Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - How many people here ride FG/SS because...

derailleur's are just too hard to use, or are sooooo complicated to maintain, or are just really really confusing :( ?

I'm starting to get the impression that this is the reason why many people switch.

Why?

It's not ****ing rocket science people.

It's partially why I switched. They just confused the **** out of me.

FG is just more fun to ride and I get more enjoyment out of it. Thats not to say that I don't have multispeed bikes, they don't get ridden nearly as much as my fixed bikes do.

i ride fixed gear because everybody else does.

I'm glad to mostly ignore derailleurs--
glad to have the road bike but equally
happy to let it collect dust 90% of the time

Fixed is cheaper for a 15yr old's budget. Kthxbie.

What's a derailleur?

That's definitely why I switched. Operating the handle bars, paddles and breaks is enough of a challenge for me.

I'm glad to mostly ignore derailleurs--
glad to have the road bike but equally
happy to let it collect dust 90% of the time

agreed on all accounts.

Derailleurs suck in the snow.

Derailleurs suck in the sand.

Derailleurs suck in the salt.

Plus I can stop with my fixed wheel if my front brake freezes up or the rims are icy/wet.

Also, I ride harder and get a better workout without a bail-out gear.

They break too easily and make annoying noises. Plus the bikes they come on are real expensive if they're any good.

i ride because it looks cooler with my skin tight jeans and my slip on vans and white belt.

I ride every day and it's less stuff to break down. Also it looks cool and is fun.

i love multigear bikes

i love single gear bikes

yay

edit: my fixed riding is less than half of my total riding so eat it

I still ride my roadie. But only like once or twice a month.

I like my freehub SS cuz I can spin my peddles backward while I coast down big hills.

I dont actually intend to ride my new FG.

I'm just gonna change it a lot and post pix of it on velo.

my guilty pleasure is to haul ass up a hill past lycra clad roadies


Caveman simplicity, low maintenance, fun and is really the only way to play bike polo in my opinion

Also, I ride harder and get a better workout without a bail-out gear.
ff

ff

what is ff?

I ride SS/Fixed because:

-Gears are expensive, if you don't want crap
-Gears take alot of upkeep to keep them shifting smoothly
-I don't ever commute more then 20km in one go
-My city is flat flat flat
-My city has a wicked winter, a winter that eats salty Deraillers for breakfast
-I'm too lazy to learn how to fix something complicated

I don't have a derailleur because you can't put one on a fixed gear bike.

I bought my first fixed gear because of simplicity. I wanted a road bike at first, but I wasn't confident in my mechanical ability with gears and such. I had never heard of fixed gears, but I knew a kid who stripped all the **** off his road bike and built up a single speed. Somehow I stumbled onto fixed gear, bought one, met some other kids who rode too and have been obsessed since.

i ride because it looks cooler with my skin tight jeans and my slip on vans and white belt.

+1 but i prefer the high-top vans with cutoff jean shorts. makes me feel more "unique".

derailleur's are just too hard to use, or are sooooo complicated to maintain, or are just really really confusing :( ?

I'm starting to get the impression that this is the reason why many people switch.

Why?

It's not ****ing rocket science people.
For a bike that is used in NYC, deraileurs are a PITA to maintain, add weight, add expense, and add very little payoff. Plus, I like riding fixed. Haven't seen a fixed set up that works with deraileurs yet.

My friends derailer used to / still does throw the chain off, so I decided that I did not want to deal with all that bullsh(t.

skin tight jeans and slip on vans and white belt.
Hey, how'd you know what I was wearing today

I've never owned anything with more then one gear.
When i was younger i used to ride freestyle bmx so it just made sense to stick with the simple mechanics.

and it just seems more fun!

derailleur's are just too hard to use, or are sooooo complicated to maintain, or are just really really confusing :( ?

I'm starting to get the impression that this is the reason why many people switch.

Why?

It's not ****ing rocket science people.

this must really bother you huh?

and as a side note: my friends father IS a rocket scientist in his early 60s and rides an oldschool fixie.

derailleur's are just too hard to use, or are sooooo complicated to maintain, or are just really really confusing :( ?

I'm starting to get the impression that this is the reason why many people switch.

Why?

It's not ****ing rocket science people.

I ride a fixed gear bicycle because if I didn't, people like you would have nothing with which to concern themselves.

I don't have a problem with derailleur's (maintaining or operating). Without is just more fun, less to think about other than riding hard.

I ride fixed to work and on shortish group rides because it's just plain more fun for me. I have a geared bike and I love it for long rides and zoning out away from all the traffic and crazies in the city, but riding fixed is just a much nicer feeling. I hate it when people get all sappy about feeling connected and all that jazz, but if I had to pick one of my bikes to keep and sell the rest, I'd keep my track bike.

+1 but i prefer the high-top vans with cutoff jean shorts. makes me feel more "unique".

you too?!

for me, it is the silence.

derailleurs are cake.

i ride because of the street cred and cool points. it's like a video game, only cooler.

I ride fixed and single becuase when I did use my roadie I rarely ever used more than 2-3 gears so I just figured it'd be easier to convert. It was. It's way more fun and I love it.

If changing gears is too complicated for you, how do you do your taxes?

Az

If changing gears is too complicated for you, how do you do your taxes?

Az

Its not that changing gears is complicated. Its more that it is not necessary.

I ride a fixed gear bicycle because if I didn't, people like you would have nothing with which to concern themselves.

Amen.

I was riding my SS 29'er this weekend and came up to a couple of guys riding geared bikes. I passed them but then a few minutes later they passed me. We were going about the same speed for another hour or so, with them just ahead of me.

Eventually, I came up to them and they have some kind of mechanical issue. I see the one guys derailler is a bent in pretty bad. I stop, look over the damage and I say, " I think you will be able to get out of here but you are going to be going to the LBS soon!".

I know this doesn't happen very often but with the timing of this post, I just had to share.

this must really bother you huh?

It is a dumb reason, yes, to consider such an extremely simple mechanical device unbearably difficult to use. I wouldn't say these people really bother me though.

If you like the way it feels, like the better workout, live somewhere pancake flat, feel cooler riding it, etc etc then by all means go about your business. Just don't blame it on the complexity of derailleurs.

Fixed gear is like a manual in car, i like it cause it clean and simple. Also help me loss 5kgs and learn not to be lazy like MTB.

I have a single speed because more than half of my trips were in one gear 42-18. So my SS is geared 42-18.
I have(sort of) a geared bike, but my derailleur just exploded saturday, causing me to crash. I'm still up in the air about whether or not to fix it, or FIX it.

, live somewhere pancake flat, .

You don't have to live somewhere pancake flat to ride fixed. For me, half the fun of fixed gear is riding up hills. Riding down, after you figur it out, is also lotsa fun.

You don't have to live somewhere pancake flat to ride fixed. For me, half the fun of fixed gear is riding up hills. Riding down, after you figur it out, is also lotsa fun.
Sorry, I didn't mean to have it come out that way. I was just trying to come up with good examples for my list.

I ride singlespeed because I go faster this way.

The shifters on my road bike went out of comission for almost a year, so it was basically single speed. Then it got stolen. I'd say its pretty obvious why I went fixed gear.

..........because I love knee pain and that creeking noise my knee makes in the morning.........

...because you're all pitiful slaves to fashion?

Derailleurs are for girls.

I ride a fixed gear because the internet told me its what hipsters ride...