Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Difference between Fixed Gear and SS?

Posted in a classifieds ad, it says this about the Van Dessel Cycles Country Road Bob:

"It's set up for singlespeed but the wheel can be flip flopped and it can run fixed gear."

What's the difference between a fixed gear and single speed? I thought they were the same?

Also, can you convert a SS/fixed gear into multigear (by addind a hub in the back or something)..?

SS - coast
fixed - just try and coast

']SS - coast
fixed - just try and coast

I'm sorry, can you elaborate a bit please? i'm a beginner..

fixed gear is the most direct of drive trains: if you apply pressure on the pedals to go forward, you will go forward. If you apply pressure to the pedals in a backwards motion - you will go backwards (considering you have the skill to maintain balance).
On a single speed, forward moves forward, but backward does not move you backwards. SS operates on a freewheel - much like a modern cassette set-up on geared bikes.

Not sure if I can make it any simpler than this

thanks, that makes a lot of sense now.

What does "flip-flopped" mean?

so are fixed gears better or single speeds?

flip-flop = one side for a freewheel, the other side accomodates fixed gear set-ups.

so are fixed gears better or single speeds?
yes.

If you apply pressure to the pedals in a backwards motion - you will go backwards (considering you have the skill to maintain balance).

I still haven't tried this, can anyone here ride backwards decently?

I can ride counter clockwise circles backwards, and if i am lucky, a figure eight or two backwards.

The way I learned, lower your seat, take off your pedals, and put on sneakers. Go find a slight incline, sit on the bike, and coast backwards with your feet dragging. After a few months of doing so, you should beable to keep your feet off the ground for more then two seconds. From there, its all cake! ;)

']yes.

thanks for the flip-flop info, but i ask you if fixed gears were better or single speeds?

I can ride counter clockwise circles backwards, and if i am lucky, a figure eight or two backwards.

The way I learned, lower your seat, take off your pedals, and put on sneakers. Go find a slight incline, sit on the bike, and coast backwards with your feet dragging. After a few months of doing so, you should beable to keep your feet off the ground for more then two seconds. From there, its all cake! ;)
interesting. was this a technique you were taught?

thanks for the flip-flop info, but i ask you if fixed gears were better or single speeds?
consider my answer the first rung on a ladder that leads you to self-discovery regarding the opinion of fixed vs. freewheel.
my answer stands: yes.

Nah, if i was taught I would have picked it up in a week or two, this was my own technique, but I have taught new riders to ride more or less the same way, lower seat, no pedals, just push the bike around and lift up your feet for fun short rides. Once they figure that out, its easy to get the rest.

and what would be the point of riding backwards?

the chics dig it.

Smooth...

nevermind... wrong thread

thanks for the flip-flop info, but i ask you if fixed gears were better or single speeds?

They're different. Each rider has a preference. Fixed originates from track bikes (think velodrome), single speeds are like the cruiser/bmx bikes we rode back in the day. Both are fun.

Fixed originates from track bikes (think velodrome)
fixed was the ORIGINAL gearing on bikes - velodrome or not.

Start out with SS and then go to fixed. Safer that way.

I got picky - you got stupid.

Actually, even before the pennyfarthings, weren't there bikes that were pretty much just two wheels with a board between them, and you could turn the front one? Or should we consider those scooters even though they were self propelled upright two wheel vehicles?

and before that, they were known as feet - the ULTIMATE DIRECT DRIVE

Well, yeah, you used your feet, but you were sitting on a bike and there were no gears or pedal.... I think that's what I meant. How the hell should I know?

My fingers are developing their own addictions. I just look out the window and they type then hit 'alt+s'.

I know little of what they do...

Keep looking out the window. You know the rules. This is the fingers talking. We are the voice of reason behind hereNT - he has nothing to do with any rational posts. If it's a dumb post like this one, it's not us. He actually read the last one, and thought about it and realized what was going on (to the extent that he can).

We will now go and pour him another Jameson so we can get back to typing on our own.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

We now resume your regularly scheduled thread.

I am going to take another stab at describing the difference.

As someone mentioned single speed generally refers to the types of bikes we all grew up with. You can stop pedaling and coast without your feet moving. If you had hand brakes, you could actually turn the pedals backwards with that click click click sound. If you had coaster brakes you would stop if you pedaled back, but you could still coast without moving your feet.

On a fixed gear the gear in the back is screwed tightly onto the axle with no freewheel mechanism. As someone mentioned if you pedal forward you go forward, if you pedal backward you can go backward. The main thing to keep in mind, and, to me, the most important implication to someone trying fixie for the first time, is that if the wheels are turning, the pedals and your feet on them, are turning. You cannot stop pedaling and coast. When you are coming to a stop you cannot coast. When you are starting off you can't just give a push on the pedals then pause as you settle onto the saddle. The first time I got on my fixed gear I gave a big push then stayed standing anticipating to coast for a second as I sat down. Doesn't happen. I almost got bucked off my steel bronco. So fixie riding has to be approached with a touch of respect.

Is fixed gear better? Each person have to figure that out. To me it gives a more direct feel to the cycling experience. You feel really connected to the bike, to the road, etc. It is kind of exhilarating. I alternate between a multi-geared bike and a fixie. Fixie is definitely fun.

My typical method of describing fixed gears is: if the wheels are in motion, so are the pedals. But then again, no one ever understands when I say that...

Fixed is a whole lot of fun for me. I like being able to negotiate busy intersections by slowing to a mile an hour in a turning lane, then bursting up to a pretty quick speed to complete a turn or dodge a few cars.

Technically singlespeed is better since it is more advanced. It is also superior because you can conserve energy by coasting and it is better because it is safer over rough ground. But I honestly think that until i tried fixed for a few months i never properly rode a bike before. It taught me a lot about spinning and even sizing a bike correctly, but maybe im a slow learner and couldnt learn without riding fixed.

Traditional training calls for riding fixed the first part of every season to get your spin down and develop strength.

thanks for the flip-flop info, but i ask you if fixed gears were better or single speeds?

Yes fixed gears are definitely better than single speeds. I believe that most road single speeders secretely wish they rode fixed (might not be true for MTN bikers). Kind of like of like skateboarders and rollerbladers. I mean, who really wants to be a rollerblader, right?

I thought fixed gear wasn't infact a real direct drive, I thought that direct drive was 1 crank rotation = 1 wheel rotation no more no less, and it was the presence of gearing that differed the direct drive from the fixed gear. I'm probably wrong though.

I hate to even ride my geared bikes anymore.

It tastes time to learn how to ride and do anything else.
Things like tugging on your jersey, grabbing a water bottle,
going over rail road tracks... :eek: ...things that you normally
coast through--now have to be pedaled through.

The feel of...the connection to the road can be "spiritual."
You are micro-adjusting your candence/speed with back resistance
and constantly aware, yet it becomes an afterthought in time.

Then there is the flywheel effect, where bike's forward momentum
assists your effort. Each bike/rider has a perfect cadence wherein zero
power is required to turn the pedal, yet you are flying down the road.
A geared bike looses more of that momentum when you coast.

A fixed-gear teaches you how to spin circles, and you learn to trust the bike.
The pedals will carry you though the motion when you allow your legs to relax
and flow. The response and control is amazing.

So, yes, fixies are better. :)

To me, fixed is more challenging and more work. It can be really fun. However, I find it most fun when riding at low speeds, where you have better control. At high speeds, momentum lessens the control advantage.

I describe fixed gear as like driving a old exotic sports car with a finicky transmission. Lots of fun if you remember the quirks to keep the gears from grinding.

I prefer SS coaster brake over fixed gear in general. And hub gears go over well with me, too. There's a simplicity and reliability of one chainwheel, one cog, and a stout chain that can't be denied.

fixed gear= no coasting, and you control everything with your legs. slowing down, too. backwards is a showoff move, but standing still (trackstanding) is a useful skill, done by staying in blanace or rocking forwards-backwards.

and no offense, but if the difference is still not obvious, i suggest singlespeed= its alot of fun too, its safer to push a harder gear if you like that sorta thing, and i dont want anoter person on a fixed gear without clips. i saw another 2 of those clowns today.

why are clips necessary on fixies?

why are clips necessary on fixies?

So ya feet dont fly of da Pedals!

If you only have one brake, or heaven forbid, no brakes, your feet need to be securely attached to the pedals. That direct coupling to the rear wheel must be maintained in order to take advantage of the control offered by fixed gear.

If you run two brakes, you could do without. But you also lose some of the control over the pedals that way, being limited pretty much to applying power (either forward or backward) only on the downstroke.

I thought fixed gear wasn't infact a real direct drive, I thought that direct drive was 1 crank rotation = 1 wheel rotation no more no less, and it was the presence of gearing that differed the direct drive from the fixed gear. I'm probably wrong though.


Fruitbooters!!!!

In reference to rollerbladers vs. skateboarders. Damn 40.

I think many of us started out on direct-drive/fixed-gear. We're returning to our roots. Afterall, how many of us had a tricycle or Big Wheel as a kid. Aren't those direct-drive? If we are to assert that simple is best, taken to its logical extreme, the ultimate pedal-driven wheeled HPV would have to be this...

http://store.semcycle.com/images/UW.jpg

and no offense, but if the difference is still not obvious, i suggest singlespeed= its alot of fun too, its safer to push a harder gear if you like that sorta thing, and i dont want anoter person on a fixed gear without clips. i saw another 2 of those clowns today.

Why is it safer to push a harder gear on a single speed?

"Technically singlespeed is better since it is more advanced"

by that logic, multi-speeds are better than single speeds..... and carbon is better than steel...and cars are better than bicycles.... etc.

"i dont want anoter person on a fixed gear without clips. i saw another 2 of those clowns today."

I'm one of those clowns. I've never experienced a problem when my feet were'nt clipped in. Not to mention, clips were invented long after the freewheel was common equipment. I'll agree it's not as effecient (no upstroke), but the 'need' for clips/clipless is far overstated.

i'm sorry, i forgot all you were breakies. when i think of fixed i think nobrakes. its potentially stupid and suicidal to run a nobrakes fixed with a high gear on the street IF you dont know how to ride it. hence the safer singlespeed.