Originally Posted by
Broctoon
Maybe I misunderstand what's being asked….
I think you're asking about how a FG drivetrain affects a rider's habits or performance when the terrain tempts him to ease up on pedaling. There is certainly a difference here. But when standing up and applying power through the crank (whether it's 50 watts or 500), FG vs. SS are exactly the same.
To clarify, I’m talking specifically about the difference when pedaling out of the saddle on flat terrain where the pedal speed can easily exceed the speed that I can smoothly manage with continuous pedal pressure around the full pedal stroke. In that case, the freewheel behaves differently from a fixed gear, since a momentary slack in pedal speed will allow a quick moment of coasting in the pedal cycle. I’m assuming that feels different from a fixed gear where any such momentary slack would not produce a coasting moment and the pedal will support the weight on that foot during that instant.
This is something I do periodically to take a break when riding a long flat section of the trail across our state. With a rear cluster, I can manage it by shifting to or cruising in a higher gear than I would choose for SS, so that the cadence stays at something I can manage smoothly while standing.
Otto