Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - I'm impressed how fast my FG is...

I assumed having just one gear was going to be a handicap during my morning commuter racing sessions, but I feel as fast if not faster than on my geared bikes...even in stop and go traffic...:thumb:

I guess not having anything to think about when the light turns green other than hammering the pedals has its advantages...:love:

Yeah, a cleared mind and a better connection with your rear wheel make the fixed gear freeing and fast.

put a bike computer on and measure it, or get a GPS app for your phone and you can get a full analysis. Only hard cold data can reveal the truth.

Same here, I selected a gear ratio the same as the highest gear of my mtn bike which I used to commute with... so much faster on the fixed gear! I know that this is also a comparison between wide knobby mtn bike tires and thinner road tires, but man, I like!
Did the gps test too, and found myself cruising at ~17 mph, peaking at just over 20 (44-17 ratio, for just under 70 GI).

Did the gps test too, and found myself cruising at ~17 mph, peaking at just over 20 (44-17 ratio, for just under 70 GI).

You chose a very sensible gear for the street. I run a similar gear (42 x 16 = 71 gi), which is perfect for my terrain which is rolling moderately hilly and sometimes windy. Many people IMO make the mistake of running too high gearing, which does not permit them to maintain an efficient cadence, and they actually go slower.

You ever considered that it may be due to you are forced to constantly pedal while on the geared bike you have the option to coast if your "legs get tired"? This is why I use a FG for commuting and for training.

i run 44-16 on the street and it's WAY too low for the track. i also have run 44-17 and that was fine but i was spinning like crazy down hills. there be some hills here.

i dunno. i feel like i'm faster on my heavy commuter bike if i'm in a hurry, but faster on my fixed gear if i am trying to not sweat.

I also feel faster on my fixed gear than on my road bike.

I run 46:17

seems perfect for me

Im on a felt TK3 with 48/15 though I may drop it down to a 17t

Im on a felt TK3 with 48/15 though I may drop it down to a 17t
Wow, that's kind of high...is it rather flat where you live?
I ride with a somewhat low...44/17, with quite the steep hills.

Im on a felt TK3 with 48/15 though I may drop it down to a 17t

that is high

hope your running brakes !

that is high

hope your running brakes !
Or legs of steel...

lol just realized im running 48/15 and not 42. no wonder its hard to skid.

lol just realized im running 48/15 and not 42. no wonder its hard to skid.
6 teeth is a lot......:twitchy:
Can you lock it up at all?

I run 46x18, and i cruise at a leisurely 10mph. Go me.

yea i know that is kinda hard to miss, and i can skip but not hold it. its real hard. maybe ill get a smaller chain ring. any suggestions on teeth count?

I'd go with 42/15 if I were you.

Can I get opinions on 48/19 on flats? I'm trying to whip skid with it but I just can't do it. Is it my ratio or I just need to more leg power?

thanks man, im gettin the bike worked on tommorow maybe ill check that out.

Can I get opinions on 48/19 on flats? I'm trying to whip skid with it but I just can't do it. Is it my ratio or I just need to more leg power?

leg power

48 19 is a great flat land around town gear. very very skiddable.

48 19 is a great flat land around town gear. very very skiddable.

Skidding is very easy, when you lean forward. Talking about whip skids here.

I run 46x18, and i cruise at a leisurely 10mph. Go me.

c'mon... I have 46x19 and I go at least 11mph.


You ever considered that it may be due to you are forced to constantly pedal while on the geared bike you have the option to coast if your "legs get tired"? This is why I use a FG for commuting and for training.

Just because you're always pedaling doesn't mean you're putting anything into the pedals. So often are the pedals just carrying my legs when I'm tired.

48x15 is perfect for Tokyo. Cruise at around 30-35 and my computer has registered my fastest sprint up to be 44. I can't maintain over 40 for more than 30 seconds or though at the moment because I haven't been riding as much recently.

I'd go with 42/15 if I were you.


Vixtor says good thing. 42-15 = 74gi which is about what 48-17 gearing is.

48x15 is perfect for Tokyo. Cruise at around 30-35 and my computer has registered my fastest sprint up to be 44. I can't maintain over 40 for more than 30 seconds or though at the moment because I haven't been riding as much recently.

at first i was like mph?! then i realized you probably meant km/h :thumb:

i run 48/16 because i hate spinning out down here in central illinois at school.. only thing that sucks is theres nothing blocking the wind.

48x15 is perfect for Tokyo. Cruise at around 30-35 and my computer has registered my fastest sprint up to be 44. I can't maintain over 40 for more than 30 seconds or though at the moment because I haven't been riding as much recently.

The metric system makes everyone faster.

And earthquakes BIGGER!!! Oh no, that would be living on the 30th floor! Damn when you are high up the buildings do shake like a mofo

I've experimented a bit with gear ratios. When I first started riding I ran 46/16, which was comfortable, then 42/16, which was a bit too low, now 46/17 which is just right, and now I'm gonna put on my Sugino 75 crankset which will bring it up to 48/17. Hopefully I won't have too much trouble adapting. :)

Truth be told, I haven't ridden road bikes much. But I do feel extremely fast on my T1, especially when I haven't got a bag on me.

The metric system makes everyone faster.

It made me 5/16 faster than I used to be.

I also feel faster on my fixed gear than on my road bike.

I run 46:17

seems perfect for me
That's what I run on my bike as well.
http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/fixed-frame/completed.jpg

I am running 46x15 right now and I feel like a spin out a lot. It is rather flat where i live.

On my new almost finished ride, I will be running 49x17

I am running 46x15 right now and I feel like a spin out a lot. It is rather flat where i live.

On my new almost finished ride, I will be running 49x17

Are you aware that your new gearing is actually lower (78 gi new .vs. 83 gi old)?

Are you aware that your new gearing is actually lower (78 gi new .vs. 83 gi old)?

Seems I miscalculated. Will have to go with a 16t

I am running 46x15 right now and I feel like a spin out a lot. It is rather flat where i live.

On my new almost finished ride, I will be running 49x17

so what speed do spin out at? My little calculator shows 24mph at only 100 rpm, 28mph at only 120, 30 at 130.

52x17 is the most comfortable all around for me... but then that's on an MTB fixie so the rear wheel circumference is relatively small. It can suck if I get the opportunity to catch a draft or a tail wind and my speed is limited by my cadence but those are the breaks.

I run 48/18 and it feels like if i go lower its not going to be that fun or better. Feels like id be spinning ALLl the time and not be able to get any reasonable speed. I'm not saying i speed all over the place, but Id always be stuck just peddling real fast. And my area is pretty hilly. I just get a momenum going and hills are little trouble. Some are though. But its strange after reading this thread it seems like I'd be more comfortable going lower? Hard to imagine.

I run 48/18 and it feels like if i go lower its not going to be that fun or better. Feels like id be spinning ALLl the time and not be able to get any reasonable speed. I'm not saying i speed all over the place, but Id always be stuck just peddling real fast. And my area is pretty hilly. I just get a momenum going and hills are little trouble. Some are though. But its strange after reading this thread it seems like I'd be more comfortable going lower? Hard to imagine.

nothing wrong with trying. I had 48x19 for a while and I thought it was pretty sweet, but I like to spin

It made me 5/16 faster than I used to be.


:lol:

http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1246840720-798884-400x300-I-see-what-you-did-there.jpg

I'd go with 42/15 if I were you.

42/15 leaves you with only 5 skid patches (unique areas on the tire which can be locked out during a skid, more = more even wear across the tire and prevents your tire turning into a square) which is very bad. Several gearing offer approximately the same gi with many more skid patches. 47/17 and 48/17 have 17 skill patch, 53/19 has 19 skid patch.

EDIT: incorrectly listed 44/16

42/15 leaves you with only 5 skid patches (unique areas on the tire which can be locked out during a skid, more = more even wear across the tire and prevents your tire turning into a square) which is very bad. Several gearing offer approximately the same gi with many more skid patches. 44/16 has 16 skid patch, 47/17 and 48/17 have 17 skill patch, 53/19 has 19 skid patch.
Wow, I totally left the skid patches out of the equation...I just thought about GI.
Thank you there. :)

44/16 has 16 skid patch, 47/17 and 48/17 have 17 skill patch, 53/19 has 19 skid patch.

44/16 has 4 skid patches, dude. That's why I run 43/16 instead of 44/16, for 16 skid patches.

You reduce the fraction and then take the denominator.

44/16 = 22/8 = 11/4, giving you 4 skid patches

http://n2.nabble.com/file/n4877/gearing_denny.jpg

Wow, I totally left the skid patches out of the equation...I just thought about GI.
Thank you there. :)


It's okay. It shows you have the good sense to have brakes on your bike and thus are not concerned with the dreaded skid patch. You prefer to wear your tires out the old fashioned way; by riding your bike, not trying to stop it.

It's okay. It shows you have the good sense to have brakes on your bike and thus are not concerned with the dreaded skid patch. You prefer to wear your tires out the old fashioned way; by riding your bike, not trying to stop it.

I also have brakes on my fg. Two brakes even. However skid patches are important to me, and if that is the only variable between different gear ratios (other than size/weight/etc) then i think it is an important variable to consider. Regardless of how you stop a bike skidding is still a capability of a fg, one that some people find fun, and even if you don't you still might want to try it out some time and not wear a hole straight through your single skid patch just because of a wonky gearing.

It's okay. It shows you have the good sense to have brakes on your bike and thus are not concerned with the dreaded skid patch. You prefer to wear your tires out the old fashioned way; by riding your bike, not trying to stop it.
I feel like you always have my back; I like that. :)

Anyone riding a low skid patch ratio can loosen the back axle, get the chain off the cog and rotate the wheel slightly. Put the chain back on, tighten the axle and your good to go. Rotates your skid patch pattern to fresh rubber.


Way back when I had a Stingray, we used to call it powersliding and did our best to wear out those fat slicks the bike had. The tires I have on the San Jose cost me $45 apiece so I leave the skidding to the drunk girls at the college.

44/16 has 4 skid patches, dude. That's why I run 43/16 instead of 44/16, for 16 skid patches.

You reduce the fraction and then take the denominator.

44/16 = 22/8 = 11/4, giving you 4 skid patches
Pick a prime number tooth count for either the chainring or the cog and you'll always maximize the number of skid patches.

I also have brakes on my fg. Two brakes even. However skid patches are important to me, and if that is the only variable between different gear ratios (other than size/weight/etc) then i think it is an important variable to consider. Regardless of how you stop a bike skidding is still a capability of a fg, one that some people find fun, and even if you don't you still might want to try it out some time and not wear a hole straight through your single skid patch just because of a wonky gearing.

Well there is also the matter of chain/cog/ring life which is optimized with even teeth on the cog and rings. (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chain-life.html)

I assumed having just one gear was going to be a handicap during my morning commuter racing sessions, but I feel as fast if not faster than on my geared bikes...even in stop and go traffic...:thumb:


Once you start adding huge hills and distance the FG is going to be slower than a roadie, but in the right situations a FG, even with moderate hills, a FG can be as fast or faster than a roadie.
I have a twenty mile loop that I often do as a quickie ride. One this ride, there are very few stop lights, and its rarely flat but the hills are mostly pretty moderate (the kind you can stand and hammer over). I have ridden this loop countless times on both my fg (81 gear inches) and on two different road bikes which are set up just as aggressively as my fixed gear. No matter how hard I hammer on the road bikes, I can not beat my best FG times. The FG is perhaps slightly more efficient without the simplified drive train, but I can go down the hills way faster on the roadie, which I though would give the roadie an advantage, but apparently its not enough.

Just because you're always pedaling doesn't mean you're putting anything into the pedals. So often are the pedals just carrying my legs when I'm tired.

Letting your legs swing around without any force can actually be pretty bad for your knees...just thought you should be aware.

I run a 49/17 (77.8 GI) on my bike. Good on the hills and when I rode with a computer, i cruised at a solid 15mph. On training rides, it got up to around a steady 19-20 mph for. Really easy to skid (not leaning forward, just leg power).

I'm new here BTW so hello everyone :)