# Top speed on fixie?



## Fixed

What's your top speed on a fixed gear? I suppose the trackies will beat out all of us road fixie riders, as they don't have to climb hills (well, maybe short ones). 

Speed, gears, rpms?

39 mph
70 inches (47x18)
189 rpms (backed off just short of complete disintegration)

Down hill, of course.


----------



## Argentius

12 pounds. 

No, wait...


----------



## Touch0Gray

my gps showed max of 34 with a 48/18 and I have NO idea how many RPM because at those spin-speeds I was not looking at the "dash"


----------



## Touch0Gray

thanks...i don't do math........

I have spun up at 193 on the trainer......but on the road.......nope....not going there....


----------



## Fixed

*math*



Touch0Gray said:


> my gps showed max of 34 with a 48/18 and I have NO idea how many RPM because at those spin-speeds I was not looking at the "dash"


It's just math. 48x18 at 34 mph = 161 rpms.

http://www.midcalracing.com/gears.xls


----------



## Fixed

*oh, it's fun*



Touch0Gray said:


> thanks...i don't do math........
> 
> I have spun up at 193 on the trainer......but on the road.......nope....not going there....


Oh, it can be fun to find out how fast is "too fast." Everything seems fine, then all the sudden at some unpredictable rpm it's like your legs turn to rubber and the whole bike starts bouncing around like you're riding down rail road ties. Very entertaining.

Mr. Excel does my math, by the way.


----------



## Touch0Gray

I saved the .xls.......from now on I'll know ......I still don't DO the math.....

I really have NO idea how fast I have gone on fixed....at those rpm I really am NOT looking at anything but the road.......the faster I pedal, the harder i try to stay on top of it because I do NOT like the feel of the bike DRIVING me.....................

FWIW I have both front and rear brakes and am NOT afraid to use them!


----------



## seeborough

A couple of days ago, on the flats, I hit 32.5 mph with with a 49/18 and was mighty proud of myself. 
But 189 rpm? Dayummm! 
Chapeau, mon frere.


----------



## Wookiebiker

Best so far for me is 36.6 mph with 46x17 (approximately 71.5 gear inches) gearing downhill of course and felt like if it was longer could have gone faster without much problem. I'm guessing I would top out somewhere around 40 mph with this gearing.

Longest sustained speeds with the same gearing on a group ride, I've followed the group slowly accelerating from 24mph - 29mph over approximately 1.5 miles, then finished with a 33-34 mph sprint up a slight hill (our normal sign sprint) for approx. 200 meters or so.


----------



## Dave Hickey

Fixed said:


> Oh, it can be fun to find out how fast is "too fast." Everything seems fine, then all the sudden at some unpredictable rpm it's like your legs turn to rubber and the whole bike starts bouncing around like you're riding down rail road ties. Very entertaining.
> .


you are a sick man Doug...


----------



## Hagakure

39.95 Mph


----------



## Touch0Gray

Dave Hickey said:


> you are a sick man Doug...


SERIOUSLY SICK........I like my heart rate up because I am working hard, not because I am scared I am going to die!


----------



## Fredke

Argentius said:


> 12 pounds.
> 
> No, wait...


Is that an English or Italian bottom bracket?


----------



## Fredke

Touch0Gray said:


> SERIOUSLY SICK........I like my heart rate up because I am working hard, not because I am scared I am going to die!


For high heart-rate, fast cadence has nothing over dropping your chain on a downhill.


----------



## roadfix

I guess about 25.


----------



## Fixed

*jaded*



Touch0Gray said:


> SERIOUSLY SICK........I like my heart rate up because I am working hard, not because I am scared I am going to die!


I guess I'm just jaded. We have ginormous hills around here, and since we're doing it all the time, you just get used to it. I do think that 39 mph on the fixed was much scarier than when I put on my 67 tooth chainring on my timetrial bike and passed cars at 57 mph, averaging 50 mph for 8.5 miles.


----------



## CleavesF

32 mph on a flat. 42*14


----------



## BianchiJoe

This is pretty illuminating. I've hit 56 mph on a SS coastie, but top speeds on fixies seem to be under 40 (mine very much included). I guess I never thought that much about the speed difference; I wonder how much time you'd shave on a given route by coasting? Probably not much, since the downhills are always the shortest part of the ride, but I'm sure there's a difference.


----------



## David Loving

Are y'all riding fixed gear bikes with the little computers on the bars? or you calculating these speeds by gearing and cadence. Riding a fixed gear with a little cateye or whatever sounds like a good topic for bikesnobnyc, from here!


----------



## California L33

Touch0Gray said:


> thanks...i don't do math........
> 
> I have spun up at 193 on the trainer......but on the road.......nope....not going there....


I'm not sure what the red line is for the human ankle/knee/hip, but I'd guess you're getting pretty close to valve float there.


----------



## FatTireFred

David Loving said:


> Are y'all riding fixed gear bikes with the little computers on the bars? or you calculating these speeds by gearing and cadence. Riding a fixed gear with a little cateye or whatever sounds like a good topic for bikesnobnyc, from here!




yeah, I don't even have a computer on my fg, and never bother to count cadence.


----------



## Touch0Gray

Fredke said:


> For high heart-rate, fast cadence has nothing over dropping your chain on a downhill.


OR losing footing on a pedal. there is a reason I use clipless........................................................................... (or your wife saying...honey...I'm pregna.......................................................................................................


----------



## Touch0Gray

California L33 said:


> I'm not sure what the red line is for the human ankle/knee/hip, but I'd guess you're getting pretty close to valve float there.




better than 3.44 x my age.......like I say...I ain't trying it on the road on purpose....


----------



## MisterC




----------



## IndyFabCJ

Holy smokes...


----------



## David Loving

I threw my computers away long ago.


----------



## OffRoadRoadie

41.something mph at 204 cadence with a 42x16, and here's another fun fact.......21900 total revolutions on a 74.4 mile fixer ride!


----------



## PdxMark

36 mph on 44x17 for 176 rpm.... lasted about 10 seconds before I had the brakes on


----------



## CleavesF

That video is ridiculous... 

I"m not sure if I could ever pedal that fast... for that long at any resistance.


----------



## Touch0Gray

PdxMark said:


> 36 mph on 44x17 for 176 rpm.... lasted about 10 seconds before I had the brakes on


 I <3 my brakes........................not the speed it's the thought of what IF I forget and try to stop pedaling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

edit: and the pedal rips my leg off and beats me to death with it.....


----------



## Dave Hickey

CleavesF said:


> That video is ridiculous...
> 
> I"m not sure if I could ever pedal that fast... for that long at any resistance.


it sure is....it looks like Keirin racers training or warming up...ouch...


----------



## il sogno

Wow. :eek6:


----------



## il sogno

About 20 mph. :blush2:


----------



## PdxMark

Touch0Gray said:


> I <3 my brakes........................not the speed it's the thought of what IF I forget and try to stop pedaling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> edit: and the pedal rips my leg off and beats me to death with it.....


I know the feeling... pedaling faster & faster feeling like it's all OK, ... then.. it's NOT OK, time to slow down, even a little, NOW!

I get a kick out of the brakeless fixie debates. Not that I agree with it, but I can see that in-town brakeless riding is do-able. I have serious doubts whether big fixed gear descents are do-able without brakes.


----------



## JCavilia

*math terms*



OffRoadRoadie said:


> 41.something mph at 204 rpms with a 42x16, and here's another fun fact.......21900 total rpms on a 74.4 mile fixer ride!


That's 21900 "r" (revolutions), I presume. 

21,900 "rpm" (revolutions per minute) would have you going somewhere over 4,000 miles per hour in that gear.


----------



## Henri65

Yesterday, I hit 35.5 mph using a 40/17 and 35c tires. I calculated thats about 187 rpm.
I keep a Garmin in my pocket, so no one know how much of a geek I really am.


----------



## Fixed

*brakeless*



PdxMark said:


> I know the feeling... pedaling faster & faster feeling like it's all OK, ... then.. it's NOT OK, time to slow down, even a little, NOW!
> 
> I get a kick out of the brakeless fixie debates. Not that I agree with it, but I can see that in-town brakeless riding is do-able. I have serious doubts whether big fixed gear descents are do-able without brakes.


Brakeless down mountains would be insane. Just out of curiosity, I decided to see how long it took to stop using only my legs going 25 mph down a 6% long grade. I think it took about 30 seconds, which is an eternity. Just try it sometime. Basically, you are applying about 1000 watts in reverse, which your legs are not trained to do. As we all know, you can't simply stiffen up the legs as the cranks are on the way up, or you find out immediately why not. 

Incidentally, for anyone who may try a top speed/rpm run -- make sure your bike is put together really well. Hubs bolted down, chain tensioner would be nice, chain tight and in good shape, cleats won't pull out, etc. Having something go wrong under those conditions is sort of like messing with the sound barrier -- strange things happen really fast, and it could rip the wings off if not prepared.


----------



## California L33

PdxMark said:


> I know the feeling... pedaling faster & faster feeling like it's all OK, ... then.. it's NOT OK, time to slow down, even a little, NOW!
> 
> I get a kick out of the brakeless fixie debates. Not that I agree with it, but I can see that in-town brakeless riding is do-able. I have serious doubts whether big fixed gear descents are do-able without brakes.


Fixies are popular in San Francisco which has some monster hills, but you mostly see them in the flat downtown area and around the Marina. (Naturally if you're a 'serious' cyclist or a serious poser you don't have brakes. I've never seen the attraction of going brake-less, myself- a self preservation instinct, I guess). Here in the East Bay I've only seen a couple of fixies (one regularly), but they seem to stick to the flat areas- no surprise, really.


----------



## PdxMark

Fixed said:


> Brakeless down mountains would be insane. Just out of curiosity, I decided to see how long it took to stop using only my legs going 25 mph down a 6% long grade. I think it took about 30 seconds, which is an eternity. Just try it sometime.


I should try it ... sometime after the ice melts. I just know that it's one thing to slow down on a short 2%-3% hill in-town, but I almost have to ride my brakes on any mountain descent with grades over 8% to keep from spinning out. I suppose it might be possible if you could keep your speed under some controllable level, maybe something like 15 mph... but you'd be fighting all the way down the hill to keep the speed under control. I'll have to try that, too.


----------



## Fixed

*power?*



PdxMark said:


> I should try it ... sometime after the ice melts. I just know that it's one thing to slow down on a short 2%-3% hill in-town, but I almost have to ride my brakes on any mountain descent with grades over 8% to keep from spinning out. I suppose it might be possible if you could keep your speed under some controllable level, maybe something like 15 mph... but you'd be fighting all the way down the hill to keep the speed under control. I'll have to try that, too.


If you had an 8% hill, you'd probably be able to coast around 45 mph. How much power would it take to go 45 mph? I'd guess around 1500 watts. While it won't be exactly the same, if you can't make 1500 watts on flat ground going forward, you won't be able to make 1500 watts, in the opposite direction (at the cranks) to retard your speed, either. In other words, gravity is pulling you down the hill with 1500 watts of power, so unless you can oppose that, you can't do it without brakes. 

Thinking about it further, though, I suppose the wind is supplying some of the retarding force, equivalent to around 300 watts at 25 mph. So, if you want to use your legs to slow from 45 mph to 25 mph, you'd need 1500 minus 300 watts, or "just" 1200 watts. At any given speed, it seems, it will take a combination of wind drag and leg force to brake the bike, and the higher the speed, the more wind matters, but the harder it is for your legs to just keep up, much less "brake."


----------



## MisterC

Riding brakeless makes you cool. It's science.


----------



## PdxMark

Fixed said:


> How much power would it take to go 45 mph? I'd guess around 1500 watts. While it won't be exactly the same, if you can't make 1500 watts on flat ground going forward, you won't be able to make 1500 watts, in the opposite direction (at the cranks) to retard your speed, either. In other words, gravity is pulling you down the hill with 1500 watts of power, so unless you can oppose that, you can't do it without brakes.


Good. I wasn't looking forward to the attempt.


----------



## California L33

Fixed said:


> If you had an 8% hill, you'd probably be able to coast around 45 mph. How much power would it take to go 45 mph? I'd guess around 1500 watts. While it won't be exactly the same, if you can't make 1500 watts on flat ground going forward, you won't be able to make 1500 watts, in the opposite direction (at the cranks) to retard your speed, either. In other words, gravity is pulling you down the hill with 1500 watts of power, so unless you can oppose that, you can't do it without brakes.
> 
> Thinking about it further, though, I suppose the wind is supplying some of the retarding force, equivalent to around 300 watts at 25 mph. So, if you want to use your legs to slow from 45 mph to 25 mph, you'd need 1500 minus 300 watts, or "just" 1200 watts. At any given speed, it seems, it will take a combination of wind drag and leg force to brake the bike, and the higher the speed, the more wind matters, but the harder it is for your legs to just keep up, much less "brake."


I'm not sure if your math is right- that you would have to apply 1500 watts continuously to stop. It just seems if you applied 100 watts of braking power that would slow you down some, then you're not going 45 mph anymore and don't need 1500 watts of braking power anymore, but continue to apply 100 watts of braking power. I think it would be whether or not you could apply enough watt/minutes of power to counter the continual force of gravity. I never was very good at applied mathematics though so I won't argue the point. I don't think it makes any sense because at those kind of crazy leg speeds I'm not sure if anyone has the muscle coordination to apply counter force anyway. 

Even if you are right, don't forget that tearing ligaments and muscle use some of the energy, too


----------



## croscoe

30ish with 48x19 = 150ish RPM.


----------



## David Loving

Are you guys recording your speed on downhills, or on velodromes? What's your fastest speed on a track?


----------



## Pablo

il sogno said:


> About 20 mph. :blush2:


Are you quoting Keanu, as in the movie "Speed."?


----------



## Pablo

The last time I had a computer was 10 years ago on my mountain bike. According to the computer, I was goign 67 mph on a flat road, in the suburbs, on a Gay Fisher, without even trying. Based on that, I've gone at least 200 mph pn a fixie.


----------



## OffRoadRoadie

Yes, revolutions. My buddy has a CatEye that plays back total pedal revolutions on his fixer and he runs the same gearing (42x16).


----------



## JCavilia

*right*



OffRoadRoadie said:


> Yes, revolutions. My buddy has a CatEye that plays back total pedal revolutions on his fixer and he runs the same gearing (42x16).


you don't need the special computer to do it, though. The math is simple.


----------



## Fredke

nm....


----------



## Fixed

*computer*



David Loving said:


> Are y'all riding fixed gear bikes with the little computers on the bars? or you calculating these speeds by gearing and cadence. Riding a fixed gear with a little cateye or whatever sounds like a good topic for bikesnobnyc, from here!


When I ride long distances, I like to have a computer. Just a small wireless one. It does have a grade/altimeter function, which is fun when standing on climbs for 2 hours straight. Nice to see whether it really is steep, or I'm just worn out.


----------



## Touch0Gray

Fixed said:


> When I ride long distances, I like to have a computer. Just a small wireless one. It does have a grade/altimeter function, which is fun when standing on climbs for 2 hours straight. Nice to see whether it really is steep, or I'm just worn out.



yeah....about that...there is a difference between been worn out and being shot to hell........if you know what I mean....heheheh.....

Mostly I ride with something a bit more sophisticated than a cyclo-computer.......a gps unit...

I CAN pull almost any data I need or want from it without worrying with the pesky little HR, cadence issues....90% of the time I have it on the map page so I don't even know how fast I am going...(but I do know where I am...)


----------



## PdxMark

Fixed said:


> When I ride long distances, I like to have a computer. Just a small wireless one. It does have a grade/altimeter function, which is fun when standing on climbs for 2 hours straight. Nice to see whether it really is steep, or I'm just worn out.


+1 on the grade function. Though I can usually guess the grade within a percent or two, but the confirmation is nice.


----------



## wipeout

I've hit 38MPH 42x16...


----------



## Fixed

*more or less power?*



California L33 said:


> Even if you are right, don't forget that tearing ligaments and muscle use some of the energy, too


Cracked me up. 

Not sure of the math and physics on this one, but I'm just thinking that if it takes 1500 watts to accelerate up to 45 mph on flat ground, then it also takes 1500 watts to resist 45 mph downhill (opposite the force of gravity), even assuming you have a big enough gear to allow your legs to keep up. 

When I experimented slowing from 25 mph down a 6% grade, it was enormously difficult. You're point does seem a good one, though, that applying a little power over a longer period of time should work, too, even if it takes 10 minutes; however, the slower you go, the less help you have from the wind resistance slowing down, so you have to supply the force opposite gravity, which remains constant. Hmm.

Need Kerry Irons on this one.


----------



## goldsbar

Length is a big factor. I guessing I've been in the mid-upper 30's with a 42-16 on some of the shorter 6-8+% downhills. There's one hill nearby that's about 600 ft vert (I know, not much for some states) at about 5-6%. Can usually manage very low 40's on the steeper parts full tuck on my geared bike. I haven't come close to pulling that off using no brakes. I'm sure I could keep it slow the whole time using back presure on the pedals from the start but it would take 10 minutes to descend that way - about the time it takes to climb.

No brakes is for flat urban roads - still not smart. Let's see, light turns red at the bottom of aforementioned hill, I'm spinning at 175 rpms and I need to stop in a couple of hundred feet - I'll take brakes, make that 2.


----------



## Fixed

*length*



goldsbar said:


> Length is a big factor. I guessing I've been in the mid-upper 30's with a 42-16 on some of the shorter 6-8+% downhills. There's one hill nearby that's about 600 ft vert (I know, not much for some states) at about 5-6%. Can usually manage very low 40's on the steeper parts full tuck on my geared bike. I haven't come close to pulling that off using no brakes. I'm sure I could keep it slow the whole time using back presure on the pedals from the start but it would take 10 minutes to descend that way - about the time it takes to climb.
> 
> No brakes is for flat urban roads - still not smart. Let's see, light turns red at the bottom of aforementioned hill, I'm spinning at 175 rpms and I need to stop in a couple of hundred feet - I'll take brakes, make that 2.


While longer hills may allow greater speed, they also really wear you out. I rode this fixed, and the down almost seemed worse than the up:


----------



## OffRoadRoadie

I hear ya, no brakes is just too................hip for me.

Yeah, my 200+ rpm sessions are on short rollers (300-600 foot/6-8%) with a nice run out. The trick is to KEEP ACCELERATING  and stay just ahead of the gear, once you're past 175-185 rpms you can't stay on top of the gear without accelerating IMHO. 

I'm using the fixer as a winter training bike up here in the PNW, a group of us (range from 5-10 fixers) ride fixies all winter and sometimes we out number the coaster bikes.


----------



## Fixed

*acceleration*



OffRoadRoadie said:


> I hear ya, no brakes is just too................hip for me.
> 
> Yeah, my 200+ rpm sessions are on short rollers (300-600 foot/6-8%) with a nice run out. The trick is to KEEP ACCELERATING  and stay just ahead of the gear, once you're past 175-185 rpms you can't stay on top of the gear without accelerating IMHO.
> 
> I'm using the fixer as a winter training bike up here in the PNW, a group of us (range from 5-10 fixers) ride fixies all winter and sometimes we out number the coaster bikes.


It does seem that way. You at least have to feel like you are trying to accelerate, and sometimes you do, making things harder and harder the further you go. There is absolutely nothing passive about riding a fixed gear at these speeds and rpms. The pedals are not making your legs go around. You are desperately trying to keep up, maybe more like get out of the way of the pedals.

Additionally, there is a lot of mass in your legs going up and down largely. Leg's don't really go around, they go up and down, like connecting rods in an engine. It starts to feel like the g forces at the top and bottom get very high, when the delta V (change in direction and speed) becomes very high. Since your legs are far from rigid, there is some elasticity in them, which is good to a point, but at some higher point you can't keep up and control it. At that point, like I mentioned, it feels like your legs turn to rubber, get uncoordinated and out of balance, and all hell breaks loose. 

Part of the trick is to get the rest of your body to help out absorbing the changes in direction your legs are going through. You can't just sit on the saddle. Raise off the saddle and let your body absorb some. 

As you can tell, a huge part of doing this is coordination. It's not so much power, but maybe fast twitch fibers help. I think this coordination can be trained and learned. So, doing this a lot will help to learn to spin even faster. Plus, when you an train yourself to spin at 180 rpms, then 120 seems so much easier. Doing this raised my comfortable time trial rpms to over 100, and I got more power as a result, too. It also made it possible to keep up with freewheel bikes for much longer or steeper hills, albeit with a cost. While you can train yourself to spin very fast for long periods, it can chafe the heck out of you, and can wear you out. It's fun and impresses people, spinning like a sewing machine, but man is it hard on you when you repeatedly go 35 mph down hills on a double century. I was never chafed so badly in my life as when I did that in a 12 hour time trial with lots of hills (Davis 12/24 time trial). Use plenty of chamois butt'r if you want to do this.


----------



## OffRoadRoadie

Man, that's one nasty climb on a wimpy coaster bike but on a fixer? What gearing did you use?
A flip-flop hub with fixed/single speed freewheel for the return route is more my cup of tea, better yet how about a 24 fixed/12 single speed cog set up with dual sram power links so you could shorten the chain for the downhill on the 12?


----------



## Fixed

*purist*



OffRoadRoadie said:


> Man, that's one nasty climb on a wimpy coaster bike but on a fixer? What gearing did you use?
> A flip-flop hub with fixed/single speed freewheel for the return route is more my cup of tea, better yet how about a 24 fixed/12 single speed cog set up with dual sram power links so you could shorten the chain for the downhill on the 12?


I used a 47x19, about 66 inches. Someone had done the 155 mile ride single speed, with much lower gearing, so I just had to do something different. I prefer to be purist when it comes to fixies, so no flip flops or freewheels. Whatever you use to go up, you use to come down. more info: http://www.midcalracing.com/kaiser2004.htm


----------



## PdxMark

Fixed said:


> I prefer to be purist when it comes to fixies, so no flip flops or freewheels.


Agreed. Fixed works going up or down. If I want options, I have other bikes I can use. Besides, flipping over to a SS cog for a long descent always seemed to bump headlong into a simple practical problem for me. Even when riding in the mountains here, there's almost always another hill or two to go up & down after a big descent. Flipping to a SS cog for a descent wouldn't really be a one-time event, or it would be and alot of the ride would be SS rather than fixed. In short, I'm too lazy to flip and once I discovered that I could ride those distances & terrains fixed that was fine with me....

Of course, I am now the slowest cyclist in the group on long descents.


----------



## roadfix

Exactly. I don't like flipping wheels. Depending on my mood and type of terrain, I'll take either the fixed or the single speed bike that day.


----------



## Hagakure

David Loving said:


> Are you guys recording your speed on downhills, or on velodromes? What's your fastest speed on a track?


Being the Style Slag that I am I carry a GPS w/ a MASH sticker on the back of it in my Crumpler Messenger Bag so I have Sat' based speed checks.


----------



## dookie

OffRoadRoadie said:


> The trick is to KEEP ACCELERATING  and stay just ahead of the gear, once you're past 175-185 rpms you can't stay on top of the gear without accelerating IMHO.


absolutely.

i see 40-42mph with a 46x16 (76in) gear pretty regularly (downhill)...that's ~180rpm. Anything over maybe 150rpm gets very bouncy for me unless I'm on the power...no feathering the brakes and just spinning the legs, though i often do pedal against the brakes to control my speed. 170mm cranks.


----------



## wipeout

Fixed said:


> I used a 47x19, about 66 inches. Someone had done the 155 mile ride single speed, with much lower gearing, so I just had to do something different. I prefer to be purist when it comes to fixies, so no flip flops or freewheels. Whatever you use to go up, you use to come down. more info: http://www.midcalracing.com/kaiser2004.htm


I think crank length also determines how fast you can spin. With 175mm, I'm bouncing hard at 150rpm but smooth as silk with 170mm's. OK, perhaps not THAT smooth, but I can tell a difference!


----------



## OffRoadRoadie

Ditto


----------



## Dad Man Walking

3 pages of posts on this thread and not one mention of crankarm length? What size cranks are you 180-200 rpm-ers running? I can twiddle short cranks on a spin bike like there's no tomorrow but I max out way lower on my FG w/ 175's. Around 130rpm or so, I'm starting to look for the exit.


----------



## OffRoadRoadie

170 with 700c/23 and a 42x16 gearing.


----------



## Fixed

*170*



Dad Man Walking said:


> 3 pages of posts on this thread and not one mention of crankarm length? What size cranks are you 180-200 rpm-ers running? I can twiddle short cranks on a spin bike like there's no tomorrow but I max out way lower on my FG w/ 175's. Around 130rpm or so, I'm starting to look for the exit.


170 mm, 67-70 gear inches. Gotta get up the mountain, too.


----------



## Gene Kahn

TOP SPEED. When I ran out of pedal spinning ability, I was doing about 27 mph on my
Raleigh One Way fixed (42X15). Newer bike, a converted Orion (44X15) probably can
do better, unless I pass out first. Check out a YouTube called "Fixed Gear" very
nice video of guy in Chicago really hauling ass alongside a car.

Gener, Brooklyn NY


----------



## jmlapoint

36 MPH going downhill with a tailwind for about 13 seconds on a FG (45x17).


----------



## Fixedwheelnut

My max speed on fixed was 41mph using 170mm cranks, 46 x 18 with 23c tyres = 67.5" gear @205 rpm
I had to work it out when I got home as my 'Echo F2 computer' maxed out at 199rpm and was just flashing.
admittedley it wasn't for long.

I find my highest rpm speeds are a combination of a good day with loose legs, a smooth road surface, fairly straight and a hill that dips out and rises again so you know you can let the legs fly and slow down up the other side.

I agree with Fixed as well at high rpm you have to concentrate on staying on top of the gear and think of moving your feet out of the way of the pedals if that makes sense.
Another tip is grip the bars firmly but not too tight helps the bike float a bit when it all gets skippy at the back end.

On the flat sprinting against some freinds I have hit 163rpm and on my commute to work is a reasonable hill that see's 160-180rpm.

Does anyone else find that harmonic spot? where as you spin up it gets a bit bouncy around 140rpm then smooths out again until over 180 when everything starts bouncing around and the back of the bike skips about a bit 

Any long hills I use the brakes and keep it below 150 or my legs start melting.


----------



## Fixed

*wow*



Fixedwheelnut said:


> My max speed on fixed was 41mph using 170mm cranks, 46 x 18 with 23c tyres = 67.5" gear @205 rpm
> I had to work it out when I got home as my 'Echo F2 computer' maxed out at 199rpm and was just flashing.
> admittedley it wasn't for long.
> 
> I find my highest rpm speeds are a combination of a good day with loose legs, a smooth road surface, fairly straight and a hill that dips out and rises again so you know you can let the legs fly and slow down up the other side.
> 
> I agree with Fixed as well at high rpm you have to concentrate on staying on top of the gear and think of moving your feet out of the way of the pedals if that makes sense.
> Another tip is grip the bars firmly but not too tight helps the bike float a bit when it all gets skippy at the back end.
> 
> On the flat sprinting against some freinds I have hit 163rpm and on my commute to work is a reasonable hill that see's 160-180rpm.
> 
> Does anyone else find that harmonic spot? where as you spin up it gets a bit bouncy around 140rpm then smooths out again until over 180 when everything starts bouncing around and the back of the bike skips about a bit
> 
> Any long hills I use the brakes and keep it below 150 or my legs start melting.


205 rpms is really smoking. 

The hills I try this on typically are very long, like 3,000' vertical, so getting slowed back down can be touchy. 

Yes, I learned the hard way the first time I did 200 miles on a fixed gear that excessive spinning at 150 rpms will wear you out fast, but almost worse, will chafe the crap out of you.


----------



## David Loving

Why don't we try it on a track? I am amused by the tendency to complicate a cycling mode that is based on simplicity. Lordy, GPS, wireless cycling computers, that does it! I'm turning this thread in to Bike Snob NYC!

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/

And here it is:

Dear Bike Snob NYC:

I told them I'd turn them in to you, and now I am doing it. Would you please make a judgement call on this, in my opinion, out of control group of forum posters. This is a basic distortion of the fixed gear simplicity principles: GPS, cycling computers, and stories about how fast they can go. Please throw a net over these excesses!

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=156646

Thank you,

David Loving


----------



## Fixed

*simple?*

Well, it's not very simple when you don't have a track near by. Plus, it's a lot easier hitting 40 mph down hill than under your own power (at least for me). ;-)


----------



## David Loving

This just in! I got an e-mail reply from BikeSnobNYC who said,

"This is frightening. Fixed-gears are all about zen! Next think you know the tri-geeks on slowtwitch.com will be talking about training by feel!"


----------



## Fixed

*zen?*



David Loving said:


> This just in! I got an e-mail reply from BikeSnobNYC who said,
> 
> "This is frightening. Fixed-gears are all about zen! Next think you know the tri-geeks on slowtwitch.com will be talking about training by feel!"


I prefer to think that Fixed gears are not only about zen, but more importantly about doing things the hard way and proving that lots of technology is not necessary to ride a bike. 

Besides, I don't care what kind of vehicle it is, we always must know "how fast does it go?"


----------



## Touch0Gray

what ever is is all about......I have 2 geared bikes I ride and two fixed......it is a different experience, totally...and my Trek 400 conversion is a different FEEL than my Specialized Langster.......I don't particularly give a rats a$$ about the speed, I log almost all my rides after the fact and i ride purely for the love of riding.....trust me...Saturday my maximum speed was ONLY an issue because i was faster than the dog on the ice


----------



## David Loving

BSNYC's comment is apt: the fixed gear people into gps, computers and speed computations is sort of like the tri-geeks operating on feel! I just noticed a little difficulty at the intersection of "lots of technology is not necessary" and "how fast," that's all. The how fast function is relative to the other rider. There is always that direct connection that summons up the zen.


----------



## PdxMark

Fixed said:


> I prefer to think that Fixed gears are not only about zen, but more importantly about doing things the hard way and proving that lots of technology is not necessary to ride a bike.


and challenges ("can I actually DO that ride fixed?") and because a fixed gear bike can nicely even out fitness differences between riding partners and because fixed gear riding is just fun ...


----------



## Touch0Gray

David Loving said:


> BSNYC's comment is apt: the fixed gear people into gps, computers and speed computations is sort of like the tri-geeks operating on feel! I just noticed a little difficulty at the intersection of "lots of technology is not necessary" and "how fast," that's all. The how fast function is relative to the other rider. There is always that direct connection that summons up the zen.


interestingly enough, EVERYONE here and EVERYONE on BSNYC has a computer and technology in their hands.....I actually only have one cyclo-computer anymore, and 4 bikes....I just like keeping track.......my guess is that if no one had posed the original post, no one would have replied.....


----------



## David Loving

Thank goodness we have this internet to communicate, and learn on. Thank goodness we can get away from it all on these fixed gear rides. We have the best of both worlds.


----------



## Fixed

*challenges*



 PdxMark said:


> and challenges ("can I actually DO that ride fixed?")


Yes, a lot of the reason I have done some rides fixed is there mere challenge -- no one else has ever even attempted it. I'll never forget the looks on people's faces hanging around at the summit of the Climb to Kaiser at 9,200' elevation when I showed up on my fixed gear. Priceless.


----------



## Fixed

*technology...*



Touch0Gray said:


> interestingly enough, EVERYONE here and EVERYONE on BSNYC has a computer and technology in their hands.....I actually only have one cyclo-computer anymore, and 4 bikes....I just like keeping track.......my guess is that if no one had posed the original post, no one would have replied.....


Yes, a simple computer to measure distance and speed isn't exactly all teched out like having a 900 gram carbon nanotube frame with 22 speed Campy Super Record and Lightweight carbon fiber wheels...


----------



## Fixed

*harmonic spot*



Fixedwheelnut said:


> Does anyone else find that harmonic spot? where as you spin up it gets a bit bouncy around 140rpm then smooths out again until over 180 when everything starts bouncing around and the back of the bike skips about a bit.


I think I figured this one out (on a long hilly fixed ride yesterday). Seated normally, I can stay smooth up to about 140-150 rpms. Then the bouncing starts. However, if I lift off the seat slightly, things get very smooth again up to redline. Maybe we do that without even thinking most of the time.


----------



## Tig

Using 1 wheel magnet or 2? :wink: 

Wow, I haven't been in the fixed forum in a while, so I'm somewhat tardy.

Back when I was a bit younger, still used a computer, and still pretended to be a racer, I recorded 38 MPH in a flat road sprint with a 39x15 gear, which comes out to be around 186 RPM. 
It was for only a few seconds, and I was seriously fighting the need to puke all over my bars!


----------

