I've personally never done it, but people talk about their experiences here:
https://forums.mtbr.com/singlespeed/school-me-fixed-gear-mtb-456986.html
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Bicycle ERA |OT| This Is Why
- Thread starter Jill Sandwich
- Start date
I've personally never done it, but people talk about their experiences here:
https://forums.mtbr.com/singlespeed/school-me-fixed-gear-mtb-456986.html
Had a friend, local riding buddy, ride fixed mountain and it was the craziest thing I've seen. He was was also a rider with 10+ years of BMX experience, fixed riding experience, and mountain experience.
Can someone tell me how strava works? My garmin account got linked to it, on my last ride on my single speed I got a third place on a segment. However, upon reviewing the rankings for it, I'm lower actually way lower than that, however, the top records look suspect, to say the least.
Is it realistic to reach 712W of power at 68ppm!? Is it to reach 856W at all? Is strava always like this? How I am third place on this with a puny 32Km/h?
Thanks!
Is it realistic to reach 712W of power at 68ppm!? Is it to reach 856W at all? Is strava always like this? How I am third place on this with a puny 32Km/h?
Thanks!
I mean... I guess world class track cyclists can put out that sort of power?
...and I suspect you're third for this year. I believe that's what Strava defaults to.
...and I suspect you're third for this year. I believe that's what Strava defaults to.
Can someone tell me how strava works? My garmin account got linked to it, on my last ride on my single speed I got a third place on a segment. However, upon reviewing the rankings for it, I'm lower actually way lower than that, however, the top records look suspect, to say the least.
Is it realistic to reach 712W of power at 68ppm!? Is it to reach 856W at all? Is strava always like this? How I am third place on this with a puny 32Km/h?
Thanks!
Power data is only reliable if there is a lightning symbol next to the value, which indicates that it was recorded by an actual power meter device. When no power data is provided, Strava does its own estimation https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216917107-Power-Calculations , which can be quite wrong/off for short effort bursts.
To give you an idea of the magnitude of effort to sustain 700W :
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Nice photo. You live in the lakes?
I asked on here a little while ago about bone conduction headphones for use on the bike. Think you said you were also interested.
I was given some for Christmas, aftershox trekz I think? Rode with them for the first time on Sunday to try them out. I was interested as I absolutely cannot ride with regular headphones, I can't stand not having the awareness of being able to hear what's around me. Due to kids and work I don't often get the chance to ride with mates and I do find although I enjoy long rides, I'd like to listen to a podcast or some music after a few hours.
I rode for two hours on Sunday and found them to be comfortable and didn't interfere with my helmet or rub on my skin. I didn't have any redness or soreness afterwards. I'm also a sweaty bastard when riding and they seemed fine with that. They are apparently designed to deal with sweat and rain.
Sound quality is fair, pretty tinny and you loose a lot of bass, but as a compromise I enjoyed them just fine. Audiophiles may not be able to get away with them.
As for how it felt to ride with these, it's a bit weird at first and they do impair your hearing a little, but I didn't have the normal paranoia I would have with normal headphones. I'd equate it to maybe having a small Bluetooth speaker attached to you playing out tunes. The sound slightly fills the noises around you, but doesn't block them out. I could hear cars approaching behind me as normal, hear the usual countryside sounds and my squeaky drivetrain that needs a clean.
Pairing them with my phone worked no problem. With an iPhone 8 running Spotify, linked to these and running the wahoo app I used about 40% battery in 2 hours so not too bad. Think you can also answer calls and stuff in them but I'll have that disabled.
Looking them up, they are pretty expensive, and I'm not sure I could truly justify their price because of the lack of bottom end, but I can see myself making regular use of them. Pretty sure listening to slayer on some shorter training rides will help me grab a few PRs in strava.
These are them:
https://aftershokz.co.uk/
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I do yeah, its quite icy at the moment and hard to stay down low when surrounded by fells.
Thanks for the induction headphones review, they are costly as you said so i'll keep my eye out for if they're ever on sale, lowest ive seen them was £75 ish at PBK. Hoping maybe when a 2019 version comes out, the older models will be on clearance. I'm an audiophile but I'd rather be safer and have less bass than the other way around.
Thanks for the induction headphones review, they are costly as you said so i'll keep my eye out for if they're ever on sale, lowest ive seen them was £75 ish at PBK. Hoping maybe when a 2019 version comes out, the older models will be on clearance. I'm an audiophile but I'd rather be safer and have less bass than the other way around.
You'll be fine unless it's legit gravel & trail meaning roots and large rocks.
No that was a normal MTB ride not the batshit insane stuff you do... ;)
Good work on the trainer btw :) how'd it feel?
Not great to be honest. That's 95% of an FTP that's 30% down on my peak.
It's going to be a very hard year to come back from getting sick. =/
It's going to be a very hard year to come back from getting sick. =/
Fixed commuting with brakes is totally viable and safe. I prefer it with weather and road conditions to be able to have drivetrain braking. You don't have to skid ever, just backpedal and apply resistance the vast majority of the time, and tap the brake(s) when you really need them. It feels faster and more efficient when you get the right ratio for your most common commute speed/cadence/gradient. The only thing you have to worry about is pedal strike, but that's hardly an issue once you get used to it.
It makes you stronger for your training or recreational rides too, and you'll have the muscle memory to pretty much never coast even when on a freewheel.
It makes you stronger for your training or recreational rides too, and you'll have the muscle memory to pretty much never coast even when on a freewheel.
This might sound like an odd analogy, but riding fixed has always felt like driving a stick shift in terms of the control you describe here.
It's even better, the bike is an extension of your body, it moves as you do.
I agree that the brakeless, running reds and killing peds mentality is asinine bullshit, but fixed gear is not solely for the velodrome, it has a place in most areas of cycling.
Which is ironic... because obviously with manual gears you have a method to disengage from the drivetrain. :P
You could always just take your feet off the pedals and let them spin unassisted, boom, drivetrain disengaged.
use your brakes or skid your shoe into your back tire to mediate the leg smashing.
I once again had my kickr core stop working as soon as my garage dipped to 40s or below. This is an extremely disappointing thing b/c my Snap worked no matter what temperature.
Edit: Looks like the 2018 Kickr models are littered with problems. Many Core's just stop working entirely and many Kickr's develop a really bad grinding noise.
Edit: Looks like the 2018 Kickr models are littered with problems. Many Core's just stop working entirely and many Kickr's develop a really bad grinding noise.
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Just got back from my first ride since October... holy shit have I lost a lot of fitness!
I'm cancelling my races for this year and I'm just going to concentrate on trying to get my fitness back.
I'm cancelling my races for this year and I'm just going to concentrate on trying to get my fitness back.
Nice work getting back out. It's windy as tits here and I've got a cold so bottled it this weekend.
I bought a electric bike conversation kit and a battery recently to turn one of my bikes into an electric.
Knowing next to nothing about bikes I did learn a lot like how to adjust breaks and how to pop a tire off and on again.
Putting it together wasn't too bad, but I had several issues that did suck. For one, the bike I intended to make the ebike didnt fit the wider wheel. Thankfully I bought my girlfriend a cheap Costco bike earlier this year and it fit perfectly on that one.
But the bike has a weird shape so I couldnt directly bolt the battery to the frame (where the water bottle holder would go it's too narrow for the battery). And even if I wanted to I lost the damn key to the battery dock so I couldn't put it on there if I wanted to. :(
Assuming the company ingot the battery from is able to get me a replacement at all, it'll take 5-6 weeks before I'll get it.
My solution to that was to get velcro straps and attach to to the rear platform of the bike. That way I can remove the battery so it wont get stolen when I lock my bike up and go to a store or something, but it's still attached enough that it won't fall off during a ride.
Finally got a chance to test it on Friday and it's pretty much exactly what I wanted! I went with a cheaper, weaker motor but it's perfect for helping to go up hills and in general just get me to the stores near where I live without becoming a sweating mess. Granted I live in San Diego so once spring/summer hits that'll happen regardless.
Doesn't really go any faster than I could go just peddling normally, but I didn't want a super fast bike anyway. I get nervous when a bike starts going too fast downhill, especially if it's a cheap bike to begin with. Plus I still need to peddle.when going up hills to keep any speed, so I still get a bit of a workout.
Knowing next to nothing about bikes I did learn a lot like how to adjust breaks and how to pop a tire off and on again.
Putting it together wasn't too bad, but I had several issues that did suck. For one, the bike I intended to make the ebike didnt fit the wider wheel. Thankfully I bought my girlfriend a cheap Costco bike earlier this year and it fit perfectly on that one.
But the bike has a weird shape so I couldnt directly bolt the battery to the frame (where the water bottle holder would go it's too narrow for the battery). And even if I wanted to I lost the damn key to the battery dock so I couldn't put it on there if I wanted to. :(
Assuming the company ingot the battery from is able to get me a replacement at all, it'll take 5-6 weeks before I'll get it.
My solution to that was to get velcro straps and attach to to the rear platform of the bike. That way I can remove the battery so it wont get stolen when I lock my bike up and go to a store or something, but it's still attached enough that it won't fall off during a ride.
Finally got a chance to test it on Friday and it's pretty much exactly what I wanted! I went with a cheaper, weaker motor but it's perfect for helping to go up hills and in general just get me to the stores near where I live without becoming a sweating mess. Granted I live in San Diego so once spring/summer hits that'll happen regardless.
Doesn't really go any faster than I could go just peddling normally, but I didn't want a super fast bike anyway. I get nervous when a bike starts going too fast downhill, especially if it's a cheap bike to begin with. Plus I still need to peddle.when going up hills to keep any speed, so I still get a bit of a workout.
MAn after a month of non biking I wen't back to commuting today, my HR was 154 for an effort that would before the brake be at around 135.... And I was pretty slow again, but taht has also to do with beeing cautious since temperature are still near freezing during the night and the pavement is till wet. Also forgot to pack my pants at home now I'm sitting in the office with my bycicle pants on...
So, I finally had the strength to flip the wheel to the fixed gear and here are my first impressions:
In resume, so far not impressed. I'm compelled to flip the wheel again and forget about the whole fixie business. The street creed isn't worth the hassle. But perhaps most problems will get fixed once I get used to the bike and get more cadence... what do you guys think?
- Being able to slowdown by back-pressing the pedals is interesting. Now I'm able to ride handless with more confidence I guess.
- For some reason, it feels like my front brake has become nearly useless. While in free wheel mode it was certainly weaker than what I'm used too, it was strong enough for me to ride at high speed (40km+) with confidence. But now, If i don't put considerable force on the pedals it feels like it doesn't work at all, which goes to the next point:
- High speed riding is terrifying! After ~1hour of practice at low speed, I decided to tackle my normal training route and I had to cut it short on the high speed section (50kmh+) and take a detour. The combination of weak brakes, not being able to coast in rough sections and the cadence needed to maintain that speed was too much for me to handle. I have to mention that this section is with traffic, and I have to keep up with the cars.
- Everything feels harder. From starting to move, to go slow to weave through traffic.
- It feels like the chain could snap at any moment...
- I'm slower than the same bike with the wheel flipped.
In resume, so far not impressed. I'm compelled to flip the wheel again and forget about the whole fixie business. The street creed isn't worth the hassle. But perhaps most problems will get fixed once I get used to the bike and get more cadence... what do you guys think?
The number one rule you have to remember with a fixed: never stop pedaling
It takes time to get your mindset in place but once you do those varying speed moments become way easier and that's really where the front brake helps A LOT
It takes time to get your mindset in place but once you do those varying speed moments become way easier and that's really where the front brake helps A LOT
Same. Cramped a quad on the last big hill. Absolutely haram.
Man weather here makes it nearly impossible to commute the last two weeks, it rains during the day or evening, then gets below freezing in the mornings and leads to a lot of frozen patches on the roads and especially on the cycleways. Need to go to the gym to actually get some exercise.
Small possibility I'll be moving back to work from home life. If I do I think I'll definitely jump on a TrainerRoad plan to mix in with Zwift. I've always had trouble doing them due to scheduling but if I can be home more then it becomes way more doable.
New bike day!
https://imgur.com/a/5eMUHXE
Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1 Disc 2019. Carbon frame, carbon wheels, full Ultegra disc brake groupset. This bike is so damn quick and twitchy I've already broken most of my personal Strava segments in the 3 days since I've had it and I've even stacked it twice lol.
https://imgur.com/a/5eMUHXE
Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1 Disc 2019. Carbon frame, carbon wheels, full Ultegra disc brake groupset. This bike is so damn quick and twitchy I've already broken most of my personal Strava segments in the 3 days since I've had it and I've even stacked it twice lol.
Very nice, my mate has the 2018 version and has nothing but good things to say regarding it.
Make sure your chain tension is correct, you want a little slack in the chain, it's more efficient that way and you shouldn't feel like it is going to snap.
As for fixed in the streets being faster, it most likely isn't going to be because of the issues you listed. Being able to coast makes maneuvering safer and easier, downhill and in drafts of cars you can keep your speed without pedaling, and if the gear ratio is too low, then spinning out will actually slow you down on fixed rather than just coasting freewheel.
That being said, riding fixed will likely make you stronger and improve your pedaling efficiency for other rides. You will get faster, but it may not be faster than freewheel, fixed is definitely designed for the velodrome, but it can be fun in the streets.
Make sure the wheel is aligned well when you bolt it in place to ensure better engagement of the locking faces. Swap sides as you tighten and make sure things are straight.
Don't hesitate to be fairly aggressive with the nut torque. Those nuts should be some of the tightest fasteners on your bike: 25-30NM is reasonable for most designs. If you're using an 8-10" wrench, that's not "as tight as possible", but it's pretty darn firm.
If the builder painted the area of the dropouts which the nuts make contact with, you could try stripping that paint to expose a grippier surface.
Just because a saw this I thought id quote you a I couldn't remember your fault.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/01/wahoo-ceo-details-fixes-for-issues-surrounding-kickr-2018-kickr-core.html
I've been waiting for this to come out, thanks for sending it. Wahoo is sending me a brand new Kickr this time.
The static issue is weird because I'm using mine in a garage on a rubber floor block so I don't know how I could even be sending static.
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