Geared Bike so Much Harder Than Fixed?

RPM [quote]smithchild On a slightly different tack. I watched a guy this morning bombing along the road full pelt on a full-suss mountain bike. He looked to be busting a gut but every pedal stroke he was bouncing up and down massively. I felt pretty smug about my efficient fixed gear bike. Is the difference in efficiency really as much as it looks?

no it's more!

try riding a 50Lb FS DH rig up a hill you usually don't notice on your road bike, it's fucking horrible.

even my hardtail MTB feels like total shit on the road, it's a heavy bike yes, but the sus forks and large volume tyres steal a lot of your effort away. It really is the difference between night and day[/quote]

Seconded, even with the tyres (2.2inches wide (rear) & 2.35 (front)) at 60PSI and my forks pumped up to 80 the drag is noticable.
Mountain bikes aren't built for road. Funny that :]