Geared Bike so Much Harder Than Fixed?

smithchild On a slightly different tack. I watched a guy this morning bombing along the road full pelt on a full-suss mountain bike. He looked to be busting a gut but every pedal stroke he was bouncing up and down massively. I felt pretty smug about my efficient fixed gear bike. Is the difference in efficiency really as much as it looks?

no it's more!

try riding a 50Lb FS DH rig up a hill you usually don't notice on your road bike, it's fucking horrible.

even my hardtail MTB feels like total shit on the road, it's a heavy bike yes, but the sus forks and large volume tyres steal a lot of your effort away. It really is the difference between night and day