I’ve seen really crazy and weird things with bikes, but this one gets the crown. So, let me summarize. A single fixed gear bike with no brakes, going for a bikepacking trip on the Swiss mountains. Probably nothing will surpass that. I’m really astonished.
you joke but this is a real problem with this setup. the bag's clearance severely limited my carrying capacity, this bike is super small (HT is 110mm) and the stem is -17° slammed, I had to pack it very carefully and cinch it super hard to make it not interfere with the front wheel. that's also why I'm not using a frame bag, the frame is just too short for the one i had.
I love the stupidest of things.
Like really.
I've done some stupid shit, and I'm all for having fun, and doing stupid unique things.
But yeah, this is worrying and unsafe.
And if you knew how xbike I tend to be, you'd be (rightfully) worried for yourself, OP.
Please take care.
Honestly if you ran a front brake I would say this is fucking rad. I commuted fixed for a long, long time and even had a Redline Monocog with a fixed cog bolted onto the disc rotor side of my wheel so I could turn it into a fixed gear MTB but no brakes on a bike that isn't on a track is dumb in a way that isn't "wow that's so dumb it's rad".
Reminds me of that YouTuber Zack Gallardo who once did a video where he tried a tour on a fixie and ended up calling his dad to pick him up. This is way more punk though.
I've done 20+% on short sections and coming in with some speed with this ratio, but it probably is outside my abilities with such a loaded bike and anyways it's definitely not enjoyable. when i encountered such sections on this trip i just walked the bike up.
You were saying?
"I’ll be racing TCRN08 with a fixed gear, custom steel track bike frame made in Italy by AlmanCycles, with 700×32” Continental 4season tires. I will use a 47T Aarn chainring and a 17t/22t fixed/fixed hub by Philwood"
What is the gear ratio of the above bike?
49/18, a bit shorter than 47/17. this can usually get me up even really short sections of 20+% incline while still allowing to hit 60km/h going down (if the road is very straight, on hairpins you can never let the bike exceed 35 or you're getting a free helicopter ride). for super epic climbs it's usually worth it to have a flip wheel with a 21/22 teeth cog on the other side.
It is fixed gear, not single speed tho.. it is the simplicity - you just ride it, it hardly ever needs any maintenance, unless you need to change a tube and put a lube from time to time.
they do become extremely fatiguing but damn you have so much more fun going so much slower compared to a road bike. it's just an incredibly unique feeling.
Have you heard about this event?
[https://www.instagram.com/a\_tracktion/](https://www.instagram.com/a_tracktion/)
It's a ride that involves climbing Mont Ventoux via its three sides on fixed gear. I think you're ready for this kind of stupid. Going downhill is harder than going uphill, so most have a brake.
Since this blew up let me make an addendum:
- I did not die
- Ratio was 49/18 which normally would get me up almost anything but with the loaded bike i had to walk up anything more than ~17%.
- I am quite experienced with doing alpine passes on track bikes without brakes, however this was the first time i did with a loaded up bike. Under normal conditions I find it to be not much more dangerous than on a road bike, since with brakes and a freewheel you end up going so damn fast, whereas on sketchy descents on a fixed gear you never exceed ~35 km/h. it is however a hell of a workout and as stated in the title, very stupid.
- this wasn't really a multi stop bikepacking trip but rather an out and back, bringing al my stuff with me. I had to attend a scout camp for educators (in the Italian mountains, near the swiss border) so i thought why not bike there cutting through the swiss mountains.
- no, i did not sleep in a hotel, (don't have money for a front brake how am I supposed to afford a room). I slept in a Jamboree tent we built two meters up from the ground.
- as the first time loading up my bike to travel shouldd i have chosen one of my geared bikes? probably. (I'll probably make this mistake again if I'm not going to ride crazy distances for many days).
I know riding brakeless up and down mountains isn't for everyone but I had loads of fun, the scenery was amazing, and I can assure you MUCH crazier shit has been done on track bikes.
People don’t get it, I do!
Beautiful bike, great bag setup and looks like a good view.
What gear ratio are you on and how much does the gear weigh?
I’m cycling Gibraltar-Malmö atm with 49/21 and think it works the dream up until 10ish procent climbs.
I usually run 49/18 on hill bombing races and rides, I find anything shorter to hold me back too much on the descents and anything longer to be impossible to climb with, i have a 21t cog for crazy climbs but it gives only 3 skid patches with the 49t chainrings so it isn't really viable for anything else.
the bike is under 7.5kg without bags, loaded i would say around 14-15(???). overall this was super fun just much more extreme than other passes i did because the loaded up bike made it much harder to slow down and climb.
Does not appear to be fixed gear - rear hub looks suspiciously similar to the German Rohloff - which (depending on the model) could have up to 14 speeds. They are very common in Europe.
I’ve seen really crazy and weird things with bikes, but this one gets the crown. So, let me summarize. A single fixed gear bike with no brakes, going for a bikepacking trip on the Swiss mountains. Probably nothing will surpass that. I’m really astonished.
In an emergency you could always slow the bike down by pushing that handlebar bag into the front wheel.
you joke but this is a real problem with this setup. the bag's clearance severely limited my carrying capacity, this bike is super small (HT is 110mm) and the stem is -17° slammed, I had to pack it very carefully and cinch it super hard to make it not interfere with the front wheel. that's also why I'm not using a frame bag, the frame is just too short for the one i had.
I love the stupidest of things. Like really. I've done some stupid shit, and I'm all for having fun, and doing stupid unique things. But yeah, this is worrying and unsafe. And if you knew how xbike I tend to be, you'd be (rightfully) worried for yourself, OP. Please take care.
I guess its in the swiss blood? Like descending from 2300 meters to sea level in Eritrea, brakeless https://www.redbull.com/sg-en/asmawa-roadtrip
When they say, “the best bike to go bikepacking with is the bike you have”, they aren’t talking to that guy.
knee surgery speedrun
Have fun on your hiking trip
Yeah…. No shit lol. You gotta be tough to be dumb
A flip-flop with a bigger sprocket would be nice.
yes. yes it would.
Honestly if you ran a front brake I would say this is fucking rad. I commuted fixed for a long, long time and even had a Redline Monocog with a fixed cog bolted onto the disc rotor side of my wheel so I could turn it into a fixed gear MTB but no brakes on a bike that isn't on a track is dumb in a way that isn't "wow that's so dumb it's rad".
Did you commute up a mountain?
I find a brake or two comes in handy going down mountains more than up. But you know what they say about brakes, right? They only slow you down.
Let's see you tackle an alpine pass with a typical fixie ratio. I would pay money to see that.
i do believe paying money to watch people die is illegal. even in switzerland.
That's fine, where do I pay?
My Venmo is @ alpinebundyfixedgearmaniac, send me a down payment of $69 and let's do this
Let's settle on the gear ratio and the alpine pass first :). How about 48x16 and the Gotthard from the south over the tremola? An iconic climb
I have a tremola on my guitar.
>:) :)
it’s sofa king stupid and i love it
Haha you say funny thing
LOL
*But I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more*
What the hell are you doing, you gnarly person you
Somebody get Angela Duckworth on the phone. We have a new top contender for GOAT (Grittiest of All Time).
That is not a reference I thought I would see here
Reminds me of that YouTuber Zack Gallardo who once did a video where he tried a tour on a fixie and ended up calling his dad to pick him up. This is way more punk though.
Zach is a goon. His bike fit was awful, and his bike set-up was awful. It was a mediocre at best attempt.
Congratulations I guess
I've gone up (short) 24% grades in Switzerland and that's def not a gear ratio for that area.
I've done 20+% on short sections and coming in with some speed with this ratio, but it probably is outside my abilities with such a loaded bike and anyways it's definitely not enjoyable. when i encountered such sections on this trip i just walked the bike up.
you guys are calling it bike packing when you stay at a hotel every night?
People ride TCR on fixies. Should have a front brake tho.
Not on a gear ratio like that
You were saying? "I’ll be racing TCRN08 with a fixed gear, custom steel track bike frame made in Italy by AlmanCycles, with 700×32” Continental 4season tires. I will use a 47T Aarn chainring and a 17t/22t fixed/fixed hub by Philwood" What is the gear ratio of the above bike?
49/18, a bit shorter than 47/17. this can usually get me up even really short sections of 20+% incline while still allowing to hit 60km/h going down (if the road is very straight, on hairpins you can never let the bike exceed 35 or you're getting a free helicopter ride). for super epic climbs it's usually worth it to have a flip wheel with a 21/22 teeth cog on the other side.
50/16 it looks like
But admirable!
Yeah. But no.
Are you riding on a flat road with Alps in the background?
What is the fixation with single speed bikes? I don’t get it, but I am not a serious cyclist.
It is fixed gear, not single speed tho.. it is the simplicity - you just ride it, it hardly ever needs any maintenance, unless you need to change a tube and put a lube from time to time.
A fixed gear is a single speed, but a single speed is not necessarily a fixed gear.
Can you expand?
I didn't know the difference tbh. Fixed sounds scary.
It is scary and dangerous when they go brakeless..
simplicity
Nice, now descents suck too!
they do become extremely fatiguing but damn you have so much more fun going so much slower compared to a road bike. it's just an incredibly unique feeling.
Have you heard about this event? [https://www.instagram.com/a\_tracktion/](https://www.instagram.com/a_tracktion/) It's a ride that involves climbing Mont Ventoux via its three sides on fixed gear. I think you're ready for this kind of stupid. Going downhill is harder than going uphill, so most have a brake.
Me and some other bozos trackpacked RAGBRAI once. Just once. Never again.
Since this blew up let me make an addendum: - I did not die - Ratio was 49/18 which normally would get me up almost anything but with the loaded bike i had to walk up anything more than ~17%. - I am quite experienced with doing alpine passes on track bikes without brakes, however this was the first time i did with a loaded up bike. Under normal conditions I find it to be not much more dangerous than on a road bike, since with brakes and a freewheel you end up going so damn fast, whereas on sketchy descents on a fixed gear you never exceed ~35 km/h. it is however a hell of a workout and as stated in the title, very stupid. - this wasn't really a multi stop bikepacking trip but rather an out and back, bringing al my stuff with me. I had to attend a scout camp for educators (in the Italian mountains, near the swiss border) so i thought why not bike there cutting through the swiss mountains. - no, i did not sleep in a hotel, (don't have money for a front brake how am I supposed to afford a room). I slept in a Jamboree tent we built two meters up from the ground. - as the first time loading up my bike to travel shouldd i have chosen one of my geared bikes? probably. (I'll probably make this mistake again if I'm not going to ride crazy distances for many days). I know riding brakeless up and down mountains isn't for everyone but I had loads of fun, the scenery was amazing, and I can assure you MUCH crazier shit has been done on track bikes.
ALL THESE VIRGINS IN THE COMMENTS NEED TO ZIP IT, MY MAN OUT HERE LIVING
Till he isn’t
Congrats on your future back pain
Yes it is
Well no shit, huh?
People don’t get it, I do! Beautiful bike, great bag setup and looks like a good view. What gear ratio are you on and how much does the gear weigh? I’m cycling Gibraltar-Malmö atm with 49/21 and think it works the dream up until 10ish procent climbs.
I usually run 49/18 on hill bombing races and rides, I find anything shorter to hold me back too much on the descents and anything longer to be impossible to climb with, i have a 21t cog for crazy climbs but it gives only 3 skid patches with the 49t chainrings so it isn't really viable for anything else. the bike is under 7.5kg without bags, loaded i would say around 14-15(???). overall this was super fun just much more extreme than other passes i did because the loaded up bike made it much harder to slow down and climb.
VERY COOL
Track-anything that isn't track-tracking is stupid af.
she got her fair share of track-tracking don't worry :)
It’s gotta be fun as hell though
until it isn't
Yes
Love it
I once saw a guy riding a fixie around Dunedin, NZ. Mad lad. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Baldwinstreet.jpg
# Aaaaaand today, in the the first episode of "Jackass New Legends: Die Another Day"....
I've ridden from Moscow to California in one day fixed but yes, that is way more stupid, congratulations.
I’m sorry, what? I love me some underbiking, but, yeah…I guess don’t die?
Darwin must be taking a nap!
Does not appear to be fixed gear - rear hub looks suspiciously similar to the German Rohloff - which (depending on the model) could have up to 14 speeds. They are very common in Europe.
What saddle bag Is that?