pro547

Okay I have been looking at getting a bike to do over the summer instead of sitting on my computer. Right now I have no idea what I want. I have driven single speed BMX bikes when I was younger and enjoyed riding/doing tricks. I want to be able to go off road, go trailing, tricks, and use a commuter too. I was thinking about getting a single speed mountain bike but I have a couple of question. I'm welcome to any comments or flames.

What is the difference between single speed and fixed gear?

Should I buy a cheap mountain bike and just convert to single speed of fixed gear?

Should I even get a single speed or fixed geared bike?

- I'm pretty sure that I want a hard tail.
- Cheap is always good.
- Something lightweight.

Nightshade

First define exactly what you want the bike to do, i.e., utility, trails,
road, general knock around or what?? Then match bike specs to that
need. It's way better than wasting money trying to figure out AFTER you
buy the wrong bike. Way better, mate.

cooker

Single speed can coast, fixed gear can't. With fixed gear, if the wheel is moving, the pedals are moving, like on a kid's tricycle.
A fixed gear would be a pretty ambitious (re)starter bike.

For commuting you want a bike that can accomodate fenders and a rack.

pro547

Okay so here is another question, should I buy a mountain and convert it to a single speed bike or should I try and buy a single speed bike?

What brands should I look for I really don't want to speed a whole lot either... something around the range of 300?