5 mph

I am about one week from.finishing a Fixed Gear bike with a rear cog,no freewheel. I am scared about the really steep hills we have in my area. My question is, can I use the pedals to slow the bike by trying to reverse pedal them? On some of these hills you can really go fast. I am so nervous. I mounted two brakes. Any advice on descending steep hills would be appreciated.

geeteeiii

Reverse pedal aslong you can, you have both brakes to slow you down if needed, no need to be afraid. Just take it easy at first.

caloso

Keep reminding yourself "don't coast don't coast don't coast." The good thing is that if you forget your bike will remind you firmly and instantaneously.

Have fun!

79pmooney

First fix gear ride? Yes, have two good working brakes. Feel free to dab on either (I prefer the rear) to keep downhill speeds comfortable. Skid stops are for show-offs. Real brakes are for those who want to have and see their grandkids.

Another very strong suggestion - that no one made to me and I would have laughed at (read on) - put a piece of tape on your seatpost exactly 1/2" (or 1 cm) above the top of the seat tube. Drop the post to the tape before your first fix gear ride! Reason? You will try to coast. And when that happens, well that pedal isn't stopping. If your leg is remotely close to locked, you are going to see damage. In other words, it's going to hurt. And the higher your seat is, the more it's going to hurt. Lowering to where you feel like you are on your kid's bike? Well, you look ridiculous but it hurts far less! After that first "Oops!!!" you can raise your seat to half way back to normal. You will do it again, but not as badly. Eventually you will feel safe back at your normal setting.

Oh, my first fix gear ride. 12 mile loop. First season of racing. Cruising at ~20 mph. Decide to turn left onto a nice paved trail. Three oncoming cars. Did that coast. Well, that was in my earlier, higher seat days. I near locked my knee. Next thing I knew my front tire was 2 feet off the road and I was still going up. Collapsed on the pavement. Not a whole lot of road rash because I'd converted my forward speed to vertical. Some bruising. But my left leg!! I felt like the steer that had been butchered before the execution. It hurt for days! A properly set seat (like the veterans at my club eventually got me to buy into) would have been better but it still would have hurt like h***. The goofy 1/2" down? I wouldn't have even crashed, just come home a little sore.

Now back to downhills - the smoother you pedal, the faster that feels safe and the more fun descending is. Smoothing out your pedaling requires teaching your muscles a skill no one talks about - relaxing each muscle completely when not actually propelling the bike. At 40 mph in a 42-17, that is all of them all the time! The entire circle. When you speed starts feeling out of control, well you've hit the point you muscles aren't doing that. Touch the brake(s), back off, think relax. Keep doing those hills. You will need the brakes less and less and they will become more fun. (But know your limits and don't get stupid, We want you around!)

This is the benefit that never stops helping you. Late in the long day on the geared bike (or the fix gear), you will be benefiting from muscles that have been resting all day for 1/2 of every pedal stroke. On top of that, it is fun when other riders compliment you on your nice pedal stroke.

bykemike 

Don't use clips on the first ride

Rolla

Riding hills is what eventually prompted me to return to singlespeed after a few years of riding fixed. You need a low enough gear to climb steep hills, but a big enough gear that you don't immediately spin out on the descents. Brakes are your very best friend. Oh, and the first couple of twenty times you forget you're fixed and try to coast, your bike will scare the piss out of you.

Speedway2

Dismount and walk if its getting too scary......

Ymerej

Just do your thing, use common sense fixed gear is something you chip away at it takes some getting used to. I went clipless pedals from the get go had zero issues I would never do anything else except clipless pedals. But then again I never asked for advice. The more you ride the more you know the more you know the more you go.
have fun🤙

5 mph

Well after reading this I am even more scared, but that is probably why I am doing this....I'm thinking I'll start of with a flat ride, then go look for a small hill

Mikefule

I make it part of the game to ride as much as is safely possible without using the brakes. I don't do skid stops.

However, my bike has two brakes and I use them when necessary.

Sometimes I go down long steep hills under control, applying back pressure on the pedals. Sometimes, when I am sure I can do it, I let the bike go at its natural speed and I spin as fast as I can.

However, the quickest and least tiring way to go down a long or steep hill on a fixed is to find a comfortable cadence and then drag the brakes slightly. On a very long hill, alternate front brake and back brake for a few seconds each, to give each one time to dissipate the heat.

Your front brake is more powerful and more effective, but on a slippery or gritty surface, locking the front wheel is more dangerous than locking the back.

I bought my fixed when I lived in a valley and had to cross one hill or the other to get anywhere. I got tired of the long slog up the hill, and the lack of reward on the way down the other side: no coasting, and no option to choose a high gear and power down. I converted it to single speed for a while.

I now live in a flatter area, so flat that a good ride for me is to go and look for a hill to climb. Fixed is best for flat terrain or rolling hills, with the occasional "feature hill" as a challenge.

The fixed paradox: if your ratio is low enough to get up the biggest hill too easily, it is too low to get down the same hill comfortably.

Don't be put off. Fixed is fun: gloriously irrational fun.

TugaDude

If you cannot avoid steep hills in your area, I suggest you travel to another area for your first attempt. Go find somewhere flat, with little traffic so that you can focus on riding the bike and not navigating through traffic. Take it slow and concentrate. Once you are comfortable and your mind is allowed to relax, fixed-gear riding is super fun and liberating. But until you gain the confidence you need, it can be scary and unnerving. I rode around a parking lot my first time. An empty one. You don't have to go that far, maybe there's a nice, flat, paved public park with a bike path? After a while, then go try some hills and learn how to deal with them. But personally, I wouldn't make that my first step.

jack pot 

if you are around underpasses they will give you short bursts of hilliness until you get more confident

1incpa

Be sure you have a lock ring on your cog. Without it, backpressure on the pedals may cause the cog to unthread.
Other than that, it's just like riding a bike. Don't over think it. Take it easy, and start somewhere flat, as mentioned by several folks up thread.
Keep the speed fairly low until you get over the urge to coast.
Once you're used to it, add speed and small hills.
It probably won't feel natural at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun.

stevel610 

Fixed = fun. Glad you are giving it a chance.
Front brake definitely. Two brakes are best.

I would recommend taking your first corners VERY slowly. My first few rides I was enjoying the "fixed feeling" so much I scraped my pedals once or twice. Only takes once or twice till you remember not to do it anymore.

veganbikes

Use your brakes, save your knees and ankles. Have fun and remember no coasting and you should be OK. My first fixed gear ride was actually in a snowstorm. I had just bought the bike and rode it to get lunch I think not far but down a slight hill and I survived. Just take it slow and know this having foot retention is really handy. I started off on flat pedals and when my foot slipped I was usually a bit scared but when I got foot retention everything was good.

TugaDude

+1 on foot retention!

Also, the OP mentioned "reverse pedal". Pedaling in reverse is only possible if the bike has come to a stop, so I'm sure what you meant was what is sometimes called "back pedaling" and even that is somewhat of a misnomer. I'm not sure what to call it, but what I do is give the crank a little "back pressure" every time it comes around. I'm sure everyone has their own technique, but I tend to add that back pressure on one side only, in my case, the right side. It is just the way I learned. I didn't have anything to learn from, just came up with it on my own. It works OK for me. The other technique is to develop what they call "spaghetti legs", where you stop actively pedaling forward and make your legs go somewhat limp, offering resistance to the cranks in the process. This will also slow you down.

Neither is a substitute for good brakes! Make sure you have brakes, plural, at least in the beginning. If you decide, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, you can get by with a front brake alone. In my opinion, you should just keep them both.

I've said this before but I love to take a long ride and try to never have to use my brakes. I'm often successful and when I'm done, it brings a big smile to my face. Not because I'm saving brake pads, but just because!

Mikefule

Foot retention is optional. I've been a cyclist (rather than just someone who owns a bike) since the 1980s and stopped using foot retention years ago. Decent flat, pinned pedals and flat soled BMX shoes gives me all the control I need. Maybe I lose a small percentage of efficiency or power in certain very specific situations, but I gain enormously in ease of use, convenience, and, in some conditions, safety.

Each to his own, but I have found that the all round cycling experience is more fun with pinned flat pedals.

Ymerej

I rode downhill with flat pedals 510 shoes are freaking awesome they are a rock climbing shoe company that makes some other styles now. Super sticky gummy soles. Check em out!

5 mph

I did mean "Back pressure". I'm postponing until the Roads are dry from melted snow, I rode my Single Speed Pista today and that was tough enough.
My area is very hilly, I never see other single speed bikes. Just hill after hill. So I had to learn how to do Hills myself. I learned to really attack the "Down" portion, not just coast.
When I don't handle the "Down" portion of a steep hill fast enough , I wear myself out when I hit the "Up" portion so I really work at keeping the legs pumping. all the time
.Here she is when I first bought her , before I mounted the front brake and changed the pedals to MKS Strapped Pedals. I bought her at 48/16 but I'm going to make her 44/16.

veganbikes

You might want to fix the position of your handlebars! They are pointed in a rather odd direction typically used by those who have a DUI/DWI and are no longer allowed to drive. If you are looking for a different position there are bars out there designed to give you a more upright position and make it easier to ride in that position you might have some issues and could get hurt. If you don't use the drops on your drop bars then a bullhorn might work or if you just want a more upright position a riser bar or something with some sweepback would help.

TugaDude

Foot retention on fixed gear is totally different from bikes that can coast. If you lose grip on fixed, you can lose control and possibly get hurt by the rotating pedals. Plus, you lose any ability to slow the bike unless you have brakes. Another good reason to have brakes.

5 mph

I can't wait for the first time I forget that you can't coast .
BTW I 'd like to give the bars a try.

Speedway2

....and with the bars in that position you're probably looking forward to your first High side too.

veganbikes

It is always fun. I do it every so often if I haven't ridden fixed in a while but over the years I have gotten better about it.

Potentially dangerous and at least super awkward bars used by drunks with no license while riding fixed the first time (and being nervous) sounds like a really swell idea.

5 mph

Thanks everyone, yes the bars are going.
Out riding my Pista today thinking it over. Just too many steep hills out here. Even if you attack the Down part aggressively you find yourself pulling on the handlebars on the Up part as you wrestle the bike up the next hill. If you get in a really tough spot you have to stand and pedal.
Why did the previous owner have them that way ?Originally I bought this bike just to use as a flat road errand bike since it was sold to me at a really low price. Maybe just 2 or 3 miles to the library or store.
One last question. If you are doing 25 miles and 1500 feet of hills a day ,is it maybe better to forget Fixed Gear? Then I'll revert to using this as an errand bike.