Am I alone in commuting with a single speed?
05-18-08, 07:23 AM
#1
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Am I alone in commuting with a single speed?
I love single speed, and fixie is fun too.. Just wondering if I was the only one who commutes this way. 
05-18-08, 07:29 AM
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Plenty of others do. You are not alone.
I commuted on my fixed gear langster for a few months before it was terminated.
My new salsa fixed gear is a couple weeks out from completion.
The simplicity for a commuter is awesome. That and when I go from it to my geared road bike on the weekend I gain a bit of speed.
I commuted on my fixed gear langster for a few months before it was terminated.
My new salsa fixed gear is a couple weeks out from completion.
The simplicity for a commuter is awesome. That and when I go from it to my geared road bike on the weekend I gain a bit of speed.
05-18-08, 07:34 AM
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I used to. Way back in the 90's before they were in "style". Now everyone wants a SS ride.
But function won the battle against coolness. I need more gears to fight the vicious wind around here.
It was gusting 70 again yesterday.
The wind, and the fact that I carry two full panniers, I need gears to make the 40 km commute enjoyable.
But function won the battle against coolness. I need more gears to fight the vicious wind around here.
It was gusting 70 again yesterday.
The wind, and the fact that I carry two full panniers, I need gears to make the 40 km commute enjoyable.
05-18-08, 07:40 AM
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I own three fixed gear bike and I use two of them for commuting at least half of the time. I use my 27 speed crosscheck when it's really windy. I prefer to use my fixed gear bikes if it's calm or if I know I'm taking the bus or Amtrak home.
BTW, my commute is 30 miles rt.
BTW, my commute is 30 miles rt.
05-18-08, 07:52 AM
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I used to. Way back in the 90's before they were in "style". Now everyone wants a SS ride.
But function won the battle against coolness. I need more gears to fight the vicious wind around here.
It was gusting 70 again yesterday.
The wind, and the fact that I carry two full panniers, I need gears to make the 40 km commute enjoyable.
But function won the battle against coolness. I need more gears to fight the vicious wind around here.
It was gusting 70 again yesterday.
The wind, and the fact that I carry two full panniers, I need gears to make the 40 km commute enjoyable.
05-18-08, 08:06 AM
#6
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Almost the entire population of Beijing and Amsterdam commute on single speeds. With all those folks doing it, the idea can't be invalid.
Paul
Paul
05-18-08, 08:40 AM
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05-18-08, 09:02 AM
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I used to. Way back in the 90's before they were in "style". Now everyone wants a SS ride.
But function won the battle against coolness. I need more gears to fight the vicious wind around here.
It was gusting 70 again yesterday.
The wind, and the fact that I carry two full panniers, I need gears to make the 40 km commute enjoyable.
But function won the battle against coolness. I need more gears to fight the vicious wind around here.
It was gusting 70 again yesterday.
The wind, and the fact that I carry two full panniers, I need gears to make the 40 km commute enjoyable.
and some of us actually put front brakes on them!Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
05-18-08, 09:07 AM
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You are not alone brother/sister! I switched to SS when I noticed that I was only changing gears by one cog and only in one direction on my commute. I tried going fixed-gear, but being able to coast down hills at 50 km/h was too much of a draw for me.
05-18-08, 10:09 AM
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I commuted a few times on my Bianchi San Jose SS while I was getting my Nexus 8 wheel built for it. As I expected, it isn't good for me.
I spin my feet a steady 90-100 rpm when I ride and I have no tolerance for grinding (it makes my knees hurt really bad). Even though my route is flat, a good headwind can leave me down too slow on a SS. Then I'm basically stuck grinding home for 12 miles which is a killer.
I could run a flip-flop hub and drop a few teeth for a headwind......but the Bianchi has track ends which means I'd have to break the chain just to change gears.
It's like.....why am I putting in all this effort when running a Nexus 8 or a regular deraillure setup is so simple?
I spin my feet a steady 90-100 rpm when I ride and I have no tolerance for grinding (it makes my knees hurt really bad). Even though my route is flat, a good headwind can leave me down too slow on a SS. Then I'm basically stuck grinding home for 12 miles which is a killer.
I could run a flip-flop hub and drop a few teeth for a headwind......but the Bianchi has track ends which means I'd have to break the chain just to change gears.
It's like.....why am I putting in all this effort when running a Nexus 8 or a regular deraillure setup is so simple?
05-18-08, 10:23 AM
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If I recall, you can have up to a two- or three-tooth difference in cog size on a flip-flop and still use the same length chain.
(That said, a geared hub is a perfectly fine alternative as well.
)
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05-18-08, 10:24 AM
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From Sept-April I will be riding my SS to school all the time. I could use it here during the summer, but there are too many hills.
05-18-08, 10:44 AM
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Just picked up my Raleigh One Way on Saturday. Will ride it as a SS. I may try the fixed gear just because I can, but I see no possible reason to use it regularly.
I bought it for the simplicity and assumed lower maintenance (in time and $$$) over my road bikes. And to ride in worse weather than my road bikes can handle.
I bought it for the simplicity and assumed lower maintenance (in time and $$$) over my road bikes. And to ride in worse weather than my road bikes can handle.
05-18-08, 10:53 AM
#15
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Three cogs is usually the max difference for a flip flop hub due to the length of the dropouts...
This ss/fixed "fad" is going strong here and I see more and more people adopting monogearism as a way to get around.
This ss/fixed "fad" is going strong here and I see more and more people adopting monogearism as a way to get around.
05-18-08, 11:36 AM
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I commute on a single speed. Up a big hill in the morning, down it on the way home. WHEEEEEEEEE!
05-18-08, 12:15 PM
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I ride single speed ever since about a year ago when I realized I was only using one gear anyway. Love it!
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Cyclists fare best when they recognize that there are times when acting vehicularly is not the best practice, and are flexible enough to do what is necessary as the situation warrants.--Me
05-18-08, 12:47 PM
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05-18-08, 12:48 PM
#19
hello
On a somewhat related note.....
Usually on those days that I commute to work I stop at Starbucks to pose while enjoying my cup of coffee. I either ride my fixed gear or the single speed road bike. On those mornings when I don't have the time to pose and finish my coffee I take the coffee with me to work which is just a short distance away.
What I found was that carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and riding is so much easier done on the fixed gear than on the single speed. I have so much more control on the fixed gear. I've done this enough times on both bikes to tell the difference.
So anyone else carry coffee in one hand while riding?
Usually on those days that I commute to work I stop at Starbucks to pose while enjoying my cup of coffee. I either ride my fixed gear or the single speed road bike. On those mornings when I don't have the time to pose and finish my coffee I take the coffee with me to work which is just a short distance away.
What I found was that carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and riding is so much easier done on the fixed gear than on the single speed. I have so much more control on the fixed gear. I've done this enough times on both bikes to tell the difference.
So anyone else carry coffee in one hand while riding?
05-18-08, 12:52 PM
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05-18-08, 12:59 PM
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05-18-08, 01:17 PM
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On a somewhat related note.....
Usually on those days that I commute to work I stop at Starbucks to pose while enjoying my cup of coffee. I either ride my fixed gear or the single speed road bike. On those mornings when I don't have the time to pose and finish my coffee I take the coffee with me to work which is just a short distance away.
What I found was that carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and riding is so much easier done on the fixed gear than on the single speed. I have so much more control on the fixed gear. I've done this enough times on both bikes to tell the difference.
So anyone else carry coffee in one hand while riding?
Usually on those days that I commute to work I stop at Starbucks to pose while enjoying my cup of coffee. I either ride my fixed gear or the single speed road bike. On those mornings when I don't have the time to pose and finish my coffee I take the coffee with me to work which is just a short distance away.
What I found was that carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and riding is so much easier done on the fixed gear than on the single speed. I have so much more control on the fixed gear. I've done this enough times on both bikes to tell the difference.
So anyone else carry coffee in one hand while riding?
05-18-08, 01:30 PM
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I got really tired of de-gooping my gears in the winter, so on went the SS! It made it way less worrisome for those winter months. Last sign of snow also brough the gears back 
05-18-08, 01:40 PM
#25
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I frequently carry coffee or a beverage of moderation while bicycling (beverage dependent on time of day and if I am going to work) in a large opaque insulated mug. Or sometimes carry a 1.5 liter bottle of water in one hand. I stay in one gear while doing so, until I switch hands so I can use the twist shifter. Quenching my Big Thirst hardly requires shackling myself to only one gear ratio for commuting purposes.