Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - If you tried fixed and didn't like it: why?

I'm curious about all those people gave it a chance and decided it wasn't for them - despite all the talks of "oneness."

Maybe the reason that makes it different from any other bike... being able to coast and/or change gears. Is there any other possible reasons?

it's F'n hard to do wheelies :0

maybe a fixed gear/SS forum is not the best place to find people who dont enjoy riding them. just a thought.

^Exactly.

Well, I'm not in the best shape physically and always found myself struggling when riding with my friends. I switched to singlespeed and now have enough energy to keep up with them. Now I just need to start going back to the gym and maybe i can keep up with them fixed in the future. For the shorter rides, I usually throw fixed wheel on there.

just eat a powerbar then u can keep up.

maybe a fixed gear/SS forum is not the best place to find people who dont enjoy riding them. just a thought.

They're plenty of people here who ride with a freewheel. Many of them tried out fixed and decided against it.

just eat a powerbar then u can keep up.

excuse you. the fixed elite eat only clif until they find a local organic granola treat start up that no one knows about.

Well, I'm not in the best shape physically and always found myself struggling when riding with my friends. I switched to singlespeed and now have enough energy to keep up with them. Now I just need to start going back to the gym and maybe i can keep up with them fixed in the future. For the shorter rides, I usually throw fixed wheel on there.

I never thought FG was any more tiring than SS. Actually SS seems to require more effort to me since I can't take advantage of the wheel's momentum the way I can on an FG.

excuse you. the fixed elite eat only clif until they find a local organic granola treat start up that no one knows about.

I just avoid any Powerbar product because they all taste awful.

I never thought FG was any more tiring than SS. Actually SS seems to require more effort to me since I can't take advantage of the wheel's momentum the way I can on an FG.

I do agree that you can take advantage of the momentum, but I was going in a different direction. First of all, I forgot to add that I live in a pretty hilly area. Anyways, like I said earlier, I am really out of shape. I can't keep up speed wise with my friends, but I can keep us energy wise with a singlespeed.

The ability to coast down hills saves me a lot of energy. With a fixed gear, I usually get burned out from a 15-20 mile ride. With a single speed I've done a 30 mile so far and haven't felt tired. I noticed that I am significantly slower up hills, but that trade off is worth it to me.

Once I get back in shape, I hope to go back to FG exclusively.

I stopped FG because I just get the hang of getting my food into my pedal/strap/clip. I usually push off and coast for a couple feet then start pedaling once both feet are secure....guess I'm not that coordinated. Besides, I really like coasting on my SS bike.

I just got my first fixed yesterday and Im really enjoying the ride, Im just struggling with my fitness level and the hills I have to push (in short, I walk them! Lame!! Ill get better though). But I can see how its not for everyone. I hope I dont get frustrated in a week and give it up, its so fun!

Don't mock, guys. That sort of attitude is often why people don't "like" riding fixed gears.

Realistically, riding fixed comes with a short learning curve. Like anything else that's somewhat demanding on your body, you have to work at it. It takes a week or two, and then you're good. You also might want to make sure you're working with a gear ratio that's not impossible.

It's work. And it's not always practical. But after giving it a chance, most people find it to be a really fun way to get around. That's why I have one.

I realize that this doesn't really answer your question, but I suspect it might answer what you're trying to ask.

I just got my first fixed yesterday and Im really enjoying the ride, Im just struggling with my fitness level and the hills I have to push (in short, I walk them! Lame!! Ill get better though). But I can see how its not for everyone. I hope I dont get frustrated in a week and give it up, its so fun!

I am only a week into riding my fixed gear, and I can tell you that hills become easier. Also, when I approach a hill, I realize there is no way in hell I am going to stop midway, so that helps me push on. Also, knowing that the downhill awaits on the other side helps me push forward because it is the gratification of climbing the hill. :D

It has been a while since I have ridden hills on a bike. :p

I am only a week into riding my fixed gear, and I can tell you that hills become easier. Also, when I approach a hill, I realize there is no way in hell I am going to stop midway, so that helps me push on. Also, knowing that the downhill awaits on the other side helps me push forward because it is the gratification of climbing the hill. :D

It has been a while since I have ridden hills on a bike. :p


A fellow Cascadian! So you know what Im talking about if youve been to Seattle. Ive been to PDX many times and you guys have it pretty nice as far as more flatness goes but I hear ya. I must be seriously out of shape if I cant do it on bigger cogs. Bums me out when I see other girls on fgs riding way better than me, and they haul up those hills fast. One day!:o

I do agree that you can take advantage of the momentum, but I was going in a different direction. First of all, I forgot to add that I live in a pretty hilly area. Anyways, like I said earlier, I am really out of shape. I can't keep up speed wise with my friends, but I can keep us energy wise with a singlespeed.

The ability to coast down hills saves me a lot of energy. With a fixed gear, I usually get burned out from a 15-20 mile ride. With a single speed I've done a 30 mile so far and haven't felt tired. I noticed that I am significantly slower up hills, but that trade off is worth it to me.

Once I get back in shape, I hope to go back to FG exclusively.

I never understood that mentality. Why would anyone limit themselves to only one type of bike. I like having a roadie for road rides, a FG for whenever I get in the mood to ride, and a MTB for getting dirty. Just thinking about riding only one type of bike makes me boredd.

i can't imagine giving up fixed just like i can't imagine giving up geared.
a geared bike has never been as fun as a track bike when blasting around the city or doing fast 30 milers with your friends; a track bike has never been as fun as a road bike when climbing and descending long steep hills.

> I do agree that you can take advantage of the momentum,

This is a misnomer. Any energy you take from the rotation of the cranks to assist your legs you are taking out of the force that rotates the wheel. It may *feel* like an advantage, but you cannot create enerhy out of nothing :)

Speed, its what its about with me. Its freakin hard to hit high speeds for me on a fixie and have to come to an abrupt stop, I do like fixie though and its nice for commuting because of simplicity and what not

Wow this guy is actually thinking. /\ (two up)

You can't create energy on a fixed gear. That "helping hand" you feel, is actually you sucking energy from your forward momentum.

Its freakin hard to hit high speeds for me on a fixie and have to come to an abrupt stop

Although you can't go nearly as fast as your road bike, you should be able to stop just as quickly on the FG with just the front brake and some backpedalling.

I know this will be odd as hell but I've tried fixed gear and think a single speed is more of what I want. The problem is, even though I've decided this I can't help if I'm picking the worse choice even though I like the freewheel.

Kind of like cars: I'd probably be happier in reality with an automatic transmission - but I'll always be wondering if I'm driving the inferior transmission.

I guess I have yet to realize is that this blank slate called "life" is just that. It's up to me to decide what works for me.

I stopped FG because I just get the hang of getting my food into my pedal/strap/clip.
<snip>

I think you're doing it wrong.... (Sorry, couldn't resist :lol: :D)




I am only a week into riding my fixed gear, and I can tell you that hills become easier. Also, when I approach a hill, I realize there is no way in hell I am going to stop midway, so that helps me push on. Also, knowing that the downhill awaits on the other side helps me push forward because it is the gratification of climbing the hill. :D

It has been a while since I have ridden hills on a bike. :p

After a while you'll learn to love the up-side and dislike the down-side ;) Going down hills on a fixed gear is pretty much the worst IMO, it's really hard work to keep the spin in check or to control speed constantly down a long-ass hill without keeping the brake on for all of the descent.

With fixed there's that learning curve to adapt to the no-coasting deal, and the inevitable increase in difficulty with climbs in the one gear, but once you're conditioned to that, you'll be fine. When I changed my gear ratio I felt like I had another learning curve to deal with as I really felt the difference and it felt hard, just a matter of time to condition myself to it again.

There's also no shame in gearing down, if you're having a particularly hard time with hills, just change the ratio - this will also help you out with spinning technique eventually.

It's fun though (IMO). I ride my fixed gear as my everyday/everything bike right now, which is mostly commuting/general getting-about-transportation - I'm craving my roadbike again but I'm slacking off and not been getting it ready to roll.

Although you can't go nearly as fast as your road bike, you should be able to stop just as quickly on the FG with just the front brake and some backpedalling.

only a loser would have a front brake, unless you mean you do front wheel drive skids.

only a loser would have a front brake, unless you mean you do front wheel drive skids.
Yes, front wheel dive skids with a rim brake.

Yes, front wheel dive skids with a rim brake.

same.

the rear steering is touchy, but i wouldnt change a thing.

I went the other way... When I first finished my fixed gear conversion I rode fixed for a week, then flipped the hub to the freewheel side one day, and hated it. If i'm going to coast, I'd like to have multiple gears as well.

A fellow Cascadian! So you know what Im talking about if youve been to Seattle. Ive been to PDX many times and you guys have it pretty nice as far as more flatness goes but I hear ya. I must be seriously out of shape if I cant do it on bigger cogs. Bums me out when I see other girls on fgs riding way better than me, and they haul up those hills fast. One day!:o

I am originally from Tacoma, so I know about Seattle and its hills. :p I have never actually ridden in Seattle, but I will be up there in about a week. We will see how lost and tired from riding I become, seeing as I have not been up there in forever!


After a while you'll learn to love the up-side and dislike the down-side ;) Going down hills on a fixed gear is pretty much the worst IMO, it's really hard work to keep the spin in check or to control speed constantly down a long-ass hill without keeping the brake on for all of the descent.

With fixed there's that learning curve to adapt to the no-coasting deal, and the inevitable increase in difficulty with climbs in the one gear, but once you're conditioned to that, you'll be fine. When I changed my gear ratio I felt like I had another learning curve to deal with as I really felt the difference and it felt hard, just a matter of time to condition myself to it again.

There's also no shame in gearing down, if you're having a particularly hard time with hills, just change the ratio - this will also help you out with spinning technique eventually.

It's fun though (IMO). I ride my fixed gear as my everyday/everything bike right now, which is mostly commuting/general getting-about-transportation - I'm craving my roadbike again but I'm slacking off and not been getting it ready to roll.

Yeah, my difficulty with hills is not that great, just more out of shape since it has been a while since I have ridden a bike this much. :) I ride 48x16 at the moment, and I have managed to climb every hill I have approached except one, but I was just dead tired from the night before (as well as it started raining hard and I was freezing :().

Also, I am thinking of changing my gearing to something like 53x13, so, when I hook that up, we will see how much difficulty I have climbing hills. :p

I am originally from Tacoma, so I know about Seattle and its hills. :p I have never actually ridden in Seattle, but I will be up there in about a week. We will see how lost and tired from riding I become, seeing as I have not been up there in forever!



Yeah, my difficulty with hills is not that great, just more out of shape since it has been a while since I have ridden a bike this much. :) I ride 48x16 at the moment, and I have managed to climb every hill I have approached except one, but I was just dead tired from the night before (as well as it started raining hard and I was freezing :().

Also, I am thinking of changing my gearing to something like 53x13, so, when I hook that up, we will see how much difficulty I have climbing hills. :p

have fun trying to stop that.

I've just gotta throw this in here but,

If you're trying fixed for the first time give it an honest week. It's new and unsettling but it really is alot of fun.

The more I ride my bike the more I fall in love with it (although it is a conversion) and I can't stress enough how much you really need to just get out there and ride ride ride.

Plus skidzzzz are crazy fun

I pull hills faster FG than my 10 spd buddies using my fear of busting gut at 5 rpm or tipping. I also need to make up for being slower on the downhills.

Not to put a damper on ya'll but I'm a geezer touring fixed gear and started because
3. FG makes a great winter bike in salt, sand, ice and potholes in suburban northeast
2. FG is different and provides renewed interest in riding to keep fit.
1. I wanna be like you young-uns but from a safe distance. I'm 58 nearing geezerhood, my BMI says I should lose 15-25 lbs and pretty darn dull. My store-bought FG has 35c tires and reflectors on the spokes. I average 15 mph FG and 17.5 mph 10spd for 35-65 miles on moderate hills.

I can slow but use brakes to stop fast.

I am originally from Tacoma, so I know about Seattle and its hills. :p I have never actually ridden in Seattle, but I will be up there in about a week. We will see how lost and tired from riding I become, seeing as I have not been up there in forever!

I love Tacoma!

I currently ride a singlespeed freewheel. I might go back to fixed (all I have to do is flip my wheel over), but here are the reasons why I currently do not:

1. Cornering - I finally got decent at cornering, in part by following the standard technique of applying downward pressure on the pedal to the outside of the turn. Impossible on a fixie.
2. Backpedaling is not good for your knees, and I was definitely able to feel the effects of doing it far too frequently after long rides. A couple of track cyclists who own a shop in town have vouched for this, and say that it should only be done to make subtle modulations to speed. However, if you're using your break that frequently, it seems to undermine the point of riding fixed.
3. I ride a low-gear, and would end up spinning like a madman when bombing a large hill. (I'm not riding a low gear to to being in poor shape -- I do Muay Thai, which to me is far more exhausting than even riding 50 miles. However, I was suffering knee problems when riding at a higher gear. Dropping down a few gears and getting a bike fit resolved the problem. I also like almost never having to stand up while riding.)

^ How is resisting the motion of the pedals to stop any different from pulling up and pushing down during normal pedaling? Seems to me the forces that act on the knees would be the same, no?

You're not resisting motion when engaged in normal pedaling. You are starting from a state of rest, and you have momentum on your side once you begin pedaling.

because i'm fat, lazy, and like to coast.

seriously.

When first started riding fixed i only resisted pushing down and my knee started hurting, i started pulling up against the straps instead and haven't had issues since.

I will say since riding fixed my legs are alot stronger than they were when i rode a geared bike.

I've ridden fixed for 3 or so years now, and I'm just about to convert my last remaining fixed-wheel bike to a freewheel. I feel like fixed doesn't add anything to my experience anymore, I've done all the challenges with it that I'm ever going to, and lately coasting is just way more fun. My commute is now entirely downhill and spinning all the way to work got old, plus I'm growing to prefer platform pedals.

If I decide to switch back it's just a matter of flipping the wheel so it's not really a big deal.

I had a fixed gear a long time ago. When I built that bike, I finally got the hang of climbing hills -- on any bike. Since I couldn't shift down, I had to attack.

I also learned to spin very fast. That's a useful skill.

I do not enjoy going down hills on my new fixed. I mean, it's OK, but it's not outright fun. It's a lot of work.

I rode 20 miles over hills yesterday. I'm pretty sore. My riding partners were riding multi-speed bikes.

I love Tacoma!

It has been quite some time since I have been back up there, so we will see how much I still like it.

I've tried fixed for a couple thousand miles over the years but I still like singlespeed more. I appreciate coasting because I have less to worry about in high speed corners, bunnyhops, and downhills. Its about simplicity for me and fixed gears have more complicated handling than singlespeeds. (just my opinion...) I also trackstand better at lights with a singlespeed though I think that's just practice.

I started out mountain biking and learned my "zen" connection and intuitive bike handling from that so I never found any added feeling of being connected to my bike with the fixed gear over a singlespeed. I'm uninterested in most sorts of "fixie tricks" so that holds no appeal.

I do sometimes feel slightly absurd that I have a track bike frame but never use the fixed cog. Oh well, I'm sure I'll deal.

I got a fixie for the same reason that most people did, because it was fashionable. There is no "advantage" to riding a fixie, other than the mechanical simplicity of the bike itself. A fixie doesn't do anything as well as a single speed or derailleur equipped bike. It can't climb, it can't descend, it can't accelerate, it can't decelerate. Why ride one? Because they are cool, and nothing else.

I liked the "momentum" comment on the previous page, it was ludicrous. What was more ludicrous was that people agreed about this non-existent momentum. This is the type of crowd mentality of those who think that a fixie is superior in any way to a garden-variety bike.

I enjoyed riding my fixie for awhile, then the novelty wore off. I that found my pedal stroke (developed after many years of riding) had more or less disappeared, that low-speed maneuvers around obstacles were difficult (because of toe overlap), and the previously mentioned problems with climbing and descending hills. I recently put a freewheel on the bike, and I'm now in heaven. It's a far different (and better) ride now, and I'm putting more miles on it than I did before.

I've spent exactly two days on a fixie. An introduction to track cycling at a velodrome in Calgary. I was a road racer at the time. We brought our own pedals and rode club bikes. I liked the rigidity, the power, the acceleration. Had a blast riding the corners up high. People didn't ride fixies on the street much back then. I wasn't tempted to ride my borrowed rig home. Nor could I have justified to myself the expense of yet another bike.

Still can't. My road bike does everything I ask of it. I have started to spectate at the big track competitions they have here in Holland. Watched Zabel and Bettini battling each other in Amsterdam last fall.

Great fun, but I'm humble enough to know that I'm not like them.

And old enough to know that I'll never again be cool.

I got a fixie for the same reason that most people did, because it was fashionable. There is no "advantage" to riding a fixie, other than the mechanical simplicity of the bike itself. A fixie doesn't do anything as well as a single speed or derailleur equipped bike. It can't climb, it can't descend, it can't accelerate, it can't decelerate. Why ride one? Because they are cool, and nothing else.

I liked the "momentum" comment on the previous page, it was ludicrous. What was more ludicrous was that people agreed about this non-existent momentum. This is the type of crowd mentality of those who think that a fixie is superior in any way to a garden-variety bike.

There are plenty of advantages of fixed and it does many things better than either SS or geared, but if you couldn't see that then fine. And maybe there is no momentum, but the rear cog IS spinning thanks to the wheel moving and not just because you're spinning the pedals, and i believe that helps. Can't climb, descend, accelerate, decelerate? What? :lol: