Dear Brian and List,
I don't know why people are equating fixed gears with knee problems. There are plenty of other ways in which to damage your knees that have nothing to do with gearing. Setting your saddle height too low is one of them, as this places high pressure loads on your knees.
The old-timer riders I know ride fixed mainly in winter to protect their knees. Their accepted wisdom stated that knee cartilage shrinks in cold weather and so the knees become more prone to injury. By riding fixed, thus spinning at high cadences, this problem is avoided and the knee is conditioned to greater elasticity and the 'fast twitch' muscle sets are improved. This was an approach adopted by many professional riders training in winter , and possibly it still is.
Beryl Burton solely rode fixed gear, at around 96", for time trials including the 12 hour. Her cycling career was brought to an end by a fatal heart attack, not knee problems.
Knee problems riding fixed are only likely to occur when you are pushing a high gear (e.g. 80+") and are trying to resistance brake (not skid brake). Since most urban fixed riders push lower gears and skid brake, they are unlikely to be making their way to a knee specialist anytime soon!
Kind regards,
Mark Lawrence Oxford, United Kingdom
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of brianbaylis@juno.com Sent: 13 October 2009 15:56 To: tobitlinke@hotmail.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR] Fixie Fad Classicrendezvous Digest, Vol 82, Issue 55
Tobit,
That's the spirit! That may be the next trend once some of these kids catch on that there any MANY types of bicycles.
The other up side of the fixed gear fad is that eventually these kids will gain an appreciation for bicycles in general and many of them will become actual cyclists. It's good for the industry in the long run. Right now it 's more fashion, and I don't care if they even hang their bike from a chain around their neck like jewelry. Just like with the mountain bike craze where thousands of people got into bikes on account of that; most of those people also discovered road bikes and fixed gear bikes and they are now adding to OUR bottom line. Also, the kids are starting off on the right foot in my opinion, by appreciating lugged steel bikes. In addition to Japanese bikes being sought after, some of these kids are also becoming hip to the classic lugged steel frames that many of us grew up with. Not all of the bikes they convert now will be destroyed; some will survive. It's not a total loss. I'd say overall the fixed gear trend is good for the kids, except for maybe the effect that wrong gearing and technique might have on their bodies. If I were a doctor I would seriously consider becoming a specialist in knee reconstruction; there may be a big future in that!
Brian Baylis Always look on the bright side of life! (Let's all sing that as we hang from our crosses.)
If you really want to show your disdain for fixed gear conversion, convert a track frame to ten speed. like this one:
http://www.flickr.com/
Tobit Linke, Dortmund, Germany
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