The comfort at descending will come. What I found helpful was to use the brakes to a specific point on known hills, then let loose. At first, it was half way down, then 3/4's and then eventually the whole thing. It takes a while to develop that "release" of the legs while your upper body and hips just wants to clench and tension. It's a balance, to be sure.
I find still that (with a 40 x 14T setup on the QB) at 25 mph and 34 on downhills, there's a little hitch that creeps into my movements. Something about the biomechanical mechanism... But, it levels out below and above that point. It also fluctuates a bit - sometimes ~26, others ~23, so it definitely is me and the way my body moves. Just one or two pedal strokes usually. Freaked me out the first time it occurred. Took me a couple weeks to get comfortable in general riding fixed. Stayed on known routes. It is about gearing for the downhill. And there's no reason not to scrub speed to stay right at your discomfort point. That's where your legs need to get used to a new motion. I find that fixed gear climbing is easier than a coastable setup once you get the momentum figured out. Much easier. 70-75" of gear is probably the most common, especially for urban use. Two other experiences: After I'd been riding exclusively fixed for three or four weeks, I cannot relate the level of panic I felt when "accidentally" coasting on a non-fixed setup. Also, I've gotten in trouble on trails after getting used to my rear wheel as the "third brake" There's a long straight stretch on one of my routes which requires that I merge through two lanes of traffic for a left turn. It's a mild downhill incline, usually into the prevailing wind. Usually I can do this at traffic speed (~25 - 30 mph). One day on my first fixed gear bike - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclofiend/290268731/ - (yeah, it was too small...) I cranked it up and began moving. That day, the winds were behind me, at a pretty good level. I suddenly had the very definite feeling that I was moving faster on that bicycle than I'd ever been going - at a cadence which was above my comfort level. On a coastable, you can stop pedaling and scrub speed. On the fixed gear I could not. With some judicious braking, I got down into my comfort range, but definitely needed a little decompression after that. Take small bites and enjoy! - Jim / cyclofiend.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
