Going from fixed to freewheel

[onespeed]

I was tooling around the park doing some laps with a friend. He expressed an interest in trying the fixed. We switched bikes after a few laps.

I was following him as he got used to the constant movement of the cranks. The park was closed to cars, so you couldnt ask for a better place to try it out.

As we hit the top of the climb my legs stopped rotating because of the downhill. I thought it would be nice to have a nice dropdown without pedaling for once. In 5 seconds I felt like my legs were going to explode. I realized my legs have gotten used to spinning and moving the lactic acid out of my muscles with the constant movement of the cranks. Stopping all spinning on a downhill meant that everything stayed where it was, dissipating slowly.

Couldnt wait to switch back to my bike. I am sure my buddy was thinking the same thing.

[Special Eyes]

Not me. After a few months of trying to talk myself into liking a fixed gear on the streets, I stopped lying to myself and put a singlespeed freewheel on with another brake. I'm so happy on that bike now. But, am not 20 years old anymore, or 30, or 40, or 50.

[PhotonFreak]

Originally Posted by onespeed

I was tooling around the park doing some laps with a friend. He expressed an interest in trying the fixed. We switched bikes after a few laps.

I was following him as he got used to the constant movement of the cranks. The park was closed to cars, so you couldnt ask for a better place to try it out.

As we hit the top of the climb my legs stopped rotating because of the downhill. I thought it would be nice to have a nice dropdown without pedaling for once. In 5 seconds I felt like my legs were going to explode. I realized my legs have gotten used to spinning and moving the lactic acid out of my muscles with the constant movement of the cranks. Stopping all spinning on a downhill meant that everything stayed where it was, dissipating slowly.

This is an interesting problem. One possible option is to get a taller gear on the bike. That will mean it's still possible to spin on gradual declines. Only problem is it will make the climbs all that much harder. It's quite a conundrum... I can't tell you how many times I've switched out the cog on my commuter bike, or flipped between fixed and SS trying to find the optimum setup.

If only there was some way to have a bike which actually had multiple cogs, and some sort of mechanism for swicthing between them in the middle of a ride

[JCavilia]

I don't think you felt lactic acid effects in 5 seconds. You're just used to the constant pedalling, and you felt weird stopping. If your legs felt like the were going to explode, that's a psychological effect, IMHO. BTW, you're still permitted to turn the cranks occasionally to keep your legs loose, even if you're going too fast for the gear.

I ride FG more than half my miles, and I enjoy it. But when I get on the regular road bike for a hilly ride, I don't have any problem tucking in and coasting on a descent. One adapts.

Hey, Spec, I'm not any of those ages, either. I started riding FG in my late 40's, and liked it right away. 61 now, and enjoy it as much as ever. Different strokes.

[Mike T.]

I rode FG for many winters and never liked it because it was tough to stretch the ol' back while riding or adjust the short's crotch or bunnyhop a pothole. Then I switched to a single FW and loved it. As I was out there for training I didn't need a FG to keep me pedaling. I'd pedal downhill and drag a brake so that I had something to pedal against - or slow-pedal on downhill just to keep the blood flowing. It's not that I dislike FG as I ride it on the indoor track in the winter, it just wasn't doing it for me for long winter road rides.

Now I ride normal gears. I'm now in the right gear for all terrain.