You are reading a single comment by @Oliver Schick and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Oliver Schick
ClassicCycle, there is a reason why people ride a nice compromise between high and low gearing when they ride fixed bikes in the street and not on the track. You need to learn to spin. Even if this might not suit you at first, it would make you a better rider.
You would otherwise make the classic mistake of ruining your knees rather prematurely. You can stick such a high gear in on a geared bike if you're on a roll, having properly warmed up on a longer ride, but trust us, it wouldn't work for your short-hop riding where on fixed you don't have the option of shifting down when it suits you.
Regardless of whether you switch to fixed or not, if you carry on riding in these high ratios, I guarantee you that your knees will suffer. I speak from experience, by the way--I always used to mash in high gears and I regret that now. I ride 42/16 on my fixed bike, too, and I like it a lot. Go for it.