WE RIDE WITH DANI KING

The Olympic gold medal list and three-time world champion explains the benefits of riding fixed

EFFICIENCY SAVINGS

Riding a fixed gear bike really helps to improve a rider on a standard road bike. I grew up on the track and so many top class road riders started on a fixed gear bike. It teaches you a good pedalling technique, making sure you’re producing power through the whole pedal stroke, as opposed to ‘stomping’ on the pedals like I see many riders doing.

FULL SPEED AHEAD

Additionally, riding a fixed gear helps with cadence as generally when you are on a fixed gear you are forced to pedal a lot faster. When transferred on to the road this gives riders a lovely high cadence, which is efficient, but also great for developing a rider’s top end speed.

SAFETY FIRST

We might tear around the London streets at the Red Hook Crit, but safety is number one when it comes to riding fixed. You need to be confident riding a fixed gear as it takes a lot of getting used to, so the track is a great way to do this before going onto the road. Your local velodrome will have hire bikes that you can use.

ALL WORK

There is no rest when you’re riding a fixed gear, so you are constantly pedalling. It is a different workout to one on a standard road bike and there are positives and negatives to both. A 30-minute track session drill would be a fairly long one, where your legs will be moving, and burning calories for the entirety.

GETTING STARTED

If you fall in love with fixieriding and want to get into racing then I would definitely say try the track first before targeting road events like the Red Hook. There’s already a big difference to racing on a standard road bike without the added skill of pedalling around corners. Head to your local velodrome and ask for advice - or get in touch with Rowe & King, my coaching company, and we will sort you out with some sound advice.