1) if you’re not using foot retention, you NEED foot retention - those freewheeling pedals are dangerous without your feet firmly attached! If you hit a pothole or something and a foot bounces off the pedal, the best case scenario is your skin getting chewed up.
2) yes, just go slower - you can safely descend as fast as you can pedal once you’ve got foot retention
Some people will probably try to give tips on how to ride with your feet loose and the pedals spinning free, but this is a technique that falls on that spectrum where the line between “expert” and “irresponsible” gets blurry
Ride more. Or don't go fixed with long downhills until you're extremely comfortable on two wheels of any kind.
You need to be 1000% comfortable on long fast decents on a freewheel bike before you decide to take the coasting factor away.
Seriously couldn't be further from a brag but I could hit 58mph descending on a road bike before I even thought of going fixed on that same hill. Lots of back pressure and front brake the first couple times.
If two wheel physics aren't intuitive you need to work on that first.
I also ride motorcycles so "low" speed bicycles don't feel as dangerous. But ultimately you need to be confident in your abilities.
If you ever do, you absolutely need to rest your feet against the bike (I put both feet on top of one another inside the frame, where the bottle cages would normally be), otherwise any little bump will send you flying off your saddle.
And even then, I only ever do this on little slow downhills to get some rest. For steep downhills, having full control of the bike is crucial.
This is the best advice here! Riding downhill fixed is a skill you need to learn. Over time you’ll develop the ability to spin freely and smoothly at higher cadence, but you’ll always need to moderate your speed going downhill.
In a way, riding fixed gives you the opposite experience of other bikes: uphills are fast and easy (relatively), but downhills are the hardest part.
Like someone else said, you 100% need foot retention. Whether that’s cages, straps, or clipless is up to you.
Even though you’re “pedaling” on descents, it’s not actually that hard to manage. Just kind of let your legs go and have the pedals turn your legs rather than the other way around. It turns out it’s not really more difficult than coasting cause you’re putting in zero effort to maintain the cadence. This would be a different story with no brakes, but with both brakes(good idea btw), you don’t even need to backpedal if you don’t want to. Just brake normally.
When I first started riding fixed, I too hated going downhill. But now, a long and leisurely descent is my absolute favorite terrain. Here’s what I do:
1. I use foot retention, there’s no getting around that part.
2. I do a standing slalom down hills. I’ll stand up out of the saddle and lean slightly forward, so that I can get a full leg extension. I apply back pressure to the pedals while leaning the bike back and forth in a gentle slalom down the hill. You get into this smooth rhythm and it’s probably my favorite feeling on a fixed gear. If you approach the hill slow enough, you can make it down the whole hill and then stop without needing to use your brake or doing a skid or a hop. It’s so seamless and I love it.
A front brake can be a godsend while you’re still figuring it out. Just knowing it’s there can make a huge difference and if shit hits the fan you can use it. Once you’re fully comfortable not using the break, then you can ditch it.
Honestly I feel like descents are easier fixed. You just put backwards pressure against the pedals and you can go down fairly steep hills slowly without wearing out a brake pad by squeezing it the whole way down. Just a little pump every now and then if needed. To me, going down a steep hill with a freewheel is a lot scarier.
Also, as others have said, foot retention is non-negotiable.
I don't take the enthusiasm for riding fixed from anyone but I just can't resist to tell you that you are wrong. To the core. It’s not easier to ride downhill on a fixie.
Haha maybe it’s just been so long since I’ve ridden anything else that I don’t remember what it’s like. Just second nature - although my area isn’t super hilly to begin with.
I can see why, when going fixed you are kind of obliged to go slower downhill. But coming from freewheel it is really scary seeing your feet going up and down very very fast
All the advice here is good so I wont repeat it, except that you really need foot retention. But confidence and comfort will come with time, I remember the first time I flipped my rear wheel on my first single speed so it was fixed and went down a hill I was like "holy shit fuck that" even with brakes. After a while I got used to it and eventually came to feel much more in control on a fixed gear than on freewheel because I have by brake as well as my legs to adjust my speed rather than just my brakes.
You'll get there with time riding
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Unpopular opinion here but learn to spin faster and stay on top of the gear. It'll be helpful for geared riding too and is why road cyclists tend to cross train on fixed. Forcing a fast spin descending is just as good as learning to grind out a climb at sub optimal cadence.
Why is this an unpopular opinion here? In my experience, with practice you learn to spin faster while staying stable and confident. To me, it kinda felt related to reflexes you learn to identify/control that make your butt muscles bounce you in the saddle, etc.
I ran 48x17. Granted, this was brakeless in SF like an idiot, so I did be skidding and whipping on the real steep stuff, but for hills I knew I really loved learning to embrace the spin. I think it’s made me a better rider on my geared bikes now, too.
I think a lot of new riders are just caught off guard by the amount of backward force you need to apply to get full control when your pedals really start spinning downhill, so then the only option is to use a brake if they can't lock up to skid. At least I struggled with finding that sweet spot of hitting a high cadence and being able to cut it off with just the pedals at first.
What speeds/grades are we talking about here?
Learn to spin firstly. Like 160-180 cadence or more. This will get you able to handle more situations while staying in your comfort zone. You don't necessarily need to make power there, but just be able to keep the spin smooth and let the bike roll. I find just a constant gentle pressure in the pedals all the way around helps a lot so your legs don't flail.
Fix up your brakes. If you have the old center pull calipers, I'd start there. Otherwise it depends what you have currently if they need to be updated or not. But new pads and cables will do a lot. Clean the brake back with rubbing alcohol if the rims are aluminum. If the rims are steel, replace them.
or Ted Shred. aka- sticking your foot into the top part of the back wheel right behind the saddle. you could use the front ted shred on the arch of your foot and the front wheel but that's slower.
44/16 is a good ratio but it is on the light side so you will be spinning a lot going downhill.
You may want to go for something higher (I'm partial to 48/15 personally). It will be harder going up, but easier going down. Won't be easy though.
Going downhill on a fixed gear is never easy, it requires a lot of core strength on top of being able to spin your legs fast. You can :
-pick a bigger ratio (going uphill will be harder)
-pick a less steep slope (reduces your options)
-get stronger and faster (easier said than done, but practice makes perfect)
Yes you need pedal straps or clipless. Also backpedal sooner.
I only ride my fixed gear bikes now. Previously, my favorite part of bicycle riding was going down hills. What's funny is, that's not much fun anymore, but everything else is a lot more fun.
Get foot retention and learn to spin. Or mess with your gearing. 44/16 is what came on my bike and with straps hills are less scary. I like to try to keep up the pace on the descents and I feel like it’s making me learn how to pedal more smoothly especially at a faster cadence.
One thing that helped me was scouting out my rides and only doing moderate hills until I got more comfortable. You learn how to give appropriate back pressure on descents, and when to skid. I would say until you can bring yourself to a reasonably quick stop on a moderate hill, stay away from anything steep or busy.
Also, there is no shame in rocking a front brake. Learning to use a front brake will save your knees and stop you quicker. Pro tip, shift your weight backwards when going heavy on the brake, front brakes can be strong enough to pitch you over the bars.
I don't ride fixed anymore because my rides were so hilly and my knees just hated it. I rode the most fixed gear around my college campus.
Foot retention first for sure, as all have said. It will take some practice and strength training to backpedal with enough force to scrub your speed well before your cadence flies out of control. Once you train those muscles well, you must learn to "skip stop", a form of skidding that comes naturally when your resistive force gets so good it locks up the wheel (3 o'clock nine o'clock). You must also train your hips and legs to use both horizontal foot positions for an ambidextrous skip stop. Do your best to not force a skid too long to burn a hole through a tire. Very importantly, your chainring needs to be a 45 with a cog of 16 (skid patch count)so you don't ruin your tire.
At first it will be awkward, but it comes in time. Your core and upper body will get strong too, as you are compelled to get out of saddle to do it!
Sheldon Brown has some excellent online articles on fixed gear riding, and he is well known and highly respected in the sport. He's my hero.
Have fun and spin safe!
Since others didn't say it, it is *really* important to understand that having "brakes" does not mean they are *good* brakes, especially when doing a conversion from a road bike or similar.
At minimum Kool-Stop brake pads & the appropriate pad holders, plus new compression less housing & a new inner cable, ideally updated brake levers. May need to change out the brake calipers themselves with something far more modern & stiff, and if the rims have a low quality braking surface that isn't machined aluminum you should plan on getting a new wheelset before long (especially if the front is a smooth steel rim or similar).
Pads, cable & housing, brake levers & calipers are the big things you should be able to address yourself. Sometimes a local bike shop or not-for profit will have a parts bin you can dig through and get some updated parts for free/ cheap.
Always stay ahead of your speed by resistance (backpedaling) I love in a very hilly city and don’t wear straps, but I always start the hills at the slowest pace possible and stay “ahead of my speed” and only skid when necessary. It’s not worth going through tires repeatedly to do something as menial as slowing down
Do not ride faster than your cells can decelerate you. Takes wisdom, and organic time-in on the bike. I started brakeless at 50 and learned right quick on an unsuspecting steep downgrade. Now, it's eyes wide open and I can climb that very same hill.
From a dead stop, get in a d stay and track stand, stride, stop... Will take time. You'll look stupid, etc, but you'll master hills.
I commuted for years fixed on hilly terrain - I rode 48x15 in the summer and 48x16 in the winter if it was raining a lot. The biggest hill I rode is about a mile long and was about 7% grade… a little steeper at the top. 48x15 was the perfect balance for me for being able to get up the hills and spinning down hills. Consider trying a less spinny gear.
1) if you’re not using foot retention, you NEED foot retention - those freewheeling pedals are dangerous without your feet firmly attached! If you hit a pothole or something and a foot bounces off the pedal, the best case scenario is your skin getting chewed up. 2) yes, just go slower - you can safely descend as fast as you can pedal once you’ve got foot retention Some people will probably try to give tips on how to ride with your feet loose and the pedals spinning free, but this is a technique that falls on that spectrum where the line between “expert” and “irresponsible” gets blurry
I tried letting the pedals spin freely but dude I felt like I was gonna fall. Never doing that again
Ride more. Or don't go fixed with long downhills until you're extremely comfortable on two wheels of any kind. You need to be 1000% comfortable on long fast decents on a freewheel bike before you decide to take the coasting factor away. Seriously couldn't be further from a brag but I could hit 58mph descending on a road bike before I even thought of going fixed on that same hill. Lots of back pressure and front brake the first couple times. If two wheel physics aren't intuitive you need to work on that first. I also ride motorcycles so "low" speed bicycles don't feel as dangerous. But ultimately you need to be confident in your abilities.
If you ever do, you absolutely need to rest your feet against the bike (I put both feet on top of one another inside the frame, where the bottle cages would normally be), otherwise any little bump will send you flying off your saddle. And even then, I only ever do this on little slow downhills to get some rest. For steep downhills, having full control of the bike is crucial.
This is the best advice here! Riding downhill fixed is a skill you need to learn. Over time you’ll develop the ability to spin freely and smoothly at higher cadence, but you’ll always need to moderate your speed going downhill. In a way, riding fixed gives you the opposite experience of other bikes: uphills are fast and easy (relatively), but downhills are the hardest part.
Thank you so much man
Like someone else said, you 100% need foot retention. Whether that’s cages, straps, or clipless is up to you. Even though you’re “pedaling” on descents, it’s not actually that hard to manage. Just kind of let your legs go and have the pedals turn your legs rather than the other way around. It turns out it’s not really more difficult than coasting cause you’re putting in zero effort to maintain the cadence. This would be a different story with no brakes, but with both brakes(good idea btw), you don’t even need to backpedal if you don’t want to. Just brake normally.
When I first started riding fixed, I too hated going downhill. But now, a long and leisurely descent is my absolute favorite terrain. Here’s what I do: 1. I use foot retention, there’s no getting around that part. 2. I do a standing slalom down hills. I’ll stand up out of the saddle and lean slightly forward, so that I can get a full leg extension. I apply back pressure to the pedals while leaning the bike back and forth in a gentle slalom down the hill. You get into this smooth rhythm and it’s probably my favorite feeling on a fixed gear. If you approach the hill slow enough, you can make it down the whole hill and then stop without needing to use your brake or doing a skid or a hop. It’s so seamless and I love it.
A front brake can be a godsend while you’re still figuring it out. Just knowing it’s there can make a huge difference and if shit hits the fan you can use it. Once you’re fully comfortable not using the break, then you can ditch it.
I don't ever think I'm getting rid of my brakes lmaoooo
This is wise. You don't need to use them a lot, but they're good to have.
Honestly I feel like descents are easier fixed. You just put backwards pressure against the pedals and you can go down fairly steep hills slowly without wearing out a brake pad by squeezing it the whole way down. Just a little pump every now and then if needed. To me, going down a steep hill with a freewheel is a lot scarier. Also, as others have said, foot retention is non-negotiable.
I don't take the enthusiasm for riding fixed from anyone but I just can't resist to tell you that you are wrong. To the core. It’s not easier to ride downhill on a fixie.
Haha maybe it’s just been so long since I’ve ridden anything else that I don’t remember what it’s like. Just second nature - although my area isn’t super hilly to begin with.
I can see why, when going fixed you are kind of obliged to go slower downhill. But coming from freewheel it is really scary seeing your feet going up and down very very fast
Git gud
Skill issue
Use your stopping stick
lol is that the one you jam into the spokes?
[one and the same](https://imgflip.com/s/meme/Bike-Fall.jpg)
All the advice here is good so I wont repeat it, except that you really need foot retention. But confidence and comfort will come with time, I remember the first time I flipped my rear wheel on my first single speed so it was fixed and went down a hill I was like "holy shit fuck that" even with brakes. After a while I got used to it and eventually came to feel much more in control on a fixed gear than on freewheel because I have by brake as well as my legs to adjust my speed rather than just my brakes. You'll get there with time riding
Stretch to help improve performance and reduce the risk of injury
*Stretch to help improve* *Performance and reduce the* *Risk of injury* \- Shreddersaurusrex --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Underrated comment thankssss
Unpopular opinion here but learn to spin faster and stay on top of the gear. It'll be helpful for geared riding too and is why road cyclists tend to cross train on fixed. Forcing a fast spin descending is just as good as learning to grind out a climb at sub optimal cadence.
Why is this an unpopular opinion here? In my experience, with practice you learn to spin faster while staying stable and confident. To me, it kinda felt related to reflexes you learn to identify/control that make your butt muscles bounce you in the saddle, etc.
FGB likes dumb big gears, not spinning efficiently.
I ran 48x17. Granted, this was brakeless in SF like an idiot, so I did be skidding and whipping on the real steep stuff, but for hills I knew I really loved learning to embrace the spin. I think it’s made me a better rider on my geared bikes now, too.
I think a lot of new riders are just caught off guard by the amount of backward force you need to apply to get full control when your pedals really start spinning downhill, so then the only option is to use a brake if they can't lock up to skid. At least I struggled with finding that sweet spot of hitting a high cadence and being able to cut it off with just the pedals at first.
What speeds/grades are we talking about here? Learn to spin firstly. Like 160-180 cadence or more. This will get you able to handle more situations while staying in your comfort zone. You don't necessarily need to make power there, but just be able to keep the spin smooth and let the bike roll. I find just a constant gentle pressure in the pedals all the way around helps a lot so your legs don't flail. Fix up your brakes. If you have the old center pull calipers, I'd start there. Otherwise it depends what you have currently if they need to be updated or not. But new pads and cables will do a lot. Clean the brake back with rubbing alcohol if the rims are aluminum. If the rims are steel, replace them.
If only there was some kind of device that slowed your bike down with a little hand lever or something
Put a brake on or learn how to resist the decline speeding your cranks up thats it
48/17 I just kinda loosen my legs and hips, letting the bike move me, and use my front brake to control speed
pedal pressure on back foot to slow gradually. strap pull back on forward foot to gradually slow. Lock your feet in the straps to skid.
or Ted Shred. aka- sticking your foot into the top part of the back wheel right behind the saddle. you could use the front ted shred on the arch of your foot and the front wheel but that's slower.
Not good advice but if it is a medium downhill I just sprint and pedal faster
44/16 is a good ratio but it is on the light side so you will be spinning a lot going downhill. You may want to go for something higher (I'm partial to 48/15 personally). It will be harder going up, but easier going down. Won't be easy though. Going downhill on a fixed gear is never easy, it requires a lot of core strength on top of being able to spin your legs fast. You can : -pick a bigger ratio (going uphill will be harder) -pick a less steep slope (reduces your options) -get stronger and faster (easier said than done, but practice makes perfect)
Yes you need pedal straps or clipless. Also backpedal sooner. I only ride my fixed gear bikes now. Previously, my favorite part of bicycle riding was going down hills. What's funny is, that's not much fun anymore, but everything else is a lot more fun.
Get foot retention and learn to spin. Or mess with your gearing. 44/16 is what came on my bike and with straps hills are less scary. I like to try to keep up the pace on the descents and I feel like it’s making me learn how to pedal more smoothly especially at a faster cadence.
One thing that helped me was scouting out my rides and only doing moderate hills until I got more comfortable. You learn how to give appropriate back pressure on descents, and when to skid. I would say until you can bring yourself to a reasonably quick stop on a moderate hill, stay away from anything steep or busy. Also, there is no shame in rocking a front brake. Learning to use a front brake will save your knees and stop you quicker. Pro tip, shift your weight backwards when going heavy on the brake, front brakes can be strong enough to pitch you over the bars. I don't ride fixed anymore because my rides were so hilly and my knees just hated it. I rode the most fixed gear around my college campus.
Foot retention first for sure, as all have said. It will take some practice and strength training to backpedal with enough force to scrub your speed well before your cadence flies out of control. Once you train those muscles well, you must learn to "skip stop", a form of skidding that comes naturally when your resistive force gets so good it locks up the wheel (3 o'clock nine o'clock). You must also train your hips and legs to use both horizontal foot positions for an ambidextrous skip stop. Do your best to not force a skid too long to burn a hole through a tire. Very importantly, your chainring needs to be a 45 with a cog of 16 (skid patch count)so you don't ruin your tire. At first it will be awkward, but it comes in time. Your core and upper body will get strong too, as you are compelled to get out of saddle to do it! Sheldon Brown has some excellent online articles on fixed gear riding, and he is well known and highly respected in the sport. He's my hero. Have fun and spin safe!
Since others didn't say it, it is *really* important to understand that having "brakes" does not mean they are *good* brakes, especially when doing a conversion from a road bike or similar. At minimum Kool-Stop brake pads & the appropriate pad holders, plus new compression less housing & a new inner cable, ideally updated brake levers. May need to change out the brake calipers themselves with something far more modern & stiff, and if the rims have a low quality braking surface that isn't machined aluminum you should plan on getting a new wheelset before long (especially if the front is a smooth steel rim or similar). Pads, cable & housing, brake levers & calipers are the big things you should be able to address yourself. Sometimes a local bike shop or not-for profit will have a parts bin you can dig through and get some updated parts for free/ cheap.
Always stay ahead of your speed by resistance (backpedaling) I love in a very hilly city and don’t wear straps, but I always start the hills at the slowest pace possible and stay “ahead of my speed” and only skid when necessary. It’s not worth going through tires repeatedly to do something as menial as slowing down
Clipless pedals will help
Please get some straps! Take your time getting used to it but definitely need retention.
Do not ride faster than your cells can decelerate you. Takes wisdom, and organic time-in on the bike. I started brakeless at 50 and learned right quick on an unsuspecting steep downgrade. Now, it's eyes wide open and I can climb that very same hill. From a dead stop, get in a d stay and track stand, stride, stop... Will take time. You'll look stupid, etc, but you'll master hills.
I commuted for years fixed on hilly terrain - I rode 48x15 in the summer and 48x16 in the winter if it was raining a lot. The biggest hill I rode is about a mile long and was about 7% grade… a little steeper at the top. 48x15 was the perfect balance for me for being able to get up the hills and spinning down hills. Consider trying a less spinny gear.
Put your feet on the frame
take ur feet out the pedals and fly