This is my first RAGBRAI, but I assume there must be plenty of others planning to ride without gears?
July 20 - 27, 2024
Login
Where are the Fixie / Single Speeders?
The forum ‘RAGBRAI XLIV – 2016’ is closed to new topics and replies.
Bike Shops
Charter Services
Friends of RAGBRAI
6 Replies
Don’t bet on it. My fixie is staying home. I want gears
I’ve never heard any single speed chatter here nor have I noticed any among the crowds at RAGBRAI. It would be easy to miss them if there are any there since you quickly stop noticing anything except the most unusual bikes when there are so many around you at all times. However every year there are one or two fixies that I do notice. Unicycles! Beyond that I do know that 83 year old Clarence Pickard rode the first RAGBRAI on a ladies Schwinn but I don’t know if it was a single speed. A lot of them were back in the day but it’s not certain that his was. I would think there are some single speed riders some years at least. A few years ago there was an English rider who dressed as a French onion seller and he rode an ancient two speed bike. You pedaled forward to get one gear and backwards to get the other.
Plenty might be a stretch. You’ll get plenty of attention on a fixie. It’s fun no matter what you’re on.
Where are the fixies? I imagine they’re all busy being ridden by hipsters in downtown neighborhoods nation wide.
I’ve done the past 6 years on my Masi fixie – and usually not much attention is given to it. I do tend to notice others riding FG or SS. However, I decided to take a break from it this year and bring the gears – it’s not supposed to be as hilly as some years in the past, but I’m not going to chance it anyway. I spent too much time out of the saddle slowly pushing myself up some of those climbs over those past years – it’ll be nice to stay seated, gear down, and spin up to the top. THEN COAST DOWN THE OTHER SIDE instead of spinning like a mad bastard!
That said – it’s still a hell of a lot of fun to ride the fixie from one side to the other.
I saw that guy on the antique bike a couple times at PBP. As in, riding it. I think he finished too. In 2007 he had the whole french kit straight from central casting, and the string of onions. Hope he didn’t bring those vegtables all the way from Paris. In 2011 he was pedaling an 1890 something bianchi(?). I believe he’s a Brit.