Stephen Roche swore by his fixed wheel for winter training - even when he was a top pro rider. And one of the great conveyor belts of talent in Irish cycling, Banbridge CC, is also known to strongly encourage its riders to use fixies when getting in their winter miles. Roche is perhaps the most famous advocate of the fixie and he has spoken in the past of returning to the fixed gear, like going back to basics, when he needed to get back on track after a lay-off or a slump in form. He retreated to it again and again as a starting point to build his condition.
However, while the fixed wheel has been a go-to item for some top riders during the winter on the roads of Ireland, we're not sure too many of those cyclists ever did 100 miles on a fixed gear on a cold and windy winters day. But that's exactly what Irish amateur Ian Inglis did today; 100 miles in a shade under six hours, and pedaling every inch of the route - as you can see from his data below - in a ratio of 44x17. He swears by using a fixed wheel, saying doing three hours on a fixie feels like about five hours training on a regular bike.
Advertisement
"I'm actually alright, I'm sitting here in the coffee shop doing a bit of coaching, but it will probably catch up with me later on," he said after stickybottle asked how his body felt from such a grueling effort. "I'll feel a bit more sore and the legs will feel a bit heavier tomorrow. But I've a rest day tomorrow and that was one of the reasons I kept going today; just to make it count as much as I could."
Those who favour winter miles using a fixed wheel say using one means every inch of a training ride requires work, thus maximising time on the bike. Furthermore, going uphill on a fixie increases strength while descending using one teaches riders to be relaxed and smooth. Using a fixed wheel, it is said, also removes the dreaded dead spot; the lack of torque that creeps in during the pedaling motion, where power is lost for part of each pedal revolution. Fixed wheels are also said to offer a rider a great core work-out.
Inglis is, of course, no ordinary Sunday cyclist as he is well known in the Irish road community as a very powerful TT rider. He has provincial and national titles in his palmares, as well as some Irish records to his name.
The 28-year-old from Bangor, Co Down, has been national champion on the tandem, in 2017. He is also a three-time winner of the Champion of Champions TT, one of the most prestigious races against the clock in Ireland. He claimed the Ulster 50 mile crown in 2021. On a tandem, he is the Irish record holder at 10 mile, 25 mile and 50 mile. Aside from his TT riding, he's won plenty of road races down the years.
Inglis (Kinning Cycles) is a former elite national champion on the track - team pursuit in 2015 - and was a three-time national track champion as a junior, in the pursuit, kilo and scratch race.
He told stickybottle he finds training on a fixed wheel very beneficial for his condition, especially doing long Zone 2 base mile rides like today. However, he was also attracted to the simplicity of the fixie.
"When it comes to pedal stroke, there's no dead spots, you're pedaling in action all the time," he explained. "I also commute and potter around town on a fixed wheel. But this winter is probably the first time I've used it more in training; regularly doing two to three hours on it. If you do three hours on a fixed wheel, it feels like about five hours on a normal bike.
"It's just a different type of training when you're comparing it with a normal bike. You have to dig in on the bumps (inclines) and just pedal more. When you're spinning (descending) at a certain point your heart rate goes down. But then when you're really spinning - like today at 170 cadence - you see your heart rate going back up again. And obviously that's because your body is having to work harder because you're just pedaling more."
Related News
He said while he never gets back pain, even on long and hard winter rides, he began to feel discomfort in his back today after four hours on the fixie. While sitting in the same position, and having to pedal the whole time, put more pressure on parts of the body, once he stepped off the bike at the end of his ride those niggles did not linger, he said.
Inglis added he has done club runs on a fixed wheel and even rides some of his road TTs on the fixie.
"I've been doing this for about 12 years," he said. "But for anyone who was starting it, I'd say 'go out and train on your own and build up to maybe doing a club run on one'."
Today, Sunday, he stayed on local roads skirting Bangor and the surrounding region, doing two hours alone before meeting up with some other riders, who stayed with him for varying periods of an hour or two. The maximum number in the group at any one time was four and by the time Inglis had reached 100 miles he'd been on his bike for 5:55.
"I was aiming for five hours originally but I didn't really feel too bad at five hours so I thought I'd keep going for another bit. The legs did fall off alright after about 90 miles," he laughed.
"But to do 100 miles on the fixed wheel was always a bit of a goal of mine. I find it helps the road race form as much as for the TTs. You can go over a bump and you go from 70 cadence to 140 cadence for 30 seconds; it helps with that jump, that change of cadence."
While he feels training on a fixed wheel pushes him, he says he is also attracted to the simplicity of the fixie for some training sessions and some TTs.
"Sometimes if I don't ride the fixed wheel for six months and then I get on it, it really hits me how simple it is and how much I love riding it because of that."
He said he first started down the fixed wheel route as a junior, when all riders are at their most crash-strapped. He decided to buy a track bike which he used for TTs on the road - by adding brakes - and also for his track racing.
In the year ahead he was hoping to lower some of the TT records he has set on the tandem - most recently with John Madden. He may also have a shot at some of the Irish title races on the track, perhaps the pursuit and omnium.
"I'll also obviously give a good few road races a good too, and for me I just want to really enjoy the bike this year and race whenever I can."
