scroca

Yes, it's viable. Get a SS with a flip flop hub and you will have the chance to learn that you can ride fixed gear without any problem.

I too have a LHT and I was surprised after all the shifting I did with it that I'd be able to ride a fixie... no problem. I just have to stand up on some of the uphills and spin like crazy on some of the downhills (46 x 16).

Fair warning, though, if you go fixed, you want foot retention.

hairnet

My main ride is my SS/FG. I commute daily and have gone on many multi-hour rides with this bike. They're super smooth and even better if you can fit some fat tires

fietsbob

My daily ride is a 3 speed.. middle gear about 58 inch,
a quite pleasant pedal with a bit of a tail wind,

low is 3/4 .75, of that .. High is 4/3, 1.33 ....


having a low ratio to start out in and a high one to turn to get good speed is nice.
IG hub advantage: shifts while waiting for light to change.

just make sure the brakes work really well .
those red light running citations are apparently meant to be punitive .
$200+ as a behavior modifier.

Tundra_Man 

I've got a fixie in my stable, and I commute on it two or three times a week on average (26 mile RT). I'm not running fenders, so if there's no rain in the forcast then I'll ride the fixed gear, otherwise I'll ride my fendered commuter. I enjoy my fixie very much. It may be my favorite bike, but I like the fact that it's not my only bike. Having options is good.

I think my favorite thing about it is how dead quiet it runs down the road. It's absolutely silent. My other bikes aren't noisy by any means, but the fixie is like riding in stealth mode.

This doesn't have great deal of practical benefit, but it makes my brain happy. And when my brain is happy I ride more.

waxnomadic

I've been riding singlespeed for only 6 months or so and love the simplicity but am feeling the need for slightly more of a gearing range. One option I'm considering is a 2-speed hub (Shimano Duomatic just got re-released), which seems like a sensable option. That way you have both a more ideal gear for starting up and for climbing and also can cruise faster on the flats and downhill. Or I could just go for a 3-speed....or a 3-speed fixed (never tried fixed yet). There are too many options...that's the problem when you get into gears..might be better just to suck it up and stay with one.

waxnomadic

Forgot to say...one thing I really like about de-volving to singlespeed is that you really get the opportunity to experiment and find the one most ideal gear for your particular body/bike/situation. Then, if you want to start supplementing it with a couple of additional gears you know where to start. A lot of people with 20+ gears on their bike only use a fraction, since the entire range of gearing might not be optimized to their needs (not using top or bottom rings of a triple, for instance).

tcs

I believe you mean the new Sturmey-Archer S2/S2C Duomatic. Sturmey offered two speed hubs in the 1930s and again in from 1966 to 1972, but this is a new design, not a re-release of their's or anyone else's old hub.

aadhils

This fixed gear has been my only bike for over 3 years. I don't even think about it anymore. On the flip side, riding a bike that coasts feels really weird now. Sort of like I've lost my chain.

waxnomadic

That's what I meant...thanks for correcting.

jdmitch

I've got a S3X Tikit... still trying to get my but up early enough to ride to work (work situation has been sketchy for about a year... so I haven't really been able to commute).

evangelinegale

i road a steel single speed and upgraded this last year to an 18 speed road bike. to be honest its six and one half dozen. i do miss the simplicity of the single speed and considering that most of my commute(12 miles each way) is flat i don't accomplish it much faster. the ups to my road bike is choices. if i want to take my time on hill with out having to stand twist and burn, then i can. and if i want to go as fast as humanly possible downhill, then i can. it's just up to you. ss or fg: simplicity. geared: choices.

math is fun

its too bad that S3X hub has a coaster brake, it would have been perfect otherwise. I have been using my singlespeed as a commuter (~6 miles each way) and there are some pretty intense hills that I could use a slightly lower gear for, but I hate coaster brakes.

For the OP: even with Hills I have greatly enjoyed switching over to a single speed bike for my commute, in fact I haven't taken the old geared bike out in about 2 months now. I have done some 50+ mile rides and over all it is a lot more enjoyable for me.

evangelinegale

yea i've got a double and very rarely do i use the smaller one.

devianb

I tried single speed for awhile since I was only using one gear set. It was great until I became tired, ran into grass, carried a heavy load, or encountered hills. I may not shift a lot, but I like having options.

rumrunn6

my vote is for multispeed, especially as the seasons change. my commute had 3 killer hills so there was never any question

Catgrrl70

My husband recently brought in a SS and rides it a couple times a week. The hills are killer he has admitted and has to adjust his route accordingly. I ride a 3-ring and have absolutely no regrets. I use all three rings every day. Yes, I do ride up what some in the mid-west would call a mountain every day. However, a SS does appeal to me for the neighborhood rides (but it does limit my route home to one street only).