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Nef
youramericanlover
It's not that I disagree with @Daithetooth but more that I differently agree. I would say that overall it's probably harder. Difficult to get around the fact there is no real rest compared to bikes that coast. But with long distance stuff like D says there's fewer worries and it's more evenly paced, especially when you're not really getting much rest anyway (200km+). But I'd say that riding fixed encourages/forces you to ride more conservatively. If I'm on like 66gi and aiming for 80rpm and all the sudden the group hits 35kph on the flat is going to feel a little silly when I have another 130km to go, and I think 'well this is a dumb spinny idea' so I ease off. Many many times I see that faster group that pulled away still in the Dismounting Futzing Phase at the next audax control and they've burned through some energy and not really saved any time.. Obviously most people are fucked at the end of a good audax, but I'm not sure people who ride fixed are like waaay more fucked at the end than everyone else.