Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - do you commute fixed?

this might be a dumb topic for some, but i'm wondering how many people here use their fixed rig for daily commuting to work? my commute is 24 miles each day and i have to carry a buttload of stuff, like a change of clothes, lunch, water, lock, tools, papers, so i use panniers and a rack. then, when old man winter comes around i have to carry rain gear and lights. so, i'm really interested to know how others commute, how far do you go, what do you carry and how?

Current commute is quite short at 11 miles round trip, old commute was closer to 54 miles round trip. Fixed at 46x16 and carry everything in a mess bag. I have showers at work, which helps and generally leave a pair of pants there so I can just carry a shirt and gotch enroute. I would occasionally leave a lock at work as I found I'd rarely stop on the commute routes. That helped lighten the load some.

8 miles commute with 900 ft of elevation gain each way.

Commute 1x week with 48x18T fixed. I am a corporate lackey so I can only do this on Friday when we have "casual Friday." TGIF!!! ;(

Yessum.

If I don't feel like cycling, I tend to ride my skateboard. My commute is only like half a mile though haha.

8 miles commute with 900 ft of elevation gain each way.

Commute 1x week with 48x18T fixed. I am a corporate lackey so I can only do this on Friday when we have "casual Friday." TGIF!!! ;(


900 ft gain each way?

sounds like one of those grandpa stories... when i was your age, i walked barefeet uphill both ways in the snow... all for a nickel!

900 ft gain each way?

sounds like one of those grandpa stories... when i was your age, i walked barefeet uphill both ways in the snow... all for a nickel!

It's 900ft going back. Something like 300 on the way back. I live on the West Hills of Portland. Everything I ride to results in a climb back home. I have a GPS watch so my word is the bible. :P

Whenever I start to feel smug about the fact that I ride my bike everywhere, I remember that I live within two miles of... well, pretty much everything in town. When I can't ride, I usually walk.

It's 900ft going back. Something like 300 on the way back. I live on the West Hills of Portland. Everything I ride to results in a climb back home. I have a GPS watch so my word is the bible. :P
i live on the other end of the willamette valley so everything is uphill on the way home for me too!

i commuted to the train station and back every day. it was maybe four miles or so each way. fixed, fat tired and fendered. carried only a lock and a mini timbuktu bag, which usually only contained whatever book/magazine/gba game i was into at the time.

When I ride my Madone to work (at a Trek dealer) I can put it in a rack inside. When I ride my Eimei (which I prefer to the Madone) they make me leave it locked up outside.

Bikeists.

18 miles round trip. commute every day. got my clothes at work. can't start the day without riding.

46 mile round trip-- on a 48x18 fixed-- carry a fanny pack in the summer, and a backpack in the winter-

train safe-

I commute daily on a 48x17 conversion, but only about a mile, with a brief uphill bit. I usually bring just my messenger bag, sometimes lunch, sometimes a laptop, sometimes groceries or water, sometimes yoga mat and pants. The gf (nakedsushi on here) rides her fg the 1 mi to work as well.

I also ride about 5 mi each way to yoga 2x a week or so.

I see other folks riding around my area on fixed gear bikes fairly frequently, and some of them seem likely to be commuting or doing errands.

When I ride my Madone to work (at a Trek dealer) I can put it in a rack inside. When I ride my Eimei (which I prefer to the Madone) they make me leave it locked up outside.

Bikeists.

HAHA. I prefer my $500 Pista over my $3000 Cannondale CAAD8 road bike too.

I commute maybe 9 miles round trip. I carry everything in my messenger bag (which is a pain in the summer due to extra sweat). I leave "business casual" shoes at work, and just bring a shirt to change in, gym clothes, my lock, and random bike stuff (lights, pump, spare tube, etc.). I try to buy lunch for the week at a nearby Trader Joe's so I don't have to bring lunch in everyday.

6-7 miles each direction. Don't commute in winter or when I need an auto for work. Carry change of clothes in messenger bag and have "emergency suit" in my office.

my saturday commute is a really nice a 15km ride each way, and i can bring my bike inside (and they have more tools than i do so, i can deal with anything i can't at home. nice.)

my wensday/sunday commute is a little longer and usually do bike-train-bike on the way there then ride home.

i just got a day job kind of job too, which is a really short commute and i can't really bring my bike into the office... i'm still debating if it's worth riding. Riding would deffinatly shave 10minutes off the commute... but i really don't like leaving my bike outside all day.

I mean, I guess it's a commute... it's not even two miles from my house to the coffee shop. My roommate (who works with me) rides fixed, and another girl at work rides a SS.

Small towns are kind of nice sometimes.

Right now my commute is 3 miles round trip. I just carry a spare shirt since I only have about 10 min of sweaty time. Lock and lunch are in my bag and depending on which fix I ride I carry non clipless shoes to change out of if I ride with the bike with clipless pedals. Hopefully if I get my new job next week my commute will be 12 miles round trip (which is a good thing). Ill have to carry a spare set of clothes but luckily the job has showers. In winter ill wear cold weather gear and just keep it in a locker or something while at work. Ill keep work shoes at work and ride the clipless bike as that is going to be my winter bike. I like commutes!

Yeah I commute fixed. that is why I went fixed, to minimize maintainance. But it is also a lot of fun and a good way to make a 6 mile commute into a decent workout (lots of hills). I spin out at 42 17 but it's good for the knees.

I have a grocery pannier and fenders on my old conversion, just drop in my backpack (usually 15lbs or so) and go. I'm addicted.

14 miles round trip, rain or shine.

I take mine on the Yolo Causeway when schools in and it's not too windy. 14 miles each way.

6-7 miles each way.

no clothes requirements, so i just sweat it and forget it.

i have a crappy little nylon "briefcase" i found at a thrift store for $3. it carries my notebooks, some tools and when it gets colder, my jacket or longsleeve shirt. and occasionally a sandwhich in my crayola snack packer!

I commute around 11km each way, carry my clothes in a backpack.

I usually ride either a SS townie or trackbike daily, but my commute is just over 2 miles.

30 miles, round-trip. 3 times a week. Other two days I ride in on my roadie to coincide for early training rides. For fixed days, I'm on a Surly, 48x17. Mixed MUPs and road. No elevation worth mentioning.

Gear: I usually carry a LG rain jacket thingy, a pair of jeans and a shirt in a Dakine backpack (love it) - along with the essentials (tools, foodstuff, musica, u-lock, etc.)

Office is lenient about bike storage, but I bring the lock along just in case.

Riding to work fixed makes going to work worth it. Only problem is I want to leave ASAP, rendering me essentially useless most days. Thank God/Buddha/Allah/Ozzy for bf.net and fixedgeargallery.com.

Commute daily about 22miles RT. A little over half of those trips are fixed lately. Usually just carry a small bag, although I left my last CSA pickup with about 20 lbs of vegetables on my back.

Commute daily about 22miles RT. A little over half of those trips are fixed lately. Usually just carry a small bag, although I left my last CSA pickup with about 20 lbs of vegetables on my back.


confederate states of america?

get over it! you lost!

confederate states of america?

get over it! you lost!


I hope you're kidding, but if not...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_supported_agriculture

I do about 150 miles on my fixed gear(s) and sometimes I give my cross machine a little love.
I just carry everything in my messenger bag:
-tools, extra clothes, work clothes, Dslr, books for school, etc.

I probably only ride about 15-20 miles a week, but I live like, 5 minutes from my school.

My commute is 8 miles each way and about 1300 gain on the way back, so i ride my road bike. Happily might i add considering i'd probably die on my track bike. If not going down and spinning my brains out, then definitely coming back up on a high gear. I do however ride my track bike any other non work commute opportunity i get.

I don't commute to work on the bike every day, but I only live 6 blocks (give or take, I've never counted) away from work. It's my daily committment after work that I always commute to, and that's about 4.5 miles uphill (although only about 1.5 miles of that is actually a climb) on a 48x16. I generally have an assortment of books with me, sometimes my 17" powerbook (that thing is heavy), pump/tools/spare thornproof tube, ulock and a liter of water in my mess bag along with the usuall knick-knacks. And it's not until even later in the evening that I go riding just because.

5.25 miles each way though I often leave early to get in 8 to 11 miles each way. I work at Stanford Hospital so my clothes are provided at work....scrubs. I also have a bike locker so no need for a lock. I have a Performance Rack and bag to carry my lunch. I commute everyday rain or shine. 42 x 15 Fixed. No hills to speak of.

living in nyc its the only way i use to get around...trains get annoying..commuting to work and play is the fixed is the best way, i just wish i had more friends to ride with to bars and such, my two roomies that ride are sober. therefore they dont come out play ...

9 miles roundtrip by the most direct route, which I avoid whenever possible. 43 x 15 (75") fixed for the summer, I'll go back to 42 x 16 (69") when I put the fenders back on for winter.

I commute 26 miles round trip a few days a week on my fixed gear. I usually run 42x15 or 16. It's a relatively flat ride with some small hills. I carry a change of clothes, laptop, the usual bike tools, and sometimes other things like a thermos of coffee, lunch, or last week I rode in with my bbq utensils for a company bbq. I used to ride with a large timbuk2, but decided to balance the weight on my back with a backpack and got the banjo brothers commuter backpack. That bag is awesome. I tried the whole rack/pannier thing on my fixed gear, but decided against it. Can't exactly skid to a stop in emergencies or skip/skid down hills with my rear wheel weighted down. I do have a front brake, so it's not that big of a deal, but still..

My commute right now is about 60 miles round trip -- but that's only for another 2 weeks. After that it will be about 6 miles round trip, I'm not going to know what to do with myself!

mine's only about a mile each way to campus, but i ride it four to five times a day.

My commute is 22 miles each way and I ride my fixed about half the time. I can also take the train for the first 15 miles which reduces my total commute time from 1:15 to about 50 minutes. I ride the train nearly every morning (cause I'm always running late) and some evenings.

I have racks/panniers on both my commuter bikes but I have to use my messenger bag when I need to bring my laptop home. I definitely take the train when I have to lug that mother****er, it's a 17" Dell monstrocity.

I bring my clothes in as needed and generally wear pants 5 times and shirts 3-5 times. At any given time have roughly 2 pairs of pants and 7 or 8 shirts at work that I rotate through. Fabreeze is my friend.

Fabreeze is my friend.

roger that.

4 miles each way, downhill there - so no shower necessary, uphill all the way back is easy with 42x18 except when it decides to be windy, then its just barely good gearing.

18 miles round trip, most of the time on my 48x17.

11 mile pancake flat round trip on 50x16. Carry clothes, lock, tools, breakfast and lunch in my Timbuk2.

I work at a resturaunt, and can keep my clothes there. I was riding every day, but when its really bad out ill drive, just because its a fancy place and I have to look very cleancut and proper. thats 6(?) miles every day. usually fixed.

On sundays I work at a store 25 miles away from home, take the roadbike there and back.

my commute is only 3.5 miles each way, but the heat in south florida is so oppressive that i'm completely soaked in sweat cycling that distance, even with all my stuff off my back and in a milk crate rack (business casual costume, lunch, lock, tools, tube). my work doesn't have showers so i get up a little earlier, work out, shower, and change at the ymca downtown, which is < a half mile from work - not far enough to get sweaty. i commute everytime i work, which is only 2-3 days a week. 45x16 on my beater conversion - almost completely flat. also, i've been commuting for 6 months now, and i've never encountered another person riding their bike to work in sarasota.

My commute was about 13 miles round trip, but I just got a new job and now it's only about 7 roundtrip. Getting to work is almost all downhill or flat for me, whereas getting back is almost all uphill, which is cool, because who cares if I'm sweaty at home, I'll just take a shower.

That said, I switch it up a lot. Sometimes I ride my beater at 44/16, sometimes I ride my nice bike at 49/17, and sometimes I ride my road bike. At this point I'd say I consistently do 200-250 miles every week, and at least 150-200 of them are on the road bike.

Old commute = 20 miles (round trip)
New commute = 2 miles (round trip)

I'm doing about 3 miles round trip with about 600 foot hill on my fixed-gear. Not much gear, just my backpack with a notebook and my lock.

Ive been riding road for a while but im now adding to my collection a fixed gear next week. Im so glad i have found others who think like i do. I was telling my roadie friends that i wanted to commute with my fg to work. Their response to me was that i was crazy. my commute now is 18 miles round trip so its not bad but im looking forward to it.
I also started riding at the velodrome and im hooked. now i only want to ride fixed gears. i prefer driving a half hour to the track and ride a fg for a hour than to ride my S-works Tarmac(for sale soon) . who understands.
P.S. just to add to the crazyness but has anyone riden in big group rides on fixed gears(with a brake of course) ???? or done any centuries (62 or 100 miles) , maybe im getting carried away but thats whats crossing my mind and i may sign up for a full century and do it on my new fg. craazzyyyy.
** where can i get an awsome messenger bag????? thanks
Jose