Talk to me about fixed gears

[OneEighth]

Just in case…
I wouldn’t recommend riding a single speed with a freewheel—you completely miss out on the control and feeling you get from adjusting your speed with every pedal stroke. Because you are still reliant on your brakes, you will end up riding the same way you do on a geared bike but without the benefit of the gears. Waste of time in my opinion unless you are just going for a look or ease of cleaning/maintenance.
On a related note, if anyone 5’10”-ish comes away from this thread with hankerin’ to build up a fixie of their own, I’ve got a 56cm Langster comp frame with two forks(x2) and a tubular wheelset that needs a new home.

[jrenaut]

@OneEighth 20894 wrote:

Just in case…
I wouldn’t recommend riding a single speed with a freewheel—you completely miss out on the control and feeling you get from adjusting your speed with every pedal stroke. Because you are still reliant on your brakes, you will end up riding the same way you do on a geared bike but without the benefit of the gears. Waste of time in my opinion unless you are just going for a look or ease of cleaning/maintenance.
On a related note, if anyone 5’10”-ish comes away from this thread with hankerin’ to build up a fixie of their own, I’ve got a 56cm Langster comp frame with two forks(x2) and a tubular wheelset that needs a new home.

I’m just shy of 6′ and would love to build a fixie, but your frame would have to come with someone who can convince my wife (a lawyer who thrives in oral argument) that I need a second bike.

Your description of riding a fixie as being like walking is really appealing to me – that sounds like something I would really get into.

[Dirt]

@jrenaut 20900 wrote:

I’m just shy of 6′ and would love to build a fixie, but your frame would have to come with someone who can convince my wife (a lawyer who thrives in oral argument) that I need a second bike.

Your description of riding a fixie as being like walking is really appealing to me – that sounds like something I would really get into.

OneEighth makes it an art form too. I’m gangly and awkward… definitely not that smooth on the bike. He redefines smooth.

[OneEighth]

Having two bikes is a really good idea for several reasons. Should you have a mechanical issue with one, then you’ve still got another bike with which to get to work. And, if your second bike is entirely unlike your first bike (say a fixie, or a cx bike or…a different color?) it helps you avoid the injuries that sometimes come from not varying your workout routines. Keeps things fresh, too, which is very important for deriving the maximum amount of positive mental energy from your ride (which you are sure to bring home and share with the family). Something along those lines.

[OneEighth]

@Dirt 20902 wrote:

OneEighth makes it an art form too. I’m gangly and awkward… definitely not that smooth on the bike. He redefines smooth.

Speaking of smooth—this from the guy who talked me into agreeing to ride 200 miles on a fixie.

[DismalScientist]

@OneEighth 20903 wrote:

Having two bikes is a really good idea for several reasons. Should you have a mechanical issue with one, then you’ve still got another bike with which to get to work. And, if your second bike is entirely unlike your first bike (say a fixie, or a cx bike or…a different color?) it helps you avoid the injuries that sometimes come from not varying your workout routines. Keeps things fresh, too, which is very important for deriving the maximum amount of positive mental energy from your ride (which you are sure to bring home and share with the family). Something along those lines.

Having six bikes are even better. My wife would be winning the argument if she could get me down to two.

[vvill]

jrenaut – Considering you use your existing bike for every kind of riding you do, including commuting and utility/kids-in-trailer hauling, I think you’re easily justified!

I have my standard road bike which is for group/faster rides, etc. I recently got a folding bike to use both in place of the road bike for commuting (esp. on rainy days – I keep the fenders on) and as a travel/town bike. My road bike is out of action for a while right now so I’m actually really glad I bought the folding bike. (I do also have two cheap older bikes as spare spares… but neither are all that great for riding more than a few miles on.)

[jrenaut]

@OneEighth 20903 wrote:

Having two bikes is a really good idea for several reasons. Should you have a mechanical issue with one, then you’ve still got another bike with which to get to work. And, if your second bike is entirely unlike your first bike (say a fixie, or a cx bike or…a different color?) it helps you avoid the injuries that sometimes come from not varying your workout routines. Keeps things fresh, too, which is very important for deriving the maximum amount of positive mental energy from your ride (which you are sure to bring home and share with the family). Something along those lines.

I don’t NEED the bike to commute – the Metro is just as quick if less enjoyable. The injury angle might work – my knee has been a bit funny for a while now and I’ve avoided a doctor . . .

The biggest problem is space. You’ve all seen my bike hanging from the ceiling? 1200 sq foot condo and two kids. No outdoor storage. I had to make all sorts of promises just to get the first bike in the house.

[jrenaut]

@vvill 20911 wrote:

jrenaut – Considering you use your existing bike for every kind of riding you do, including commuting and utility/kids-in-trailer hauling, I think you’re easily justified!

It’s true that my bike is not entirely well-suited for all the things I use it for. Though a fixie wouldn’t really be better for hauling kids . . .

[eminva]

@OneEighth 20894 wrote:

Just in case…
I wouldn’t recommend riding a single speed with a freewheel—you completely miss out on the control and feeling you get from adjusting your speed with every pedal stroke. Because you are still reliant on your brakes, you will end up riding the same way you do on a geared bike but without the benefit of the gears. Waste of time in my opinion unless you are just going for a look or ease of cleaning/maintenance.

Okay, you just broke my 74-year-old mother’s heart. That is the only kind of bike she has ever ridden. And yes, she is still riding . . .

Liz

[OneEighth]

@eminva 20914 wrote:

Okay, you just broke my 74-year-old mother’s heart. That is the only kind of bike she has ever ridden. And yes, she is still riding . . .

Liz

That’s fantastic!

[Dirt]

@OneEighth 20904 wrote:

Speaking of smooth—this from the guy who talked me into agreeing to ride 200 miles on a fixie.

There’s a fine line between smooth and diabolical. Muahahahahaha

[DaveK]

@jrenaut 20912 wrote:

I don’t NEED the bike to commute – the Metro is just as quick if less enjoyable. The injury angle might work – my knee has been a bit funny for a while now and I’ve avoided a doctor . . .

The biggest problem is space. You’ve all seen my bike hanging from the ceiling? 1200 sq foot condo and two kids. No outdoor storage. I had to make all sorts of promises just to get the first bike in the house.

900 sq ft apartment, 4 bikes, one giant dog. It can be done.

[GuyContinental]

@OneEighth 20894 wrote:

Just in case…
I wouldn’t recommend riding a single speed with a freewheel—you completely miss out on the control and feeling you get from adjusting your speed with every pedal stroke. Because you are still reliant on your brakes, you will end up riding the same way you do on a geared bike but without the benefit of the gears. Waste of time in my opinion unless you are just going for a look or ease of cleaning/maintenance.

Looks like I get to be the sole SS freewheel defender…

As a C1 paddler (that’s a whitewater kayak paddled like a canoe) and telemarker I respect the “other way” appeal but I dislike fixies. Even after a few hundred miles I thought I was going to rip my knees off and the whole not being able to stop thing wigged me out. It’s superficial but I also get a bit annoyed with the faux San Fran hipster scene that goes along with it (brake-less Bianchi Pistas with stupid narrow chest constricting messenger bars).

I think that it’s important to note that fixed vs SS are basically different sports. In my experience you get the tactical challenges of climbing and speed conservation from SS and add the “one with bike” thang with fixie. I ride SS MTB exclusively and love love love the simplicity, the silence, the added challenge and required attention to detail. I describe it as riding like a joyful little kid on a BMX. I set my wife up with a SS MTB and her skills went through the roof- all of a sudden it was commit or walk and hating to walk, she committed and became a much better rider.

I’ve been considering setting up a SS CX bike for my commute specifically because it forces you into a interval mode on climbs and just makes life a little more interesting. Sure I’ll miss out on some of the zen thing but it’s unfair to say that it won’t be a challenge and add to my ride or that it won’t make me more intimate with my bike. You keep your fixie, I’ll chase up the hill like the crazed hamster that I am; we’ll both be happy.

[Dirt]

I don’t think he OneEighth was saying one is better than the other… I think he was just saying that the experience is very different and one will not give you the feel of the other. That was my take on it, at least.

Part of the key to riding fixie or SS is finding the right gearing. The manifestation of having the wrong gearing is different in both, but the bottom line is the same… You don’t enjoy the ride.

I ride enough hills that riding a fixie without an adequate brake would have killed me decades ago. A good friend rides with both brakes on his fixie. He’s more comfy that way. Another good friend rides an MTB fixie with disc brakes front and rear. He loves it.

Ultimately ride what is fun and what you enjoy. If riding SF Hipster style is your thing, COOL! The chest-constrictingly narrow handlebars make me giggle too.

Rock and roll!

[Author]

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