Ow...

Ok, so after a couple of months on the freewheel of my Charge, I did my first fixed commute today..and it hurt!
the fact that i was fixed wasnt an issue (apart from a few moments where I forgot to keep peddling and did a death wobble)
My whole riding position seemed to have changed, my saddle was extrememly uncomfortable and my shoulders, back and arms hurt, is this something that I will get used to or should I think about adjusting the saddle a bit. I have been riding miles on freewheel on the same setup and have had no issues.
I hated it so much this morning that I swapped back to the freewheel before locking it up today!
Any advice would be gratefully received...

i think it is harder on the muscles riding fixed, and it's probably likely that you were much more tense than normal on account of fear of death. you will loosen up as you get the hang of it and i urge you to stick with it. the naturalness of fixed is much more natural than the chaos of freewheel.

if it's any consolation, i stuck a freewheel on my old fuji the other day so that i can sell it. i rode it round the park and found it so odd to not be braking with legs, especially at low speeds, and the whole thing was so unsettling that i flipped the wheel after about three minutes.

i think everyone felt the same on their first ride. i sht myself the first time i went fixed and also did the wobble when i forgot to keep on turning, happened in adjusting my sitting position and aiming to 'soften' a ride over potholes.

my advise is keep at it. you'll get used to it and you'll love it. starting fixed on first commute is bit harsh maybe start again on saturday. have whole weekend practicing riding fixed when it's less busy

just relax, don't be afraid to use your brakes if you feel the bike is "running away".
it'll get a lot easier

Should take about 2 weeks to loosen up and get the rythm of the bike...Pacing is different to freewheel i think, stopping takes longer. And the rictus grin of freaky fun will make your jaws ache...

ok i'll stick with it and report back in a month, think i'll go back to wearing the padded shorts for a while tho..

If your shoulders hurt it might be that your saddle is positioned too far back or your stem is too long or something. I had this problem with my new bike, still haven't sorted it completely.

lower your saddle 1cm

thanks guys I'll try that.
Been riding it freewheel for more than a month and its been comfy as anything - the problem has only occured when I went fixed today.

In direct contravention of winston's advice I'd say raise the saddle a bit...

I ride my plug around an inch higher than my road bike (different geometry I know), but it was a really harsh ride when I originally set it up at teh same height.

Raised it and was lovely...

No idea of why fixed vs freewheel would do this as have never flipped the hub. (soz)

Because track saddle height is usually a bit lower than your road setup..

http://www.spectrum-cycles.com/613.htm

on fixed i find it harder to get the right settings. with freewheel you coast alot so can get away with the seat not being perfect height, but fixed you need to feel smooth the full power stroke, but also be able to get into a position to skid stop easily as well. i changed my saddle setting 5 times the first longish ride on my yates the other day.

i find i slide back and sit up on the back of saddle when resisting or slowing down so instead of just having 1 seated position i have 2.
took a week or so of riding to get used to the change of position and a bit of an ache in muscles that don't get used with a freewheel.

dogsballs on fixed i find it harder to get the right settings. with freewheel you coast alot so can get away with the seat not being perfect height, but fixed you need to feel smooth the full power stroke, but also be able to get into a position to skid stop easily as well. i changed my saddle setting 5 times the first longish ride on my yates the other day.

Just what I was thinking. I would say great mind think alike but I know your mind is swiming shit and my mind is twisted.

MrSmith i find i slide back and sit up on the back of saddle when resisting or slowing down so instead of just having 1 seated position i have 2.
took a week or so of riding to get used to the change of position and a bit of an ache in muscles that don't get used with a freewheel.

Another good point, although when riding with a free wheel you should still move about the seat I find because you can coast and (if you have them) change gears you tend not to as much as when you are riding fixed and have to make the most out of every position. I do not get out of the saddle much on my fixedwheel finding I can be more efficient moving around the saddle but on my road bike I am jumping up and down all the time.

Hi Guys,

Was a lot better today, adjusted the saddle a bit, slightly lower, also wore padded shorts today. still a bit achey (a good ache if you know what I mean) but i expect that much as i'm using muscles i'm not used to, however I wasnt in pain during the ride in, no death wobbles, only 1 pedal kerb scrape when i arrived at work..and you know I think I actually rather enjoyed it..

What handlebars you using? Cause I just switched to risers and it's much more comfortable than my drops.

bullhorns at the moment, but I'm nabbing some spare risers off of broken_77 tomorrow so am gonna give them a go, as I too prefer being more upright.