Fixie Thammasat: Pedaling Technique

Fixie Thammasat
Part III: Pedaling Technique


Fixie for Beginners #1: On a Fixie, pedaling is everything. Thammasat can never STOP pedaling, so Thammasat might as well do it right! Pedaling supplies power, acceleration, deceleration, stopping, and balance. These functions are the basics of your Fixie riding, and to perform them well Thammasat need spin, power and smoothness.


Fixie Thammasat #2: What is Spin?
Turning the pedals quickly. Some riders pedal over 200rpm (that's over 3 pedal revolutions per second), especially in the burst of a sprint or down a safe hill. Normal cadence, which is fine for everyday Fixie riding, is between 90 and 120rpm. If Thammasat encounter a safe downhill that Thammasat know doesn't have an obstacle or stop light at the bottom, then you can ride Fixie it out, which might require more than 120rpm. But even if your pedals never have to rotate at a great rate, the ability of your legs to push Fixie greater speeds will give Thammasat greater control of Fixie at any rpm.

Fixie for Beginners #3: What is Power?

Applying greater force to the Fixie pedals. This is a factor in all forms of cycling!

Fixie Thammasat #4: What is Smoothness?

Applying force to the Fixie pedals at all points of their motion. This is a key factor both to spin and to the overall force that gets transferred to the Fixie  pedals. Smooth pedaling is circular pedaling. During uneven, unsmooth pedaling, Thammasat mostly push down. That is, thammasat apply force only in the downstroke. This means that the you push forward and down with the legs, and let the Fixie pedals carry the legs back and up to the top of the stroke. At higher cadences, this kind of unsmooth pedaling can be seen and felt. The body may rock from side to side, the torso bob back and forth, or the butt bounce up and down on the saddle.

During smooth pedaling, you transmit force to the Fixie pedal throughout its motion. With the aid of toeclips or clipless pedals, thammasat can push backwards across the bottom of the pedal stroke and pull upwards at the back of the stroke. Extraneous motion is reduced, allowing more power to the Fixie pedals. This makes for greater overall efficiency and speed

Fixie for Beginners: Equipment

Fixie for Beginners
Part II: Equipment
For beginners like you, getting to know your Fixie is also important. Here are some great tips for Fixie for beginners. 

Fixie for Beginners: Start with a Fixie whose frame fits you, beginners, well, not too large and not too small. 

It's best if it has rearward-facing horizontal dropouts--'track ends'. beginners find track ends on track bikes, singlespeed mountain bikes, and on 'street Fixie' bikes. Street Fixie have become common over the last couple of years. They are affordable Fixie bikes that look like track racers, but have a heavier and more relaxed frame and drillings for a front and perhaps a rear brake. As of this writing, street Fixie bikes are being made by Surly, Bianchi, KHS, Gunnar, Urban Cycles and Fuji, although not all of these are appropriate for offroad use.

To enable you, beginners, to back-pedal hard without loosening the cog, beginners'll need a proper Fixie hub with a steel lockring.

beginners'll probably change your setup once you, beginners, gain some basic skills. But the following suggestions should shorten your, beginners, ramp-up time.

Fixie for Beginners:Clips and straps, not clipless pedals

These allow beginners to use the backs of the pedals for balancing drills while you're learning.

Fixie for Beginners:Shoes with flat rubber soles and no cleats

While beginners're learning, it's good if beginners can quickly slide into the clips and back out without sticking. I have found soccer shoes and skateboarding shoes ideal for this purpose. Don't use running or basketball shoes, as the sole is too knobby for quick entry and exit. They may also be too bulky to fit smoothly into the toeclips.

Fixie for Beginners: Front brake on fixed gear

A Fixie back brake is optional, a Fixie front brake is mandatory--not just for safety, but also because it is required by law in most countries. If beginners live in an area where legislation allows beginners to ride brakeless Fixie, then the first step is a front-brake-only setup. beginners myself wanted to go brakeless, but beginners was cautious. beginners kept the front brake on my Fixie for an entire year while I learned. Then I took it off and never used it again.

Fixie for BeginnersLow gear 

Choose a gear that's low enough to get beginners up the hills, but not so low that beginners lose control on the way down. Gearing is a personal matter, of course, but something in the high 60s or low 70s is usually considered a good choice to learn with. Here are some likely chainring/cog combinations on a 700c bike, with the resulting gear expressed in inches. 26" wheelers should check the sidebar for further pointers. 

48x19 = 68.2"
48x18 = 72.0"
46x18 = 69.0"
46x17 = 73.1"
44x17 = 69.9"
44x16 = 74.3"

Fixie for Beginners


Credited: http://www.63xc.com/gregg/101_3.htm

Fixed Gear for Beginners: Safety Measure

Fixed Gear for Beginners
Part 1: Safety Measures


Fixed Gear for Beginners: 1.1
Always wear a helmet. Many beginners think that wearing a helmet is not cool. Some of my fixed gear buddy never wears a helmet. Some of my fixed gear buddy's live was saved by wearing helmets. For fixed gear beginners: "Wear a helmet, but don't use it"

Fixed Gear for Beginners: 1.2
If you have enough fixed gear shop to choose from, find a fixed gear shop where they are knowledgeable about fixed gears and beginners. If you are not a mechanic, then have a mechanic check your fixed gear out.


Fixed Gear for Beginners: 1.3

Make sure that the rear hub has been made as back-pedal-safe as possible. On a fixed gear hub, a strong steel lockring is a must. fixed gear for beginners. 

Fixed Gear for Beginners:1.4

Make sure that your fixed gear chain is strong, because your fixed gear chain is essential to both your drive-train and your ability to stop. There are strong track fixed gear chains by Izumi and HKK, and strong BMX chains by KMC. Your fixed chain isn't the place to skimp on dollars or save weight. Don't make a beginner move. 

Fixed Gear for Beginners: 1.5

As a fixed gear beginner, you must warm up or stretch before you ride fixed gear.

Credited: http://www.63xc.com/index.htm

Fixed Gear 101: Tips for beginners

Enough for the background information of Fixed Gear and you finally get one of them Fixies.
I decided to gather some helpful tips, advices and guides for fixed gear beginners.


For Beginners, these are the most important tips
1. If this is your first fixed gear and you are very new to fixed gear. The first tips of fixed gear for beginners is USE A FRONT BRAKE. This is for emergency since you won' be able to skid stop your very first time on fixed gear. I know it is not cool to have a brake but it would be better ... trust me.




2. Use Toe Clips is the second tips of fixed gear for beginners. Riding fixed gear takes time for beginners to get use to. If you are riding fast or zooming down hills, you want to be clipped. You don't want your feet to slip off the pedals. It can be a scary experience for fixed gear beginners when they can't get their feet back on the pedals.

3. Be aware of the surrounding. This is also an important tips for fixed gear beginners. As a beginner, when you are on a fixed gear you have to be extra reactive to your surrounding.  Because, for beginners, you won't be able to have a full control over your fixed gear. You can't react as fast as you think you could. So, ... read the road ahead.

4. Find your flow. This is the last tips of fixed gear for beginners. For beginners, you want to be very comfortable riding on fixed gear. It is important for beginners to find a nice fixed gear riding rhythm. Distribute power evenly so you don't get tired of riding fixed gear. You can't stop pedaling on fixed gear so you need to make it as comfortable for yourself.


I hope this fixed gear for beginners tips will help beginners like you ..

Credited: http://www.buyafixie.com/

Fixed Gear for Beginner Lesson

Fixed Gear Cartoon;

Some funny comic from Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery

Don't Steal Bikes, Bro

Fixed Gear for Beginner Tip#1: Fixie cant be stolen !!

Why have fixed gear bikes become so popular?

Fixed Gear for Beginner: Getting to know Fixed Gear


The Subculture Factor

People love subcultures, especially when its protagonists are perceived as cool. Nobody doubts that the use of skateboards spread rapidly not only because kids loved to ride a table with wheels, but also because they wanted to ressemble a bunch of really cool Californian teenagers who did it.

Light, Clean Look and Endless Customization

Long, long gone are the times when biking meant bulky bicycles with tons of accessories. As these vehicles get more integrated to everyday lives, people are looking for simple models that just get the job done. Additionally, we live in times when frugal living and simpleness have become desirable values for some segments. 

So the simple and clean look of fixies fits right in in these two aspirations. They're as clean as it gets for bikes, with just light frames, no gears and thin tires. Bingo.

You can surely modify and customize almost any bike, but there is a whole culture of customizing fixed gear bikes that has surely added to the growth of the trend.

The Trend

Finally, let's just say it: Fixed Gear bikes are so hot right now because they're in fashion, and some people are always looking for the next big thing.
But as we know, some trends come and go in a minute, and others find a way to stick around and create a whole industry around them. are temporary, others come to stay.
Will the Fixed Gear stay? What do you think?

by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires

What is a Fixed Gear Bike?

Fixed Gear for Beginner: Fixie 101


A fixed gear bicycle or Fixie is a bicycle that has no freewheel, meaning it cannot coast — the pedals are always in motion when the bicycle is moving.

The sprocket is screwed or bolted directly onto a fixed hub. When the rear wheel turns, the pedals turn in the same direction. This allows a cyclist to stop without using a brake, by resisting the rotation of the cranks, and also to ride in reverse. 

Credited: Wikipedia.com

Any enthusiastic cyclists ride such bicycles by choice, at least part of the time. Why would anybody do that? It is not easy to put into words. There is an almost mystical connection between a fixed-gear cyclist and bicycle, it feels like an extension of your body to a greater extent than does a freewheel-equipped machine. If you are an enthusiastic, vigorous cyclist, you really should give it a try.