Yesterday was a real test of my commitment to fixed/ss riding -- I don't own any multispeed bike; well, except the little drop frame Schwinn Sprint I got at GW for my daughter's bike stable. And it was an example of how weight, especially wheel weight, matters. Anyway, yesterday morning I wanted to ride directly North to Mom's, which, in the shortest route, is 8 miles away, with 4 miles of climbing, some of it in steep 1/2 mile sections. And of course, we had a wind that (per NWS) was low 20s gusting to low 30s. My '03 Curt road custom fixed has a 69" gear. And, to boot, there is only 1 1/2 mile of more or less flat to warm up on; and again, yesterday, against a strong wind.
I made it, and didn't even use the 60" bailout, but at the expense of going very slowly; I think I averaged 10 mph, and I had to stand even in some of the flatter sections. Now, if I had been riding my 35 lb Monocog (35 with Nelson) I would have had to walk, even with the lower, 63" gear. The wheels of the Riv - 559 Sun M14A rims at 360 grams, shod with 1" Turbos at 190 grams, are rather lighter than those on the Monocog with 780 gram Snowcat SL rims and 900+ gram 60 mm Big Apples. (The ride back home was faster, of course.) On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 9:28 PM, charlie <charles_v...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > I suppose it all depends on whether or not the added weight of the > bike slows a rider down. Me being 60 pounds overweight doesn't help > but then I keep up with my riding partner who is much leaner. I ride > my "two speed" freewheel bike quite a bit and its around 21 pounds. I > definitely notice the difference between it and my normal long range > bike but I prefer the ruggedness of my geared bike for routes unknown. > The older I get the less it seems I am concerned for how fast I get > somewhere on my bicycle. Its doesn't appear to me that there is a > major difference in my times over the distances (between 10 & 40 miles > usually) I normally ride. Maybe I would think it more important on a > century ride but I'm not quite sure why I should be. To quote an old > saying, different strokes for different folks"! =) > > On Sep 29, 7:47 pm, "Bill M." <bmenn...@comcast.net> wrote: > > On Sep 28, 7:35 pm, charlie <charles_v...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > > So this means you can go 2-5 miles further in an hour of cycling ? ;) > > > > Completely inconsequential if you're riding alone. Maybe less so if > > the group you're riding with is now 2 - 5 miles ahead. That makes > > conversation difficult and tries their patience at regroup points. > > > > Bill > > (who alternates between 18 pound, 22 pound and 26 pound bikes > > depending on terrain and company) > > > -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW at resumespecialt...@gmail.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
