Is that Hell of the Ashdown? I’ve done that twice (2009, 2010) and really enjoyed it. But never went back. I always wanted to do an audax but never got round to it. I’m too lazy now to go somewhere to ride my bike (and I don’t own a car any more which makes it more complicated!)
2 Likes
Thats the one, fantastic event dont get me wrong, wasnt 2009 the year it snowed? or was like well below zero?Might have been 2008. I rode that route every week when i trained properly. Imagine an Ironman on that bike course, that is basically the Bastion, with a hilly trail run after 
IMJ has become a sad place, dominated by B rate coaches, Simon Ward and the odd stupid question. Even ST has just become the place where thick people go for total banality
4 Likes
the latter…mostly…
3 Likes
What about the lever/cabling; it’s not much of a faff then?
the fixie brakes are like BMX levers so one hex bolt on lever, and one through the forks. 2 minute job
3 Likes
Cosmetic only, he never said you actually use them!
4 Likes
If riding sensibly you rarely need the brakes on fixie as you can control speed with cranks, only time is emergency stop.
4 Likes
Pre-covid I fancied taking a trip to see what the Red Hook and Rad Race were all about, never likely to take part though, I’m ok on a fixie but not that ok!
1 Like
I’ve only had one very brief go on a fixie. The thing I’m puzzled by is cornering, when you’d normally lift the inside pedal for ground clearance.
Do you have to corner much slower to avoid leaning over as far, or hang off Moto GP style to keep the bike itself more upright?
3 Likes
I tend to go a bit slower but proper riders use shorter cranks to try and avoid hitting the ground at the bottom of the pedal stroke
3 Likes
I had a couple of winters where went old school and I did all of my long rides on the fixie, including some reasonable hills.
I found going up the hills OK, but descending was a bit scary! When I started to feel the pedal pulling my foot over the top it was usually time to start to apply the brakes 
1 Like
bit slowly, less lean but a proper track bike BB’s are much higher and you use 165 cranks as well . I have still managed a pedal strike but luckily got away with it. the hardest thing to get used to is drops off curbs / up curbs!
4 Likes
yep Ive hit ~170rpm in Greenwich Park!
2 Likes
Oh yeah, that never even crossed my mind.
2 Likes
unfortunately it didnt mine until my first ride and I very nearly went A over T 
3 Likes
Yeah, same applies to speed bumps, pot holes and anything that you might normally stand and freewheel over
1 Like
weird thing is when i first got it, everyone said you WILL crash when you forget to pedal, oh they are dangerous how do you stop, but I found I actually forgot to freewheel getting back on a normal bike rather than the other way around, and the fixie made me a little calmer on the road, and i also found they handle better and i could stop just as quickly if not better with the ability to skid the back wheel. I did lower my gearing to a 42 / 17 on advice from @Joxster which meant climbing was better than the 46 / 16 it came with (still tough though) and on flat 100rpm was still around 20mph so not slow. the downside is I had 3 climbs on way home, ~ 3min, 4 minutes and 5 minutes so not massive but sometimes i literally just wanted to get off and push and it made cycling a bit of a chore on those days you aren’t feeling it as you always had to go above threshold on the climbs to keep the legs turning.
5 Likes
I still try and freewheel at least once a ride while I’m still getting back into it but at least I’ve dispensed with pointless attempt at changing gears!
When I was commuting the ease of trackstands at traffic lights was great, this was back in the day with double toe straps so best to learn quickly.
2 Likes