I’ve been putting in some miles on the fixed gear road bike. I don’t really like it. I like the dirt. I like the isolation that comes with the dirt. But times like these require an alternate approach. (What? Times like these? What the Hell!) Yeah, it’s been raining, raining a lot. So the dirt was out of the question.
Anyway, today I broke out the fixed geared Surly and went for a ride. My expectations were – well – I had no expections. I just wanted to get out of the house and get the concrete out of my legs. I’m a bit sore from the B.P.R. High Altitude Challenge, I need a ‘cool down’ ride two days after the event, after the victory. I headed south on N14 for a few miles (Yeah, South on North 14) then I circled back and turned up Sandia Crest. I was only going to put in a few miles. But there were ‘geared’ dudes and dudettes on the road, so I felt obligated to ‘fly right on by‘ as Maverick would say. I made it up to Sandia Peak Ski Area, not bad for the 44 x 18 setup. I’ll go all the way to the top next weekend, maybe.
44 x 18 is a pretty good setup for a road single speed / fixed gear. I was a little hesitant about the ratio, but all is well. I survived. The only problem, going down. I tried my hardest to use my legs to slow the bike down, but I did use the front brake at times. Bummer. Brakes on a fixed gear – not that cool, dude.
Overall, the Surly Steamroller is OK. I’m spoiled with 2 Black Sheep Highlights. I don’t like the geometry on the Surly. But it’s a cool bike. I have some big bike plans in the works, so I’ll be as happy as a Pig in S*^T in a few months…. Oh wait, I should say I’ll be as happy as a kid in a candy store. Yeah, that’s better.
So, some pics and some data.
BACK OF THE PACK RACING 