i'll jump in on this one; i live in san francisco, and do most of my riding on city streets or in marin (mostly rolling hills with a few punishers; the climb out of sausalito in particular).
i've got 3 fixed-gear bikes; a '77 fuji sprint, a KOF custom build by a guy named joe levante (anyone know anything about this guy? i can't find anything on the web), and KOF keirin frame called a 'peleton' that i built al-njs, except for the rims.
47x16 (77.2") seems to be the perfect city gearing for me; tall enough to get some speed on the flats, and short enough to get me up all but the most severe hills.
for longer rides i'll usually drop down a few inches (45x17 seems to work pretty well).
i've got friends who push 80+", but since i'm not a big guy, and i like my knees, i stick with the lower gearing
on the bikes that have flip-flop hubs i usually keep a bail-out cog 2 teeth bigger than the main one.
galen pewtherer san 'not really THAT hilly' francisco, ca
On 9/23/05, brianbaylis@juno.com <brianbaylis@juno.com> wrote:
>
> Sam,
>
> The best tip I can give you is to keep riding it. It's a whole new world
and has tremendous benifits.
>
> Brian Baylis
>
>
>
> -- sam lingo <frameteam2003@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I dropped by the lobby at the Houston show for a peek
> at the frames and to see a couple of old Friends.Got a
> change to talk briefly with Brian Baylis.He advised
> sense my work didn't permit regular ride times to try
> a fixed gear for a more condensed work out.It took me
> a while to build a fixed gear but finely finished
> one.I've staked out a nice 15 mile round trip from my
> house and rode it twice so far.First time the saddle
> was too high,this time a lot better.This is a self
> training project and was wondering if others use a
> fixed gear for training or such?And any tips on this
> type of ride?
> always your comments are appreciated---sam
> sam lingo,pleasanton tx
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> _______________________________________________
>
--
-galen