On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 9:58 AM, charlie <charles_v...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > I love riding my 'two speed' poor mans version of the Quickbeam. I > have mine geared 50 and 65 gear inches which works for me. You'll fine > the rhythm of the ride changes. You won't be able to constantly be in > the 'perfect gear' so you will have to spin some and mash some and let > your legs tell when to ease up. I did a local hilly ride in my 50 inch > gear and found it tough on the climbs and somewhat frustrating on the > flats although not intolerable. I could have switched out to my 65 > inch but I am basically lazy. The ride turned out fine as I could not > stay in a higher gear and grind out a higher speed. I find when riding > a derailleurless bike I have to relax a little and coast on the > downhills and save my legs for climbing. My times over my favorite > routes however are not any slower on average compared to my geared > bikes. as long as you have your bike geared for your legs you should > be fine. Take your geared bike out and leave it in a 60 inch gear and > see what its like. Don't allow yourself to shift and then try another > ratio. That is how I determined my gear choices and I wound up making > my bike, when it was just a one speed, with a 60 inch gear. I started out doing just that with my derailleur bike, leaving it in a 63" gear. I quickly moved up the gear inch spectrum, though, once I started riding bona fide fixed. As for pacing oneself, to me that is one of the great joys of fixed (and ss) riding: having to adapt your efforts and pedalling style to the terrain, wind, and your own mental and physical states rather than making the bike adapt by gearing up or down. And again, your adapt physiologically. I used to be a flatland spinner; now one of the great joys of fixed riding is standing and climbing on a challenging hill -- and I can no longer spin worth a durn, unfortunately, which is annoying when trying to pace another rider on a gearie on the flats. I should do some small gear distances myself to fix that. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
