Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Once you've had fixie, do you go back?

I went on my first fixie test rides about a month ago. Soon after, I took the plunge at a LBS that specializes in used bikes and has quite a few fixed options...and a couple of employees who ride ss/fg a lot.

I spent less than two hundy on a Schwinn World Sport conversion and it has been a GREAT bike so far. Easy to ride, easy to handle, lots of fun. Great entry into fixie riding, for sure.

Before I bought the fixie, I had ridden a geared mountain bike pretty much exclusively for a few years...and not really ridden all that much. I've been riding a LOT more in the last month and I'm really enjoying a couple of things...one, just how much less rolling resistance a slick road tire has (even at 28mm!), and two, the added power on climbs that is generated, I guess, by the fact that the rolling tires move the cranks.

I've been commuting (short) three or four days per week since I got it. In the last week, I've taken several rides of 30+ miles with plenty of hills and it has been a pleasurable experience. I'm actually considering what makes it so fun...and maybe I'd enjoy a geared road bike, which I haven't ridden in YEARS. But I think I actually like the simple drive train and the connection one gets with the fixed gear.

My question...do many of you go BACK to geared riding from a fixed? Or do most people ride pretty exclusively fixed??? I've been on my geared mtb for a couple of short trips on the street in the last two weeks and it felt absolutely bizarre to coast. Felt like the bike was broken.

Yes, you do go back.

I have multiple bikes, geared and fixed.

Each has an application I like to use it for.

keep and ride both :P

I always cringe when people say stupid **** like "If it ain't fixed, it's broken," or how half of the FFG posts say "This is my first fixie and I'm never going back!"

You wouldn't eat grilled cheese every day for the rest of your life, so why limit yourself to one type of bike?

Yes, you do go back.

I have multiple bikes, geared and fixed.

Each has an application I like to use it for.

What he said.

Yes, you do go back.

I have multiple bikes, geared and fixed.

Each has an application I like to use it for.

Same here. Every time I hope on a road bike, though, it feels 'broken'

fixie4vida

I still have my roadie and I still ride it on occasion but it feels really weird. I dont really like it.

i haven't owned a geared bike in around three years, but soon that will change. i still don't see moving through city traffic on a geared bike the way i see it on a fixed gear, but it most certainly has plenty of applications that its about time i started getting into (road racing, touring).

i'm also learning how to ride a unicycle. that's more of a party trick, though.

yeah i go back because I discovered that:

for maximum training and speed

a fixie doesn't do it. it just rides around and then you are hoping for more of a workout and it never comes

I s'pose if you don't care about being the local fast guy, it doesn't matter

Depending on the type of ride and/or who I'm riding with, I regularly use my geared bike as well...

yeah i go back because I discovered that:

for maximum training and speed

a fixie doesn't do it. it just rides around and then you are hoping for more of a workout and it never comes

I s'pose if you don't care about being the local fast guy, it doesn't matter

+1

I get fastest on my geared bike.

Someone needs to invent a derailleur-equipped fixed gear bike. Then you would always have the right gear, and the zen-one-with-the-bike-blah-blah-blah feel of fixed, all in one.

Once you put several thousand miles on a fixed gear it tends to lose its novel feeling and becomes just another type of bike. Most of the time I could care less if I am riding fixed, SS, or geared because they all feel natural to me, and I usually select whichever bike is most appropriate for the ride. I ride fixed gears most of the week for commuting and usually ride my road bike on "serious" rides where I am aiming for speed, distance, and/or conquering huge hills.

I like bikes. The drivetrain is of somewhat less importance to me overall, actually.

yeah i go back because I discovered that:

for maximum training and speed

a fixie doesn't do it. it just rides around and then you are hoping for more of a workout and it never comes

I s'pose if you don't care about being the local fast guy, it doesn't matter

I partially agree with this. A fixed gear can be a useful training tool, but riding a fixed gear exclusively will not make you into the best possible road cyclist that you can be.

I tried fixed, it wasn't for me, so I went back to SS. I ride exclusively SS, so from that I'm not going "back".

Yup. It's hard to ride mtb trails on a FG. Not impossible, but too much skill required for me.

I like bikes. The drivetrain is of somewhat less importance to me overall, actually.

+1. I never "left" as I have SS and geared bikes. I probably drive fixed more often just because it's my usual commuter, but I like bikes and all bikes are good.

And I'd eat grilled cheese all the time if I could. Mmmmm.... grilled cheese.....

^it depends, can i put tomatoes in my grilled cheese some days, maybe ham others?

Mmmmmm. My wife makes grilled cheese on 7 grain whole wheat with Tillamook extra sharp cheddar and real butter. In a cast iron pan. It's what the angels eat for lunch on Fridays.

Once you put several thousand miles on a fixed gear it tends to lose its novel feeling and becomes just another type of bike. Most of the time I could care less if I am riding fixed, SS, or geared because they all feel natural to me, and I usually select whichever bike is most appropriate for the ride. I ride fixed gears most of the week for commuting and usually ride my road bike on "serious" rides where I am aiming for speed, distance, and/or conquering huge hills.

+1 million. When I first started riding fixed, I rode it exclusively for several months. Took the road bike out and it felt really weird. But now that I've been riding for a couple of years it's lost the novel aspect of it and I switch more regularly with neither bike feeling particularly weird.

i make a mean grilled cheese 'n tomato soup meal.

the secret is bread crumbs in the soup!

Mmmmmm. My wife makes grilled cheese on 7 grain whole wheat with Tillamook extra sharp cheddar and real butter. In a cast iron pan. It's what the angels eat for lunch on Fridays.

TILLAMOOK FOR THE FUKING WIN.

take a nice big whiff of the air next time you drive through tillamook and reassess your love

^i dont drive. :(

but did grow up near farmland, so i know the smell :)

Once you put several thousand miles on a fixed gear it tends to lose its novel feeling and becomes just another type of bike. Most of the time I could care less if I am riding fixed, SS, or geared because they all feel natural to me, and I usually select whichever bike is most appropriate for the ride. I ride fixed gears most of the week for commuting and usually ride my road bike on "serious" rides where I am aiming for speed, distance, and/or conquering huge hills.

this is right.
ride fixed enough and then switch to your geared bike some then soon enough they both feel normal. if it's a fast group ride, it's gears...no way someone on a fixed gear will be as fast a geared bike given both are close to the same caliber rider.

Originally I got into fixed gears just to try something new. The purported benefits of improved spin technique were a nice plus, but my 46x16 gear is too high for me to do any high-cadence intervals for a long time, except for when I'm on rollers. So, like others here, I get on my road bike for "real training" - high-speed, big-gear, or hill climbs. The fixed gear is mostly for joyriding.

this is right.
if it's a fast group ride, it's gears...no way someone on a fixed gear will be as fast a geared bike given both are close to the same caliber rider.

True, but if you are riding with riders that are slower than you, a fixed gear is the way to go. Keeps it more challenging and less boring.

I can't afford multiple bikes, so my FG is my only ride.
Some day, I'd like to put a nice geared drive train on my frame (a nice, vintage Bianchi crit frame), once I have the spare scratch to build another fixed bike.

I have 10+ bikes and only one of them is fixed. I ride it about 75% of the time. The times I don't ride it are when it has a flat or some other mechanical issue I haven't gotten around to fixing, if it's rainy (it doesn't have fenders), if I need to pull a trailer, if I'll be riding up a huge hill or for fast group rides.

+bajillions on the tomato soup/grilled cheese combo. Best food combo ever after beer and street tacos.

Back and forth. But lately, I've been flirting with the idea of, gulp, giving up fixed entirely. Having some knee issues. I'm going to try a bigger frame and mess with set up yet again. If it doesn't work, it'll be all gears, all the time for me......

Keep twiddling your setup gfrance, it worked for me. maybe consider a professional fitting. good luck!

I find myself loving my geared bikes after riding fixed for awhile, and vice versa. A while back i actually thanked God for a ride i had just taken on my road bike even though i am an atheist. Switching things up keeps life interesting.

I went back. Next time I build a fg it'll be a track bike. No real interest in building another street fixed.

Now singlespeeds, man ... I'm ga-ga for singlespeeds these days.

My old Trek 330 has been sitting in the garage collecting dust for a while. The frame is actually on the large side for me, but maybe I'll clean it all up, replace the tires and tubes, and take it on a ride!

I am actually considering spending some good money on a new road bike. If I decide I really, really like it, I just don't think that Trek is the bike for me.

i'm not sure if i'm going to be riding fixed 'forever', but i'm certainly not working on anything else. the drivetrain and feel is just too solid for me to want another configuration any time soon.

i really wish we could purge the word "fixie" from the forums...

The only place I ride fixed these days is the track, or while doing cyclocross (FUNFUNFUNFUNFUN!!!). If I want to get around the city in a flash I'm on a geared bike.

But if I know there will be a lot of chicks in the group I will ride the constant. I don't mind getting dropped.

i really wish we could purge the word "fixie" from the forums...

Why stop at the forum? This is one of my peeves as well. But I digress...

I have many bikes and I go back and forth daily. Like it was said before, best tool for the job. Although lately I've been dig'n my friction geared 80's touring bike.

I got fixed, but the surgery was too expensive to reverse once I realized it was a bad idea.

Like it was said before, best tool for the job...
But not always..... I frequently take my fixed gear on rides that I know my geared bike or even my ss roadie would be a heck of a lot more practical and easier. I'm sure this is true with many folks here. :D

Someone needs to invent a derailleur-equipped fixed gear bike. Then you would always have the right gear, and the zen-one-with-the-bike-blah-blah-blah feel of fixed, all in one.

http://sheldonbrown.com/asc.html

http://sheldonbrown.com/asc.html

"The ASC is the rarest and most sought-after Sturmey-Archer hub. I have no idea where you can find one, so please don't bother asking. The last one I know of changing hands was sold on eBay for over $300 in May 1999."

:(

Sturmey-Archer needs to get in bed with Bikes Direct and market this thing.

Keep a bike for every occasion, whats the fun in owning just one bike? ;) :)

i like both.

"The ASC is the rarest and most sought-after Sturmey-Archer hub. I have no idea where you can find one, so please don't bother asking. The last one I know of changing hands was sold on eBay for over $300 in May 1999."

:(

Sturmey-Archer needs to get in bed with Bikes Direct and market this thing.

+3

After several years of riding fixed almost daily for the purposes of commuting, alleycats, etc., I realized that I much prefer gears, and thus parted-out my fixed-gear bike.

The next fixed-gear that I own will be solely for the track. For riding on the road, whether I'm racing, commuting, or training, it's gears.

I have several bikes, and ride them all, but I put more miles on the fixed in a year than all the other bikes combined.

Az

Yes, you do go back.

I have multiple bikes, geared and fixed.

Each has an application I like to use it for.

All bikes are fun! They all have their uses. I use my fixed in the flat city and close everyday riding. I ride my road on longer rides, or if I feel like coasting.