Fixie

I decided to dust off the ol' fixie the other day. Once upon a time, I was pretty quick on the fixie, but since then, I've lost some of my insane sprinting power and have become a more mellow climber/TT type. The fixie lends itself to hard and fast work, with its agressive geometry and light weight.

The fixie, #9 in my bicycle numbering scheme, is a Fuji Track Pro.

There is not much to do on a fixie, but it seems like I had to do all of it. I trued the front and rear wheels; the rear wheel had a hop, and the front wheel was out of dish. (Machine built wheels suck.) I adjusted the chain tension, straightened the handlebars, and re-adjusted the brake. (Yes, it has a brake.)

I took the fixie out today, and got an unpleasant reminder of just how difficult it is to turn a 49-15 (a big gear) on 170mm (shorter than usual) cranks. This used to be no problem. Now, I just feel weak. The cardio is fantastic, but the power isn't there!

Just watch out, soon, I'll be a sprinting machine again, as well as a time trialist. Cat++.