A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed-wheel bicycle commonly known
as a fixie) is a bicycle
that has a drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism. This means that the pedals keep moving when the wheel moves and you
cannot coast on it unlike a normal bicycle. Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Hell no!, it sooooo much fun and much more
than that 😊.Here
is my experience on connecting with the astr sidewinder fixie which the amazing folks at The Bike Affair let me try.The sidewinder comes with a flip flop hub, which means if you
are not in the mood to ride a fixed just a flip of the wheel makes it a normal
bicycle (or vice versa). I bet, you would never want to go back to the normal freewheel
mode once you start riding fixed!
First Century ride on the Narsapur forest loop.
Being a road biker I was little skeptical about riding a fixie on a 100 km ride without much experience on it. I had ridden the sidewinder earlier but only for short spins. Since the route was very scenic and a bit of coaxing from Sampath(the amazing 19 year old store manager at The Bike Affair, Kondapur), I urged myself to give it a shot. He set up the bike according to my comfort and we started off on the ride along with the other riders. The first 10 kilometers I was on the normal freewheel mode to get used to the posture, after which Sampath flipped the wheel and changed it to the fixed wheel mode.
The first thing that comes to your mind when riding a good fixie for the first time is how silent and smooth the bike feels. The only thing you can hear is the wheels in contact with the road and the breeze. The bike felt very lightweight as well due to minimalist components. No wires dangling, no derailleurs or shifters or any other biking jargon to worry about . It’s just you and the pedals working with the frame. The first few kilometers did feel a bit weird but also well connected, and I mean literally connected, with the continuous pedaling, you are glued to the bike!
The first thing that comes to your mind when riding a good fixie for the first time is how silent and smooth the bike feels. The only thing you can hear is the wheels in contact with the road and the breeze. The bike felt very lightweight as well due to minimalist components. No wires dangling, no derailleurs or shifters or any other biking jargon to worry about . It’s just you and the pedals working with the frame. The first few kilometers did feel a bit weird but also well connected, and I mean literally connected, with the continuous pedaling, you are glued to the bike!
If you are trying a fixie for the first time it would be a good idea to take it easy and gradually until you are used to the bike. Remember that you are relearning something and it’s a new experience, hence needs some patience. Let the bike build some confidence on you and the other way around as well. I eventually learnt that these things are very easy to preach than actually doing so :P . I got so engrossed and excited with this new experience that I pushed myself to a cadence where the bike ejected me off the pedals aaaaaand bam! Had a small crash and my skin tasted some tarmac.
A quick inspection revealed just some superficial injuries and no issues with the bike. Since it was only 25 kilometers, the ride was too tempting to quit and so I continued. Rest of the road till the breakfast point at 50 kilometers was through the country side with some gravel roads at which the astr’s steel frame behaved so well. We took a quick breakfast break at the Narsapur town and headed back to the city through the monkey laden beautiful forest roads, which had some gradual elevations. The climbs made me realize how efficient, the power transfer on the fixie was. I enjoyed powering through all the climbs and we made it to the city. By this time, I was so used to the bike that even riding through the traffic and clipping into the cleats felt easy. The ride ended at The Bike Affair where we were greeted by Dr Vignan from Dr Fitness for some amazing stretching sessions.
Some pictures of the ride:
How can a fixie make you a better cyclist?
After spending quite a few miles on the sidewinder, I felt i was better at certain aspects when I switched back to my road bike.Some of it might be debatable but below are some of the points I experienced:
- Better Pedaling Efficiency: Because there is no freewheel in the rear hub, there is no way to coast. You are forced to keep pedaling on all gradients, which forces you to keep your pedal strokes smooth and efficient.
- Improves Focus and Concentration: Ideally a fixie is controlled using the pedals even for slowing down. Even though I had brakes installed, this forced me to always be alert and on the lookout for what is going on around me. The focus obtained on a fixed-gear bike can be intense and adds to the riding experience.
- Enhances balance and bike handling skills: Since, your feet are always in constant motion you will learn that tackling corners and harsh terrains are a bit different on a fixie. Not only do you anticipate the road ahead much faster but also learn to handle your bike better. Even simple things like adjusting your butt on the saddle will need you to focus a bit.
Are fixies for everyone?
Absolutely yes! Anyone who is patient enough to experience and learn something new.Even I was really surprised how quickly i got used to it.There are a lot of myths around the concept of a fixed gear being unsafe and dangerous.Just like a normal bicycle, as long as you are in control of the bike and do not try to do something foolish, its absolutely fine.I agree that it does feel a little awkward on a very steep downhill during the first ride, but you always have the brakes to control the bike as well just in case(the sidewinder comes with brakes included).
Fixies are also a great way to make those office and market commutes or those short leisure rides interesting and fun.You will definitely feel the motivation to use the fixie on such occasions than your normal bike, due to the simplicity.As you gain more experience and confidence on it,you will see yourself doing longer rides as well. I was even fortunate to try a brevet on the sidewinder(details in the next section)
The Bike Affair regularly has short Fixie rides on Sunday evenings.A good way to make you lazy Sunday interesting followed by some coffee. All you need to do is keep an eye on their events page and give them a call, so that they can arrange a bike for you:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheBikeAffair/events/?ref=page_internal
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheBikeAffair/events/?ref=page_internal
The 200 Km Heaven and Hell Brevet:
Since I enjoyed my last ride and was quite comfortable with
the bike, Sampath and me wanted to try the sidewinder on a longer endurance
ride. The upcoming 200k Heaven and Hell then, was a good opportunity. The
monsoon edition of the brevet , has a good mix of
elevations, winds, rain and off roads, hence is supposed to be one of the
toughest brevet of the year. We were doing it to enjoy the fixie experience,
rather than a challenge and were mentally prepared to finish it regardless of
the cut off time.
On the day of the event we assembled at the start point, completed all the formalities and started off with sixty other riders. It’s always an elated atmosphere when u ride along with so many riders together, many of whom you might know already. We picked u a good pace and rhythm at the beginning itself, thanks to Sampath's chit chat which kept me motivated and was also encouraging people as we crossed them. He is also a primary reason I picked biking and eventually lost around 25 Kilos (well,that’s a different story!). After a quick breakfast stop for some idlis’, we continued riding towards the first checkpoint (at 62k) and reached there to get our cards stamped. Though we had some headwinds, the weather was quite favorable until now and we we enjoyed the beautiful country side.
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| All set for the ride. |
On the day of the event we assembled at the start point, completed all the formalities and started off with sixty other riders. It’s always an elated atmosphere when u ride along with so many riders together, many of whom you might know already. We picked u a good pace and rhythm at the beginning itself, thanks to Sampath's chit chat which kept me motivated and was also encouraging people as we crossed them. He is also a primary reason I picked biking and eventually lost around 25 Kilos (well,that’s a different story!). After a quick breakfast stop for some idlis’, we continued riding towards the first checkpoint (at 62k) and reached there to get our cards stamped. Though we had some headwinds, the weather was quite favorable until now and we we enjoyed the beautiful country side.
The next checkpoint was at a lakeshore(Kotepally) at the 106
Km and we continued towards it. The route had some downhills and some rough
roads which the sidewinder cruised through. Around a few kilometers before the
lake we encountered some really bad off road sections, but I was so impressed
to see the sidewinder handle it really well. Until the time, I never knew a
good steel frame could be so versatile and stiff at the same time. Finally, we
reached the checkpoint and were greeted by the volunteers with some
refreshments. Sampath and me realized that we had reached quite early and had
some time to chill out. The soaring temperature and the sight of the beautiful
lake was another reason we decided to take a break. We let the bike enjoy all
the bling and attention from the other tourists while we pampered our legs in
the cool water. We also kayaked and explored further into the lake which was
really refreshing.
With the legs cooled down and the upper body tired now 😜, we re-packed again and continued towards the third checkpoint at 122 km. This section had the steepest section of the ride at Ananthagiri hills which was at average of 7% gradient stretched over 2 kilometers with the maximum at 11% (Don’t bother about the technical stuff, even I never understand what it means :D ). Before we approached the hill, I was prepared to walk it up if I was not up to it on the fixie. The climb started off gently and we managed to find a good rhythm and continued on it. Some of the steeper sections did throw some challenges but it was nothing that couldn’t be tackled with a massive grunt and some adrenaline. I realized that the gear ratios on the sidewinder are dialed in so perfectly that along with the fixed wheel it makes it very efficient on the climbs. We were happy that we crossed the hills and reached the checkpoint for some hearty lunch at a resort.
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| Chilling out at the lake on the Kayaks. |
With the legs cooled down and the upper body tired now 😜, we re-packed again and continued towards the third checkpoint at 122 km. This section had the steepest section of the ride at Ananthagiri hills which was at average of 7% gradient stretched over 2 kilometers with the maximum at 11% (Don’t bother about the technical stuff, even I never understand what it means :D ). Before we approached the hill, I was prepared to walk it up if I was not up to it on the fixie. The climb started off gently and we managed to find a good rhythm and continued on it. Some of the steeper sections did throw some challenges but it was nothing that couldn’t be tackled with a massive grunt and some adrenaline. I realized that the gear ratios on the sidewinder are dialed in so perfectly that along with the fixed wheel it makes it very efficient on the climbs. We were happy that we crossed the hills and reached the checkpoint for some hearty lunch at a resort.
We were happy to see the rest of the fellow riders re-group
at the checkpoint and hear their experiences of the ride. I was queried by many
of them on the fixie experience, but it was hard to explain that we were
actually having a good time on it (coz the gear restrictions’ have a good and
bad side). The rest of the leg of the ride, was mostly rolling which we conquered
with a Coke, an ice cream and a guava break. We were greeted by the city
traffic and finished our ride at the final control point at 200k. I really enjoyed
the ride and the joy of seeing many happy finishers clicking pictures, made my day.
My ride on Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1073412266
Where are the Astr bikes made and how many prototypes did it take to finalize?
The bikes are handcrafted in Taiwan according to our design specifications. We took about 1.5 years to finalize the design. First we picked up a hi ten steel version of the sidewinder and tested it. We wanted a slightly more responsive and lighter frame. In the mean time I also explored options in other countries and visited several factories. We tested around 5 different prototypes.
When was your first experience with a fixie and what prompted to make your own?
I actually did not ride a fixie till I bought mine. There was an American rider in Hyderabad who used to ride a fixie. Later Venky (Bikey Venky) also bought one. I was very curious about riding a fixed wheel and wanted to own and ride one after seeing them. Around 2010/11 Schwinn got about 5 Schwinn Cutters to India and I jumped on it immediately. (here it is more of an I, because I have been the fixie junkie in the group). However, both me and Krish are big fans of Steel and always wanted to use steel because of the ride quality.
Can these frames be used for track racing with the right setup.?
Yes. I had given it to Maxwell sir and his athletes to give feedback. For this we removed the brakes and increased the gear ratio. They were very happy with it as a training bike, but since in competition lighter Carbon frames are used, we can’t really use it for competition.
The frame geometry is what is commonly referred to as "Pista". Pista means track / velodrome in Italian. So it is a great training bike. We visualized the Sidewinder being used more as an urban commuter. But a very interesting and lively one and hence the Pista frame rather than a more relaxed geometry. That is why the existing gear ratio is a little lesser than normal as we wanted people even in hilly cities to be able to enjoy this bike.
What is Astr looking at in the future. Could there be newer versions of the existing bikes?
Only time will tell. We designed a couple of steel gravel road bikes from scratch and tested the prototypes. We need one more iteration to get it perfectly dialed in and are still working on it.
My ride on Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1073412266
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| The bikes basking in the sun. |
More About the "Astr" brand
Astr is a brand born in Hyderabad, bred in Taiwan and tested
for Indian conditions over two long years, making it truly a world-class Indian
cycle. While geared bikes enjoy a certain status, Krish and Gokul, (the
founders) were taken in by fixies. Since I was intrigued after spending so much
time with the bike, they happily answered some of my questions when I met them over
a coffee one evening.
Where are the Astr bikes made and how many prototypes did it take to finalize?
The bikes are handcrafted in Taiwan according to our design specifications. We took about 1.5 years to finalize the design. First we picked up a hi ten steel version of the sidewinder and tested it. We wanted a slightly more responsive and lighter frame. In the mean time I also explored options in other countries and visited several factories. We tested around 5 different prototypes.
When was your first experience with a fixie and what prompted to make your own?
I actually did not ride a fixie till I bought mine. There was an American rider in Hyderabad who used to ride a fixie. Later Venky (Bikey Venky) also bought one. I was very curious about riding a fixed wheel and wanted to own and ride one after seeing them. Around 2010/11 Schwinn got about 5 Schwinn Cutters to India and I jumped on it immediately. (here it is more of an I, because I have been the fixie junkie in the group). However, both me and Krish are big fans of Steel and always wanted to use steel because of the ride quality.
Can these frames be used for track racing with the right setup.?
Yes. I had given it to Maxwell sir and his athletes to give feedback. For this we removed the brakes and increased the gear ratio. They were very happy with it as a training bike, but since in competition lighter Carbon frames are used, we can’t really use it for competition.
The frame geometry is what is commonly referred to as "Pista". Pista means track / velodrome in Italian. So it is a great training bike. We visualized the Sidewinder being used more as an urban commuter. But a very interesting and lively one and hence the Pista frame rather than a more relaxed geometry. That is why the existing gear ratio is a little lesser than normal as we wanted people even in hilly cities to be able to enjoy this bike.
What is Astr looking at in the future. Could there be newer versions of the existing bikes?
Only time will tell. We designed a couple of steel gravel road bikes from scratch and tested the prototypes. We need one more iteration to get it perfectly dialed in and are still working on it.
