General: how many km/miles do you ride on a fixed gear?

Right now my daily commute is totally impractical to do fixed because there is over 5000 feet of climb round trip. My last commute before this one was 15-20 miles fixed and it was very doable. Not coasting isnt the hard part, having 1 gear is the hard part, at least if you have hills and wind. I barely notice a difference in stamina between singlespeed and fixed.

What makes me nervous about you commuting fixed is the fear of clips. If you dont ride with clips or clipless pedals please use two brakes.

Posted By: wes m.

What makes me nervous about you commuting fixed is the fear of clips. If you dont ride with clips or clipless pedals please use two brakes.

I do the platform thing as well, but yes, use two brakes if you aren't comfortable on your bike!

Anyhow, mine is 16 miles round trip if I catch the bus, about 25 if it's sunny and I feel like getting out. I'd say an average day I ride about 20 miles. I'm not super serious about going FASTER FASTER all the time, I like to just cruise, on a well tuned, comfortable bike.

i bike about 20-30km per day minimum. couple weeks ago i did 250kms over two days in a rainstorm and i was up the next morning ready to go out biking again but it is different for everyone. not everyone has the stamina or the knees for it
if you plan on biking to work or something try biking the route on a weekend or something first so you know just how long it will take and what is a good route. dont want to be late for work!

I try to ride 10 miles minimum. I do not ride everyday, but I have managed to put 484 miles on this computer I bought a few days shy of two months ago. I rode seventy-one miles on Sunday, and forty-five miles the Friday before that. It all depends on the weather and how much time I have on my hands.

Just take it easy and you'll get acclimated, I've only been riding again since march and my improvements seem exponential at this point, I'm sure I'll hit a wall, but If you get on that bike and pedal consistently you'll get the hang of it real quick. If you ever do go fixed, I'd recommend foot retention for sure. I don't think I"ll have a bike without it ever again.... unless I build a single speed for short distances.

Posted By: mydogsnameisbobIf you ever do go fixed, I'd recommend foot retention for sure. I don't think I"ll have a bike without it ever again.... unless I build a single speed for short distances.

Definitely. I recommend going clipless, especially if you're planning on riding notable distances. I have my bike setup with some shimano SPD pedals, along with some cheapo specialized MTB shoes, and I hardly ever have any discomfort on long rides. I also feel like it offers a hell of a lot more control than any toe clip/strap combo I've run, and I haven't had a single issue with clearance on tight turns since I've gone clipless. Also, a decent clipless setup will probably out live and cost less than any toe clip/strap combination you're sporting in the long run.

I've got $27 into foot retention including shipping. Plus $35 if you're going to make me count the pedals.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to try clipless, but with the cost of shoes and pedals, I doubt it being that low. I'm also going to be pretty picky on the shoes... so... yeah...

i ride 22 miles on 52-16. most of columbus is pretty damn flat, i think i have 2 slight inclines to climb so it's not too bad. try out power grips, i love mine.

Yea, you're not saving a massive amount of money, but which of those configurations do you think will outlive the other?

I know it's just a personal preference, but I definitely feel clips/straps pale in comparison to clipless in terms of comfort and control. If I'm just riding a couple of miles to the store, bar, or whatever, then clips/straps would be acceptable. Unfortunately I live in the burbs of Houston, so riding anywhere for me is pretty fucking far :)

Also, in my personal opinion:

- Clips will snap and straps will stretch and wear much faster than the shoes, cleats, and clipless pedals would.

- If you're lazy like me but consistent with your pedal setup, you get the added benefit of being able to switch between bikes without having to migrate clips/straps, or just take entire pedals off

- You'll probably find yourself needing to adjust things less, since you can typically set up your float once in a blue moon, and just forget about it.


My shimano spd setup with cleats = 55.00'ish
My shoes were free, but retailed for 90

You can almost always find lightly used shoes on ebay/craigslist for next to nothing too. if you're really that bothered over the fact someone else wore them, disinfect them or change the soles.

I think i worded that poorly. i meant having the same type of pedals on multiple bikes, rather than migrating the pedals themselves. Buying quality shit either way is definitely key, since you really are getting what you pay for.

I know I'm really hard on my stuff, but I've blown through my MKS clips and straps (singles, not doubles). My feet are also gigantic (12.5 and wide as hell) , making standard clips and a lot less comfortable. Having SPDs with a lot of float has made a significant improvement comfort-wise.

I did have a couple of spills at first with the clipless setup. The first day I ran them on a fixed gear, I fell over in front of a group of skids waiting for a school bus while trying to clip out while riding fakie. Another time I was standing in traffic waiting for a light to turn, and got hit by a strong crosswind that knocked me off balance. I found it a bit tricky to clip out with the rear foot while applying backwards pressure, so I just toppled over and slammed into a mercedes waiting at the light next to me :)

Posted By: MAVERICKi have been riding the same set of metal clips and cheap nylon straps for 4 years and i have not had a problem with them at all. i dont know what everyone is doing to stretch their straps out

I am with you there. Maybe we arent hardcore enough?

rabbi:

i would generally agree with your clipless v. clip/strap math. although i've never ridden nice doubles i can appreciate the difference. i think this generally misses the performance benefits of clipless over clips/nice straps. unlesses you add quality bike specific shoes with stiff soles to the equation (in which case clips/nice doubles/cycling shoes would be be more expensive than clipless) clipless systems are far more effective as far as performance goes.

edit: wow i really fucked up some syntax, we'll just stick to plain text for this one.

when i'm forced or able to upgrade from my SPD's, i'm going with Time ATAC's, i've heard such good things. although my I got my SPD pedals for free there's little excuse for their unpredictability at times. there have been a few scary incidents while attempting to clip in or accidentally clipping out (downhill at about 35mph fixed)