon . . .

Congratulations on the bike.

I agree with some others who are thinking the gear might be too small. If you end up spinning too much on the flats, consider something larger. Sheldon Brown's gear calculator can be useful to see speeds at a given RPM or determining gear inches.

Great ominous title. All will be one of us soon . . .

"I am one of you." But there's only one of me, so are you me now, or am I you? Or am I the Walrus?

We are Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

I'm not a particularly good climber, in fact I'd say I'm terrible at it. Though I've found that when I ride fixed or SS, I can get the up the hills reasonably fast here. I should say that I live in Ohio, and there really aren't any such things as climbs that go on much more than 500-750 meters though (linear distance not elevation).

I've come to the conclusion that the reason I do pretty decent on the fixed gear is because of the fact that I have one gear, and when not on a hill, I don't have the ability to shift down and really apply the power. It's like a forced recovery ride. So anytime I get to a hill, I feel fresher than if I was on a gearie and had been pounding down on the pedals the whole time.

I ride 42-16, which appears to be 69.0 GI.

"I am one of you." But there's only one of me, so are you me now, or am I you? Or am I the Walrus?

We are Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

"You" is one of those tricky words that can be either singular or plural. In this sense "one of you" means one of a group of people. So, I'm guessing you're not the Walrus, sorry.

" So, I'm guessing you're not the Walrus, sorry.

glad you've fixed yourself

koo koo ka choob
.

"You" is one of those tricky words that can be either singular or plural. In this sense "one of you" means one of a group of people. So, I'm guessing you're not the Walrus, sorry.

If you spoke Brooklyn or Southern, you coulda said "youse" or "youall", and I'd know what you meant.

However, your last sentence is a non sequitur. I could still be the Walrus. Or the Eggman.

Congratulations on your assimilation. I can hear it between the lines. You're hooked.