Quote Originally Posted by Tri Girl View Post
Thanks for the link, Christopher. NOW I understand!
Question, tho. Does your cadence determine how fast you'll travel downhill? If you slowly pedal downhill, will you go very slowly?
They are just fascinating bikes- I'd love to see someone riding one.
Sort of - it depends on the gearing. The Young People can seem to spin at very high cadences (150-200 rpm+) and so can go fast downhill in a low gear. I let my legs spin up until I get scared (at ~120 RPM I guess) and then use the brakes!
Pedalling slowly CAN work but not if the hill is so steep the bike just runs away downhill with you. Sometimes you can stand and make the drivetrain lift you right up (a strange feeling), but even that won't work on some of the paved cliffs around here with 20-25% gradients.

Sandra, there seem to be a lot more fixies in urban areas than in the sticks. In 18 months of commuting up here I have only seen two other fixed-wheels, yet there are literally hundreds in SF, London etc