Winter training, geared or SS?

^^ I sincerely hope you don't have pale carpets!

"This is why I mainly ride fixed in the autumn/winter. Occasional hose down and it just keeps on trucking."

Mmmm... mud.

^^ I sincerely hope you don't have pale carpets!

Plenty of pale carpets. Just not in the garage where the bikes live ;-)

Had a feeling you'd say that!

Simple answer to thread... Buy a Brooklyn G-Sta. Simples!

Actually, it certain hasn't been in my club in recent years, but much to my surprise, and not at my suggestion tomorrow's ride should have a fixed wheel group - about half a dozen, including one former international.

.

We did have six riders on fixed today, and a successful ride.
I think I'm likely to be on Bernie's ride next Sunday, but if the HDW fixed ride does become a regular feature I will try to give more notice.

HDW are a great club to ride with. Very friendly, accommodating and have a huge amount of experience. If I did not work on Sundays I'd ride with them.

This is why I mainly ride fixed in the autumn/winter. Occasional hose down and it just keeps on trucking
yunomudguard?

You don't actually drink from those bottles do you?

Got a race blade type thingy on the back but nothing on the front.

The grey bottle is for tools/tubes etc. Yes I drink from the other although I do it with caution and try to clean it as best I can first. More squirt water in rather than put it in my mouth. The big issue is I'm riding the lanes at night so can't really see the bottle but just have to assume its dirty. Not ideal.

What sort of gear ratios do those who train on a fixed in the winter run?

I'm keen to give it a go, and commute on something similar to the muddy bike above. But hardly any of my clubmates or friends even own a fixed wheel bike, and the training routes I do usually pick out some climbs to ride up - Chalkpit Lane, Sundridge etc. To get uthose would require a relatively small gear which would just be too spinny on the flat/descents.

So it seems to me there has to be a compromise: ride only flat routes; or ride normal routes but with a tiny gear and so relatively slow (compared to a geared bike) on the flat.

A gear in the mid-60s should cover most terrain, bar Chalkpit Lane type walls.

Got a race blade type thingy on the back but nothing on the front.

The grey bottle is for tools/tubes etc. Yes I drink from the other although I do it with caution and try to clean it as best I can first. More squirt water in rather than put it in my mouth. The big issue is I'm riding the lanes at night so can't really see the bottle but just have to assume its dirty. Not ideal.

I used to have a bottle with a rubber dust cap, can't find one like that now, but have you considered something like this from Decathlon?

any bike and some HTFU would suffice.

Lukeyp why did you nerg me for this comment?

What sort of gear ratios do those who train on a fixed in the winter run?

I'm keen to give it a go, and commute on something similar to the muddy bike above. But hardly any of my clubmates or friends even own a fixed wheel bike, and the training routes I do usually pick out some climbs to ride up - Chalkpit Lane, Sundridge etc. To get uthose would require a relatively small gear which would just be too spinny on the flat/descents.

So it seems to me there has to be a compromise: ride only flat routes; or ride normal routes but with a tiny gear and so relatively slow (compared to a geared bike) on the flat.

The issue with doing club runs fixed is it gets tricky staying on the group when you've a tailwind or the pace increases for whatever reason. All but the steepest climbs are a nice excuse to change up the effort or get out of the saddle.

I found 66-70 gear inches good but everyone is different. You'll probably want gear that has you spinning at around 90rpm for your average speed. Remember your average speed is likely to be higher in a group.

^why the gloves on such a mild day?

Says the man riding a freewheel...

^^^ The issue with doing club runs fixed is it gets tricky staying on the group when you've a tailwind or the pace increases for whatever reason. All but the steepest climbs are a nice excuse to change up the effort or get out of the saddle.

I found 66-70 gear inches good but everyone is different. You'll probably want gear that has you spinning at around 90rpm for your average speed. Remember your average speed is likely to be higher in a group.

**I agree with this.

**And that's why I wanted to let people know that we had a fixed wheel group.

If the stronger riders are on fixed they will set the pace from the front of the group. It seems to me that the rhythm of a group on fixed is different from one that's on gears. So although the fixed riders may be a bit slower on the easy sections they probably climb a bit faster (as long as the gradient is not very steep), and the time taken to get from the rendezvous to the cafe is probably no different whether fixed or geared. However the fact remains that fixed does not mix well with gears.

As to the size of gear, I agree with Miro_o that 66-70" is what suits most riders. However I guess that the truth is that you just need similar gearing to your companions; so if everyone agreed to use, say, 60" or 80" they would still get to their destination, and if they did it long enough they'd be sitting in the cafe together complaining that 'the youth of today are using the wrong gears' (i.e. not what they used)

It's interesting to note that in the 1911 century competition (see my posts elsewhere) most of the riders were on single gears in the mid 70's, which would seem high to riders of my generation, especially considering the bikes they had and the road surfaces they rode on.

I always enjoy your comments clubman.

^+1

HDW are a great club to ride with. Very friendly, accommodating and have a huge amount of experience. If I did not work on Sundays I'd ride with them.

This.

Now free on Saturday just add to the pain!