a.yeoman Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 I started building a fixed a few years ago with all the intentions of using it as a comuting bike (no one would steal it) I never quite got around to finishing it - all that is still missing is the fixed gear. I have the option of fitting a single fixed gear and a single free wheel on the other side. Only thing is I have no idea what size to buy. The front is a 42 (I think) but don't mind changing this too if need be. The bike is an old touring bike and the wheels are 700c. Any other fixies out there got some advice for me. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon simpson Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 For a couple of years I ran a Claud Butler Majestic (crappy but ok tourer) on fixed... I think I only did 3 journeys on it tho' more than once each....I used it to mainly to go to work : 4 flattish miles up the great western rd..slight rise to the Drumry Roundabout, to go down the coast to the North Face Sale (no one would steal it...tho' I think that invoved the Clune Brae..nicht so gut) and a few saturday morning runs up and down the crow road ..always in winter...the 38 mph descent was fun..... Following the advice of a guy who lived in the basement flat below me at the time ( and he also redished the back wheel) I used an old 46 front chain ring and bought from wheelcraft an 18 back sprocket This gave a gear development of ....obsessive compulsive disorder log on time.....(in good old old-fashioned inches)...46 divided by 18 times 27 ..convenientltly the 18 and 27 there have a ratio of 1.5 so that's 46 times 1.5.. a dreamy 69 inches.....now again co-incidentally 66.6 inches spun at 90 rpm gives you 18 mph so 69 gives you 18 -19..... on a touring bike in winter 17 or 18 is a nice speed so spinning around 85 plus on the flat and hard work on real hills and spin down them the equivalent for 42 front is going to be about a 16 on the back.... 16 gives you 2,5 turns of that rear wheel plus another eighth (2.5 times 27 plus 1/8 of 27 = about 70...... If you go to 17 or 18 with a 42 the hills up are easier but down a misery and the flat will be 95- 105 at 18 or so That makes the Crow a misery, not in going up which at 6 mph means 30 rpm but , going down at 38 which is cadence of 190rpm I forgot to mention this gear ratio is real cool as it is 5 rpm per mph..... The two best things about fixed, however, are... you never have to worry if the next gear up or down would be more efficient / just the one you need and, perhaps most importantly, you really need never worry about being last up the hill. or indeed down it, ever, ever again.... I assume this is you forward planning the Torridon trip..in that case put a 32 on the back and a 26 on the front and make it a single free wheel... forget the two sided swapping over for hills nonsense ss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions martin Posted December 15, 2005 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 Come on Simon, only half an answer. How come you're not discussing tyre size then eh eh eh? if you're a real propeller head shurely thatsh important? I have a lovely gear table (.xls file) which lets you put in tyre bead size, so my planned 39x16 gear (ie the only chainring I've got) combined with a 23-622 tyre will give me 64inches. how fast do I need to pedal to get 18mph then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Leonard Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 I feel somewhat ashamed by the briefness of this reply following simons discussion of the topic, but for what its worth my hack bike for getting around town is an old mtb frame, slicked up, fixed and running 49x16, and i cant say ive ever had any bother with it. I suppose in terms of developing "suplese" (pardon my french spelling) a lighter gear would be preferable for spinning, but for general cruising about town i have found this nice and quick on the flats and manageable both uphill and down. Enjoy it, whatever gear you choose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon simpson Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 40 x 16 would be 2.5 times 27 so 69 again and so 39 would be 1/40 th less ie 67.2 which is fractionally out from the magic number so as I recall that's roughly rpm per mph so spin 90rpm the 48 16 on an mtb is 3 times 26 approx so 78......1/6 bigger than the above or cadence... fine for a big strong young boy like you Dave..... I suppose at the end of the day.......what count..big inches or souplesse? And besides.......... what's ten inches between friends.... ss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert sharp Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 Simon if you've got 10 inches (250 mm) to boast about youve got the part in the movie . Now back to the fixed comfort is around 70 to 76 inches work out the inches as supplyed by Simons tables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon simpson Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 It's precisely because 10 inches seems like a a lot I've gone back to 24 38 46 and 13-28...and i used the 24 to 28 today ss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 Alan I've been commuting on fixed for the last couple of months and I'm using 44x18 (66 inch gear) which I find is ideal for my flattish commute. I think it's best to err on the low side when choosing a gear because when you're going downhill you can either use the brakes (obviously!) or use your legs to apply gentle "reverse thrust" to stop yourself from accelerating so that you don't have to spin like a maniac. (I found it took a week or two of regular riding to get the hang of this.) Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kenny MacDonald Posted December 19, 2005 Members Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Coming soon , beginning of January a "Fixed wheel Sunday" with a fixed only bunch. Signed up so far :- Martin M , Kenny MacD , Bob Sharp , Alan Y , how many more can we expect?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon simpson Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 I would come along but currently lack the fixed bike.... would we accept single free wheel or even screwed travel stops to prevent gearchanging? does anyone have a spare fixed or frame with horizontal drop outs or... what is the latest fix to fix a fix on a vertical drop out frame? ss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 Count me in for the "fixed-wheel Sunday"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y tin Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 "what is the latest fix to fix a fix on a vertical drop out frame? " Use one of these, bit pricey tho: http://www.hubjub.co.uk/white/white.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert sharp Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 I read with some amusement on vertical drops outs track ends etc in the days not that long ago ( I can just see alot of you raising the eye brows and saying here he goes again ) before all our current aluminun and carbon frames . Many cyclists stripped down there summer road , touring going to work bikes and put them on to fixed wheels but in those days we ALL had a lack of CASH and steel bikes which went just as fast . ( AND still used on the track to this day) what we had then was all some of us could afford . Manual labour wasn't a spaniard then or now get the drift want to ride fixed strip down the bike change the wheels , take off if you have one the old type cassette ( some of us will still have them) shorten the chain put a fixed on and have a GO stop putting barriers up and saying I DON'T HAVE ONE of these look at the the bigger picture if you've got a bike you've got a fixed with little or no work involved theres plenty of people in the club with the knowlege to help if required . DOOLEYS have good track double fixed wheels that will make the job even easer . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions martin Posted December 24, 2005 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 steel bikes which went just as fast ... shorten the chain put a fixed on and have a GO . I'm with you bob. my (at least) 15yo steel bike made it onto the road today. looks like crap, but fits like a glove and the 64" gear seems fine to me. Fancy measuring my cadence against all you big (74") gear men, so when's the fixed bunch coming out to play? I'm up for a hurl tues/wed, or sat 7th/sun 8th. Show of hands? PS if it's tues/wed, planning on a couple of morning hours, followed by lunch in the pub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon simpson Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 I'll come if a 'fixed into no gear changing' arrangement is ok... I'll come... maybe even a morning someday soon : Thurs/Friday? ss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions martin Posted December 28, 2005 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 hi simon sorry - off tomorrow for a week in achiltibuie (with gears). did get out in the fog this morning - down to glengarnock this morning for a few laps. don't know what was worse - the back wheel stepping out on the black ice every so often, or the frost build up on your eyebrows. still, all worth it to see the majesty that is alan yeoman out on a bike in december. even a fixed wheel. have a good new year, martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon simpson Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006   "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over 45. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft. As for me, give me a fixed gear!" -- Tour de France founder Henri Desgrange, in a 1902 L'Equipe article. me: knee trouble again.javascript:emoticon(':cry:')..... no fixed or gears... new year shocker was new Audi failing to start..3pm last Friday of the year....garage diagnosed stuffed fuel pump....."four figures...." ...Audi price £2k500... Still Wednesday's link up to fault diagnosis gave no 'fault 59'...only a cracked fuel line.....phew!!!! javascript:emoticon('Oh%20ya%20dancer%20!')so the only gears I'll be running for a while are the 5 and 6 speed Ingolstadt ones..... hope to recover for Reliabilities Will it be Sinclair St Largs Moscow DonSmith or what? ps Lance claims to have only done 640 miles since July....javascript:emoticon(':!:') javascript:emoticon(':smash') ps Hannahjavascript:emoticon(':angryfire') is over my shoulder and ,aking me add Auto-emotions,,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kenny MacDonald Posted January 7, 2006 Members Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Fixed wheel Sunday is 29th. January Reliabilities are:- 1 Moscow 2 Sinclair Street 3 West Kilbride 4 Buchlyvie Don Smith first Sun. in March Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.yeoman Posted January 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 Sunday 29 - looks good for me. I finished the fixed but think I'm a bit over geared. What i thought was a 38 turned out to be a 42 giving me a 42 - 14 which works out at around 81" great on the flat but hurts up hill. think I'll invest in a 16 before the 29th. Fixed is great and the cleats weren't as hard as I expected. anyone thinking of giving it a try should go ahead you'll enjoy it Going to use it to work this week so might be fitter by the end of the month. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kenny MacDonald Posted January 8, 2006 Members Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 Change of date :- now Sunday 22nd. January due to Martin M not being available 29th. and as he was rider who started whole thing it would be rude not to change 10;30am at clubrooms for a post presentation curer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kat1 Posted January 9, 2006 Members Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 This is a great idea as the new concrete outdoor track will open in Glasgow next year with a track league being held every week everyone needs to get a fixed gear bike so they can play on the track. It's great fun and you don't get hit by cars!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.yeoman Posted January 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 sounds like a cop out but I'm not too sure about the 22nd. I'll need to ask the baby sitter to stay on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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