Why ride a fixed-gear bike?

Question

I must confess, I don't know much about bikes. Until fairly recently, a bike was just that thing that I rode to work each day. I've been slowly learning more about bikes but I still have some newbie questions. This is one of them.

If I recall correctly and have got the terminology correct, a fixed-gear bike is a bike with only one gear (so you can't change it) and no freewheel (so if the rear wheel is turning, so are the pedals).

Why do people ride fixed-gear bikes? Isn't it either hard to get started (if fixed in a high gear ratio) or hard to get to a good speed (if fixed in a low gear ratio)?

I'm not trying to insult or flame riders of fixed-gear bikes - I'm just curious! :)

Answer 1

Your understanding is correct.

Why do people ride them? Some random answers:

1. Maintenance is very, very low. You have to keep the tires and chain in good working order and, on a bike you ride on the road, hopefully some form of a brake. That's it.
2. On most velodromes, you have to ride a fixed gear bike, so if you race track, you have no choice.
3. There is something to be said for how a fixed gear will force you to develop a smoother pedaling style since you simply cannot stop. Due to this, they are somewhat popular for 'off season' training by serious road cyclists.
4. (Hesitating to mention this...) There is a certain segment of the population that loves retro and simple things. In addition to being possibly the most efficient people moving device that exists, the fixed gear bicycle can be an important fashion accessory.

Hard to get started/Hard to go fast?

Yes. Generally someone who has a road worthy fixie will have selected a gear that works well for the terrain and speed that they like to ride at. I've only ridden fixed gear bikes on the track, but I'd imagine for a city fixie, you'd optimize for a fairly low speed but someone who takes these more seriously can answer better.

Answer 2

• It's harder work than a normal free hub, your legs are constantly moving so there's no rest.
• Going up hills without having to think about gear selection forces you to think about optimisation of effort
• Going down hills is hard, too - spinning your legs in a way you can rarely achieve on a free hub
• This constant movement translates to a much smoother rhythmic style of pedalling, which will have a beneficial effect on your free hub cadence
• There are fewer components to maintain
• As a consequence of the fewer components, the machine is lighter, so the experience is more responsive, which means you're able to maintain speed more easily.
• Traditionally fewer people knew how to ride them, so they were alleged to be less attractive to thieves.
• In wet weather you can stop much more easily, brakes/rims are obviously variable, but braking using the fixed wheel drive train is not impeded by wet conditions

If I had to summarise in a single word: work. It's harder work, I expend more energy, I get more benefit from my training/commuting miles.

Answer 3

Reasons I ride:

1. There is a direct feel of the road. There is no slack going forward or backward before the "catch" on the chain.
2. No derailleur maintenance. No clicking. No wait on gear shifts. No finding the right gear.
3. Where I ride, it is completely flat, in and out of neighborhoods, constant speed changes. I could shift gears all the time, or I could just ride one gear and absorb it with my legs.
4. It puts me out of my comfort zone. When I ride a regular road bike for fitness, the temptation is to pick the most efficient gear and go at the heart rate I can sustain for the distance I want to travel. All efforts are pretty much identical. With a fixie, the gear is picked and I must choose the effort expended to match the distance I'll travel. I don't really ride it for fitness but I've found it puts me through paces I never went through on a regular road bike.

Answer 4

Um, elephant in the room I'll address the answer to you: because it's trendy. C'mon, you can't tell me that fashion is not a major factor.

Not that that's a bad thing, anything that gets people into cycling is a good idea if you ask me.

Answer 5

Fixed-gear bikes, as compared to single-speed bikes:

Trackstands. The ability to move the bike backwards with the pedals makes it possible to keep balanced while stopped. This is useful (while waiting for cross traffic, for example) and is a demonstration of the skill of the rider.

Brakes are optional. You can apply back-pressure to the pedals to slow the bike gradually. Alternately, you can throw your weight forward (to unweight the back wheel), and apply very strong back pressure. Once the wheel is locked up, you skid to a stop.

This is also a safety issue, as you can't stop nearly as quickly without the benefit of a front brake (where most of braking happens on most bikes), and it depends heavily on the skill level of the rider.

No brakes (or front brake only) simplifies the bike even further, compared to a single-speed bike.

Image and exclusivity. Fixed-gear bikes are unusual, and not everyone can ride them. Heavy people with heavy loads in hilly areas are pretty much excluded. They require unique skills, and have an element of risk that repels most cyclists. In my area, they have been adopted by the "hipster" subculture.

Fun and variety. For someone who rides a conventional multi-speed bike the contrasting experience of riding a fixie can spice things up, keeping bikes interesting.

Answer 6

Some people ride a fixed-gear bike to play Cycleball, the most awesome of all competitive cycling sports.

Answer 7

There are multiple kinds of "fixed gear" bikes, each appropriate for different purposes:

Track bike Intended for the velodrome. Horizontal rear-facing drop-outs, no quick release on wheels, no brakes, drop bars for most events, 1/8 chain, gear-inches no less than 81" (48x16) and as high as 100+, riders frequently change cogs/chainrings during workouts. Geometry is steeper than road bikes and handling is twitchy, tires no wider than 25mm. Example: Bianchi Super-Pista.

Street fixed gear Intended for riding/training on street surfaces. Horizontal drop outs, front brake, drop-bars or bullhorns or flat bars, gear-inches typically lower. Geometry like a road bike, accommodation for tires wider than 25mm. Typically has a flip-flop hub with a freewheel on one side. Example: Surly Steamroller

Fixed Trick bike Intended for doing stunts that involve pedaling backwards, walls, ramps, hops and other wild stuff. Lots of back-pedalling. Geometry like a big BMX bike, very low gear-inches. Example: see prolly is not probably blog.

Conversion fixie Road bike frame that has been converted. You can tell because the drop outs are not rear-facing. Everything else same as "street" fixed gear. This is a good way to experiment with fixed gear if you don't want to shell out $700-$1000 for a dedicated bike. You're not going to be allowed to race one of these on the velodrome because of the drop outs. Examples: See fixed gear gallery blog.

Answer 8

To throw a spanner in the works (this was a huge religious debate in some fixie communities.) Brakes are not "optional". And in some states (MN & WI iirc) are required by law.

You should have at least one brake on a fixed gear bike in case your chain breaks (they can and will if you don't keep up on maintenance.)

Otherwise as others have mentioned better/smoother pedal stroke, better understanding of your body & endurance since you can't change gears to accommodate hills, simpler mechanics.

Answer 9

Ride nothing but a fixed-gear bike for 3 months, then get back on a standard geared/freewheel'd bike. After you get over the initial shock of being able to coast and backpedal, you'll feel like friggin' Superman. Riding a fixie turns your legs into tree trunks.

Answer 10

It's a trend, that's all. Give it a few more years and all that will remain are a bunch of vandalised classic frames that we will look at sadly, wishing those lugged and brazed steel beauties had not been modified for some hipster's vanity.

There's one actual reason which is lower maintenance - less complexity does mean less to adjust. Get your chain tension right, keep it lubricated, things should stay smooth for a long time.

Against the fixie there are so many more - being in the right gear only 10% of the time is the big one. A fixie is for the track where the gradient is zero and the road is always smooth. (You go up the embankments of course but race tactics is a whole separate, big discussion.)

"trackstands" - many skilled cyclists and even a lot of plain old commuters can balance indefinitely on mountain bikes, cyclocross, road bikes or whatever.

"direct connection" - huh? There's no slack in my drivetrain, nor on any properly adjusted bike. There is the direct link that keeps your pedals rotating any time the wheels are rotating of course, which can be very dangerous if you lean into a corner and find your inside pedal lifting the back wheel off the ground as it comes around...

"lighter" - modern frames and group sets are so light anyway. The UCI (governing body for the world road championships etc.) has set a minimum weight of 6.8kg because it is easily possible to make a lighter geared bike than this. There's a point beyond which it just doesn't matter any more, and both geared and fixies are there already.

"efficiency/fitness" - there are two sides to this. A fixie can help you learn to keep constant pressure on the pedals I guess. But gears are there for a reason. Lance Armstrong doesn't have the cadence of a hummingbird because it's more fun that way, it is more efficient. When you're travelling downhill fast and your legs are spinning to keep up with your pedals that's awesome, but it's the time you least need efficiency. You need it going uphill, but that's when you're standing up in the saddle pumping slowly. Which leads to a warning - fixies may be bad for your knees. If you ride in hills and you tough it out with a tall gear you will cause more wear to your knee and hip joints than if you were able to change down and keep your legs spinning. 20-somethings, you think you're invincible now but you may well regret that attitude once you turn 40.

Brakes don't enter into the debate because a fixie can have them or not.

Take your fixie shopping on weekends. For riding with an actual purpose, accept that technology has advanced a bit. As per Lance Armstrong's cadence, they don't ride bikes with gears in the Tour just because it's more fun or they like to tinker.

Answer 11

Adding to the many excellent answers, riding a fixie is fun!

I didn't get one for a long time because I thought I wouldn't ride it. But then once I got one I didn't ride anything else for 3 months. It is that much fun. Even on longer rides (up to 80km) I'd ride the fixie. You're so connected to the riding experience on a light, nimble bike.

There's no need to be monitoring which gear you're in and which gear you need to select next to go up/down the next hill. There's never noise from the drivetrain. You're never between gears. You're always in the right gear and it's always rock solid!

As a commuting bike a fixie is ideal (assuming you can manage any hills).

• They're cheap to buy
• They're cheap and easy to maintain
• The workout is much harder (making the weekend rides so much more enjoyable)
• The position is closer to a road bike, again making the weekend rides better.

For plenty more ideas, expressed more eloquently than I am capable of, see Sheldon Brown

Answer 12

I like my fixed gear bike for a few reasons:

1. It is light and easy to pick up when I face stairs. I love having a bike I can move all by myself.
2. It is simple and I'm able to repair it on my own without any trouble. In fact, I made the bike myself. (With some help.)
3. I like the way it looks. I think it is very fashionable, and that just makes me want to ride more!
4. I enjoy being able to stop with my legs. I enjoy the way that the speed is always very consistent.

Answer 13

It is the perfect way to get a very light bike without going bankrupt.

Answer 14

Another thing not yet mentioned is that it forces you to pedal in winter, which keeps your knees warm. It helps you feel the energy you have accumulated -- you can ride a fixie on slicks through snow and ice.

The number one reason for me (already mentioned) is the maintenance cost. For the last year I changed 4 spokes and that's it. The chain was half the price of the 8 gear one and it lasts since I bought it almost 2 years ago. The tires wear off more slowly too.

And more subjective:

It gives you some extra understanding and a bit more control in the curves. You get more conscious about yourself. You learn to notice the position of the pedals, when you attack an obstacle, places where you need to use brakes. It teaches you new ways to avoid collision, new ways of standing, better balance.

It is different, so that when you go back to riding MTB afterwards -- with two strong brakes, suspension, big tires and studded pedals -- that's another thing you gonna appreciate.

Answer 15

It gives you something to do at stop lights; standing on the pedals and trying to keep your balance also gives you some nice torque when it turns green.

Answer 16

Reasons I ride fixed-gear most of the time:

1. I have to work hard to get what I want. A fixed gear forces constant pedaling, which means no lazy coasting. When I ride, I want to work.
2. Simplicity. Repairs are much easier as there are fewer fail points in the drive train.
3. I can feel the road. Next time it's raining out, ride a fixed gear and compare it to a freewheeled bike. On the fixie, you feel your traction at all times.

That said, I hate the trend (note that "clean lines" was not in my list), mostly because I hate watching idiots with no brakes drop their chain and crash into pedestrians or traffic.

Answer 17

To the many excellent answers, I wish to add a few:

1. Number one advantage to a fixed gear is that it will make you a better rider. Not only does it give a smoother pedal stroke, but the fact that it is slower to start and stop forces a smoother overall style. It also forces the rider to ride more safely and to look out for upcoming dangers in the road.

   note: Although it does encourage the rider to adopt a generally more cautious riding style, a bike without brakes is not as safe as one with brakes. Even if you can stop by skidding, it is wasteful to ruin a tire.

2. It not only promotes a more even pedal stroke,

3. facilitates development of a more powerful pedal stroke since riding uphill in a gear that is difficult to turn, or trying to slow down by putting backward pressure provides a load bearing exercise similar to weight lifting.

4. I find that I get a better workout per minute or per mile on a fixed gear than on a freewheel bike.

5. bicycle ballet

6. Riding a fixed gear bike is fun.

Answer 18

Apart from all the correct reasons/answers mentioned here, where I live, single speed cycle is the most cheapest one available to the general population. Kids start their cycling experience with such bikes itself and makes sense to upgrade to another similar one since it costs less, less maintenance (and all that's said before me).

Geared cycles cost more than single speed(Decent geared hybrids start at around 18-20k INR, Road bikes are 40-45k+ INR whereas single speed start from as lows as 4k INR). The price acts as a major deterrent in promotion of geared cycles. Only the people with money and/or knowledge about geared cycles tend to buy them (as far as general populous is taken into account)

Answer 19

Fixed gear bikes can be very silent. All you hear is the tire on the road. I don't think you can get that with any other type of bike.

Answer 20

Fixed gear riding will help you develop a steady and consistent cadence.