Talk to me.
If you're knocking out a minimum of sixty miles on a single, what are you running?
To replace racing I'm looking to satisfy myself with high miles on a 'proper' old road bike – steel, big old clearances, guards etc.
Currently it has a single Stronglight 49D with a 46t chainring. I don't have a rear wheel, but I can only run five or fixed/free (120 spacing, 115 actually)
Terrain will be up and down over the Chilterns and cotswolds.
Distance wise I looking to go further than a ton, but at a slower speed.
What you got for me?

I used to do 60-100 miles on a single when I lived in London. Over the last couple of weeks I've tried 2x25kms a day on a fixie over the hills here in Ireland. Fun, mud fun but brakes are better. I'm not sure but reckon single is easier generally but fixie is more fun.
There are people here with more experience than me. I just enjoy the bike now.

Yeah, I'll go freewheel as it's constantly up and down. More the gearing I'm curious about.
Plus a see so many octagenerians? out on old fixies and they've obviously managed.

Edit; anyone got experience of using modern cheap tubulars?

I've done century plus rides on my Langster with a 48:16 or 48:17 free. I find it a nice gear, needs a bit of effort on anything much over 10% hills though!

Oldgit, before you do anything, take your race bike, put it in one gear and go out for a couple of long rides.

The novelty will wear off really quickly…

I did 90km on 34:16 fixed out to Swaledale and back. That was fine for the ups, but scarey-low for the downs.

not done any proper mileage for ages but used to do a decent loop on 46:16 over old crow road in Glasgow few years back. I've got my singlecross set up 42:16 and don't think you're a million miles away if want to try it out for a ride

did 250k audax from arbroath to kinlochranoch over the moulin moors on 42:14

and have done a fair few 200k rides with less steep climbs on it

but i prefer to ride 42:17 when cruising on my own

Terrain will be up and down over the Chilterns and cotswolds.

oldgit – did Fish Hill a few years back on a 50 mile loop on my Pompino running 48:18 fixed.

flipped the wheel to freewheel back down down though on the return, remember it being a real blast 😉

Ah but that's never the same is it crikey. I had a singlespeed for years and the ratio always 'felt' better than when you mimicked it on a geared bike.

So 46×18/17 should be fine, bearing in mind winter makes things a bit tougher.

Regularly knock out 50 miles or so on a 48:17 fixed.I like the ratio but is a bit of a grunt on the steeper climbs.

42:16 on a cross-check here, that gets used for long ss road rides, you can average out a 16mph average quite comfortably.

68-73 gear inches fixed is what i use.
changing to the lower gear for the winter or if i know it's a longer ride.
(46/17 and 46/18)

I run a 42:14 on the ratbike and I've done several 70-90ish mile rides on it as well as commuting regularly. HOWEVER it's got 26" wheels with Conti Sport Contact 1.3" tyres on, so it works out at about a 72" gear.

: P

If we assume I commute on a bike twice a week(sometimes it's twice, sometimes it's just once) (and this is outside any riding I might be doing on my road bike or mountain bike), I'll do about 70 miles a week offroad fixed, 44:16. But it is a fairly flat route. Add another 50 or so on on a geared roadbike and/or SS mountain bike for leisure stuff.

44:16 fixed here. I'll probably go to 44:17 (or maybe 18) on a WI freewheel for winter though. Too many sketchy moments on the ice last year… 😉

44:18 will do you about 20 mph at a cadence of 100. Speed in mph is (gear inches*cadence)/336

Edit: road bike, not fixed off-road. Mentalists only…

why are you switching to a freewheel for the winter? fixed is so much better in things are a bit slippy, you can't lock a fixed wheel if you are still turning the pedals.

Thanks.
Ridden load of off road singlespeed, but never road. My oldest bike was 52/42 and a straight through 13-17 block, but that was decades ago.
46 x 18t with sprint rims then, unless my man comes up with some good nick five speed Campag wheels.

MrSmith – Member

why are you switching to a freewheel for the winter? fixed is so much better in things are a bit slippy, you can't lock a fixed wheel if you are still turning the pedals.

Yeah, I accept that. But when I start to slip I instictively stop pedalling which makes the bike skip around a lot more. I'm thinking of hitting a slippery/icy bit mid-corner or similar, rather than riding up or down a hill in bad conditions.

Does that make sense, or not?

yes. but it's like engine braking or the hill descent thingy in cars.
the trick is don't stop pedaling just pedal slower 🙂

MrSmith I'm thinking about my riding patch, it's very up and down and short and sharp. And if I go for a modern hub it's likely to be fixed/free anyway should I want to make the leap. Plus the distances I want to cover might require some full on recovery sections.

45/18 here, rides up to 75ish miles. Not brave enough to take the fixed out on a clubrun yet, might have to give it a go sometime though.

I'd be inclined to agree that a freewheel would be better than fixed on icy ground. It's easy to say don't stop pedalling but that initial shock is often enough to at least make you lock your legs even for a very brief period.

Saying that, I'll not be changing from fixed, I got through this winter no problems.

I've not rode any great distances on my langster yet (done about 20 miles yesterday) but for short and sharp climbs, 48:16 has been good if you can get a runup. For longer but shallower gradients, it's an absolute killer!

Riding a Roadrat with 42:16 – doing rides up to 100m recently in preparation for Kielder as well as commuting. Just shy of 17mph average. If I did more I would probably want a higher gear but it's fine for now.

Have ridden it fixed before and wil consider again – but I fell off 3 times this winter on ice/potholes! 😕

And don't forget your chamois cream! Riding fixed good distances is far harder on the arse….

if you can spin (it won't take long to learn especially with hills!) I'd go for a lower gear than some recommend here. I'm old and a bit of a git 43:17 here. I can manage 17 or 18 mph easily

I've been riding fixed on 48-17 for a little over 3 years now, started on a 16t, then moved up to 17t and settled on 18t. i can spin along at between 17 and 20 mph, going up hill is fine, but going down…..its really hard work now and i cannot seem to get over 37mph. i just feel knackered at the end of a long ride and develop a really sore lower back now too. could be my new stem being lower. but i've given in, just to much pride i feel in riding fixed wheel. SS feels great and i can glide down the hills now.

SO uses 42-18 and manages fine so i might even be tempted to go lower, we'll see.

47:16 fixed here, bit of a haul up the steeper hills, but good and fast on the flat.

50 miles is probably the maximum I'm likely to do on that bike at a time, unless things were pretty flat – anything longer and I'd probably want a freewheel for downhills, that can get a bit tiring after a while.

62 inches (48:21) fixed here, regular loop can vary between 45 and 55 miles. While there aren't too many hills to worry about here on the Fylde, I prefer a lower gear as there's nearly always a headwind to contend with, usually on the way back. And try as I might, I simply can't get my average much about 13 mph… 😳

I once did 80 miles on my singlespeed Pompino (42*16) from Matlock, up and over Snake Pass and back from Glossop. I learned my lesson after that and bought a roadbike with gears.

I run 48-16 fixed on the condor on the road. This too is riding in the Chilterns. I managed to get up Wycombe Hill once on it, but that was a silly idea. Normally take a flatter route. Any lower gear makes descending too painfull!