Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - What's up with fixed gear commuting?

Pardon my ignorance. I live in NYC and have noticed fixed gear bikes becoming increasingly trendy. I must say, I don't get it.

I mean, the bikes look great in all their minimalism, but why would you want a fixed gear for commuting? Is it faster? Easier somehow?

Far less maintenance = better for everyday, street riding.

it's absolutely painful = better training.

Painful?

wow, you guys really are minimal.

Whole lot of fun too. :)

More precision and control in traffic.
I have a 30 mile round trip commute and consider my time on my fixed gear bike the best part of the day.
In the winter I switch to a geared commuter (ice, snow and high winds require gears) and find it sloppy and vague compared to my fixie.
I don't understand why anyone would commute on a geared bike if he had a choice.

more fun.

they probably dont really have jobs

i dont understand what doesn't make sense about fixed gear commuting, especially in NYC. NYC is the perfect city for fixed gear. it's incredibly flat and what inclines there are are easily doable in one gear. there are stop lights every block, which prevents you (generally, unless you're having fun) from being able to hit top speeds that might call for a higher gear. track geometry is extremely well suited for tight handling in traffic and the short rides involved in most NYC commuting. the simplicity and minimalism of a fixed bike makes maintaining it for daily commuting very easy.

more seriously though, riding fixed feels completely different. Some people hate it, many people love it. You pretty much can figure out which way you fall if you just ride a fixie for 5 or 10 minutes. In that regard it has nothing to do with commuting at all, if you love fixed you'll want to ride it every day.

There are some benefits too, less stuff to steal, less stuff to fail. In NYC there are very few hills worthy of gears anyway and those are pretty far from the center of things. The shorter wheelbase of track bikes (which is just a subset of fixed) makes for very maneuverable machines, which is great for weaving through traffic. That part is proven, what is still partially unproven but which a very good case can be made for is that fixed gear gives you much better feedback about what is going on as you ride. Weaving through manhattan traffic, you need as good feedback as you can get as to what is happening around you...

i dont understand what doesn't make sense about fixed gear commuting, especially in NYC. NYC is the perfect city for fixed gear. it's incredibly flat and what inclines there are are easily doable in one gear. there are stop lights every block, which prevents you (generally, unless you're having fun) from being able to hit top speeds that might call for a higher gear. track geometry is extremely well suited for tight handling in traffic and the short rides involved in most NYC commuting. the simplicity and minimalism of a fixed bike makes maintaining it for daily commuting very easy.

Exactly.

Cool. Maybe I'll try one out this summer. Still can't figure out how you guys brake on those - but I guess it's not too hard.

Fred flintstone style. Barefoot too.

I didn't get it at first. I could see singlespeed -- low maintenance, fewer parts to get stolen off of bike etc. -- but fixed gear just seemed wrong and dangerous anyplace but on a track.

However, I learned after building a conversion myself, that fixed gear gives you a sense of control especially at low speeds, that you don't have with a bike that can coast. And if you HAVE AT LEAST ONE BRAKE on your bike, it's every bit as safe as any other bike. Safer, in fact, because you have another option besides brakes for stopping.

I got flamed (slow cooked actually) for posting this on the Advocacy and Safety board, but with a fixed gear bike, you can ride very comfortably at low speeds. Very low, slow enough that you can "pace" a pedestrian walking on the sidewalk. Therefore, if you need to leave the street for any reason you can ride the sidewalk without endangering pedestrians. Of course, being able to ride very slow also makes it easier to take the lane in slow moving traffic as well.

in the winter your legs stay warmer if they are always moving

in the winter your legs stay warmer if they are always moving

Just because a bike can coast doesn't mean you need to...

If I'm cold and on my geared bike I can just shift and start spinning more. If I have a headwind and I'm on my fixed gear, I can't increase my cadence that much.

Man, I got tired of carrying my heavy MTB up and down 4 flights of stairs every day. I throw my fixie over my shoulder and I am out the door. Maintenance is a snap and my commutes are a lot more enjoyable on a bike that is more fun to ride.

I used to commute on a... *blink, blink* gearie (?) just under 10 miles per day. I *wish* I would have had a fixie then. I'm one of the people that within the first five minutes of riding fixed loved fixed and now I want to ride fixed all the time. Now I live too far away from my office to commute for a 7-4 shift, but I keep a fixie at the office for lunchtime or after-work rides.

Please note I live on the other side of the country from NYC; Southern California.

i commute fixed every day, and it's less about it being good for commuting (even though i think it is) and more about having forgotten completely how to ride anything else. not being able to control my bike solely with my feet feels very scary now. :D seriously though i couldn't see riding any other way, it just feels too right.

someone mentioned this, it is much easier to ride slowly on a fixed gear. i know it's illegal, but i don't feel bad about riding on the sidewalk on my fixie because i can ride as slowly and with as much control as a pedestrian.

speaking of fixed gear commuting, does any company make a clip-on FRONT fender? Kinda like the cheap plastic rear ones? (which I love) My rear clip on is great, but some ******bag stole my old rusty front one.

the pro-fixed argument i don't hear enough but was definitely one of the reasons i went fixed is i'm to lazy to use a hand brake. i got so sick of having to change hand positions while riding to brake. it's so much nicer to just be able to skip/skid/resist and leave your hands where they are.

OK, So then, how do you stop short with a fixed? I have to stop short at least 6 times/week on my commutes to avoid hitting doors opening, strollers, elderly people, rats and a number of other things.

someone mentioned this, it is much easier to ride slowly on a fixed gear. i know it's illegal, but i don't feel bad about riding on the sidewalk on my fixie because i can ride as slowly and with as much control as a pedestrian.

I hate it when people ride on sidewalks.

OK, So then, how do you stop short with a fixed? I have to stop short at least 6 times/week on my commutes to avoid hitting doors opening, strollers, elderly people, rats and a number of other things.

i think when you ride fixed brakeless you become a better rider honestly, at least in terms of dealing with issues like this. i'm not trying to dis anyone, but knowing that you don't have a brake forces you to anticipate, look ahead, be more mindful of what is going on around you, consider your own limitations, better understand traffic and be able to pick lines. it's like it says on the MASH SF site, it's not about stopping, it's about committing to a line. the way i've come to see if is that braking in a sense is working against your bike, and without a brake you learn how to better work with your bike as opposed to against it.

OK, So then, how do you stop short with a fixed? I have to stop short at least 6 times/week on my commutes to avoid hitting doors opening, strollers, elderly people, rats and a number of other things.

well first off fixed does not mean no brakes, plenty of people ride fixed with a front brake.

second off, it's tricky to explain but you ride differently with fixed. A little slower sometimes. It sounds like bs but you often are much more aware on a fixed. At the bare minimum you have a better sense of your braking distance and react accordingly. I think a lot of close calls actually stem from people not realizing how long it takes them to get to a complete stop, and then winding up stopping far too close for comfort. On a fix you often just "find the hole" instead of braking, in some cases this is probably the safer thing to do, in others probably not. In any case I highly recommend a front brake at first. Ride for a while and you'll want to stop using it. Odds are you'll find it easier to not use a brake than you thought.

damn evanyc I keep posting the same thing as you a minute too late...

I feel like coasting on a freewheel is like riding on a train that derailed. Riding fixed is like you're connected to the ley lines of the earth. The connection is so primal, you almost forget that you're on a machine. The only time you sense gravity on a fixed is when you stop and lose inertia. It's perfect for the city/commuting, when you just need to get from a to b , and can't afford to be distracted by gearing, chain adjustment, brake maintainence, etc. It's not for everybody, but it's perfect for me. Plus, you get a thumbs up and impromtu conversation from some serious bike atheletes, guys who probably wouldn't give you the time of day if they saw you coasting by on a $5,000.000 carbon Orbea with a mohawk. Instant respect (if you can actually keep up).

I hate it when people ride on sidewalks.

here here.

I feel like it makes cyclists everywhere look bad.

the worst is when people are riding on the sidewalk on the wrong side of the road. I know sidewalks are not directional, but it just seems double wrong to me.

the funny thing, riding on the sidewalk is perfectly legal here in portland and I'll blow stop signs without a thought but get seriously irked when cyclists ride the sidewalk.

edit: puctuation explosion.

speaking of fixed gear commuting, does any company make a clip-on FRONT fender? Kinda like the cheap plastic rear ones? (which I love) My rear clip on is great, but some ******bag stole my old rusty front one.

you need a 2 liter soda bottle and some zip ties. cut the bottle top and bottom off, cut up the side, poke holes for the zip ties, trim the edges, and voila. a one dollar fender that weighs nothing. diy.

For quick on and off fenders I use SKS Race Blades:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=&sku=14008&storetype=estore&estoreid=598&pagename=

I normally use only the rear fender, but sometimes the front as well.

Regarding braking on a fixie, I ride with a front brake.
I go a week without needing a brake and then I need it four times in five minutes.
Unpredictable.
Give me another five years of riding fixed and I might get rid of the front brake, but I would need a lot more skill than I presently have.

speaking of fixed gear commuting, does any company make a clip-on FRONT fender? Kinda like the cheap plastic rear ones? (which I love) My rear clip on is great, but some ******bag stole my old rusty front one.

planet bike makes some really great ones that i have. super easy to install and remove. I think I spent $30 on the set. I got mine from a lbs but beleive REI carries them as well.

Control at low speeds
Control in traffic
Better training per mile
Up hills build massive legs
Down hills build massive spins
Less to do while riding
Trackstand in traffic (I am getting almost 3 seconds of trackstand now)
Lightweight
My conversion is easy to replace if ruined.
My conversion is unrideable for most people.
No cable bosses to dig holes in my skin (I had a few of them)
No decisions to make in traffic, just jump/click and go!

I started over the winter and I'm sold for life. As long as I own a bike, I'll own a fixed gear. Where I live, it's pancake flat so hills are no issue. After I started riding fixed I began to wonder why I was riding around with 17 or 26 extraneous gear ratios. And it's definitely made me a stronger, better rider. Stronger because you brake with your legs and you learn to spin more smoothly at higher cadences. I noticed on group rides that I can accelerate from the saddle on my geared bike much better. I spin it up, and drop a cog or two, and boom! It's like overdrive. And a better rider because you ride more efficiently and anticipate more when you're fixed. No more jackrabbiting from stoplight to stoplight. I go smoothly and easily.And finally, there's less for thieves and vandals to mess with.

I saw a cyclist riding the wrong way down a 45mph road in suburbia, in high traffic. I was shocked, since there is a bike lane on the other side of the road, going the correct direction.

speaking of fixed gear commuting, does any company make a clip-on FRONT fender? Kinda like the cheap plastic rear ones? (which I love) My rear clip on is great, but some ******bag stole my old rusty front one.

SKS raceblade are clip on (made for tight clearances), but pricey.

what!?! no troll comments. the usual peeps must be avoiding this thread.

after riding a fixed in traffic, it's pretty hard to go back. the first time you try and brake with the pedals and nothing happens, you freak out. gears feels like careening down a mountain totally out of controll vs. fixed.

+1 to everything. It's just so damned fun too.

I'll vouch for having oodles more control while riding extremely slowly (on a sidewalk or not; usually not). With a coasting bike, you would have to keep stabbing the brakes to creep along with a line of cars at a red light doing 0.5 mph. On a fixie, you can just alternate between pressing gently forwards and tapping backwards with the pedals to stand dang near motionless with very little effort outside of balancing. The next step up from this is to literally stand motionless, balancing by doing the same thing but with the front wheel turned to one side so that when you pedal forwards or backwards, the bike moves side to side underneath you, allowing you to move it to be underneath your center of gravity as you begin to slowly tip over to one side or the other.

I commute about 5 miles each way to work on a fixed-gear road bike conversion and I love it. There are a few gentle to moderate hills and one pretty harsh one, but other than that, I would probably only use two or three gears on a geared bike. Why not make it a challenge and do the whole thing with one gear, eh? No, it's not super practical or the most efficient way to do things, but neither is taking the long way home to get more miles in, and I do that all the time. At some point, people have a desire to make things more of a challenge rather than as easy as possible (why some people commute on a bike in the first place). Riding in to the office on a bike with one gear that doesn't coast and maybe doesn't even have any hand brakes turns your daily fight with traffic into a bit of an adventure as well as making for a better workout. I'll take that any day, thank you. I even have a rack, pannier, lights, and computer on my fixie.

I got flamed (slow cooked actually) for posting this on the Advocacy and Safety board, but with a fixed gear bike, you can ride very comfortably at low speeds.

Ha ha ha ha ...if you bring a fixie up to the angry, uptite Napoloen Dynomites
over there you are going to get skewered !!! :roflmao:
But, as someone who commutes 12 miles 1 way most of the time fixed
my reason is that the momentum it makes for itself makes me expend less
energy and push a bigger gear. Hills arent too bad and arriving at work less
tired is always a bonus.

Cool. Maybe I'll try one out this summer. Still can't figure out how you guys brake on those - but I guess it's not too hard.

If you do a search, you an find more information too.

again as i stated in previous posts , it is NOT for everybody, that include riding without hand brakes. get brakes first.

Riding in NYC on track or fixed gear is nothing new, it has been going on for YEARS. Get a nice light gear and have fun.

S/F,
CEYA!

I hate it when people ride on sidewalks.
same here because i know if was the one riding on sidewalks i would get the ticket :rolleyes:

OK, So then, how do you stop short with a fixed? I have to stop short at least 6 times/week on my commutes to avoid hitting doors opening, strollers, elderly people, rats and a number of other things.

If you have one you use your brake.

If you don;t have one you never have to stop short because riding without one endows you with a preternatural awareness for traffic conditions that prevents anything unexpected from ever happening.

OK, So then, how do you stop short with a fixed? I have to stop short at least 6 times/week on my commutes to avoid hitting doors opening, strollers, elderly people, rats and a number of other things.

skid

Having commuted on road bike for some time, the fixie is much easier. I switched over about 5-6 years ago when I lived in Chicago. As Evan has said, any flat city is a great place to commute on a fixie or track bike.

OK. I'm sold. Now I want one!

I don't have a lot of $$ to spend and I assume components are pretty cheap (being that there aren't that many). I read somewhere that it's best to get a frame from the 70's because of the dropout angle?

I also noticed that surly makes a fixed frame. Any other suggestions, links, etc? Thanks!

Man, my g-friend is gonna freeeeek!

http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html

SKS raceblade are clip on (made for tight clearances), but pricey.

what!?! no troll comments. the usual peeps must be avoiding this thread.



oh, sorry.


WHY THE **** WOULD SOMEONE WHO NEEDS FENDERS BUY A FRAME WITHOUT CLEARANCE OR BRAZE-ONS TO MOUNT THEM? ALSO, YOU ARE AN IDIOT IF YOU RIDE WITHOUT BRAKES!

My hubs don't freeze in winter.

I sometimes ride my fixed gear on my commutes simply for the cool factor.