Bauser

I live in toronto, and a lot of people here seem to be riding single speed road bikes. They're not all just fixies; there's also coasters and free wheelers. Are single speeds better than geared bikes? Why do many city riders gravitate towards singles?

rms13

Usually cheaper and perceived lower cost of ownership/maintenance. And in a flat area gears aren't as necessary. Lots of people in urban areas who use bike as primary transportation will get especially cheap single speeds that might cost $200 new so not huge loss if stolen

HTupolev

One of the main things is that a single speed is cheaper than a geared bike of similar quality. They're also simpler, requiring less maintenance and being less likely to break. As such, many find them to be a cost-effective, convenient, and reliable commuting option.

As far as actual performance advantages, a single-speed can weigh less than a comparable geared bike, and theoretically if your chain tension is set up well, you can achieve slightly less drivetrain loss. In practice, in a real-world road environment, geared bikes are basically always faster.

mcours2006

I've noticed that in particular people who ride along the lakeshore tend to go with single speed on their commute, presumably because it's all flat. But if you go north/south, you might have some difficulty with some of the terrain on a single gear.

I live north of the city and there's no way I could get by without gears. I'd be miserable.

Homebrew01

An internally geared hub is a good choice for anyone wanting to avoid derailleurs and cassettes.

Maelochs

I think SS has also become 'trendy" because it is perceived as non-nonsense, back-to-basics, "bucking the trend" (though of course it is just another trend) of expensive, highly complex racing bicycles.

Someone somewhere said, "I don't understand how to shift and my shift-thing is broken anyway ... but hey, I can still ride." Someone else said, "Yeah, bike stores sell those expensive bikes with stuff no one needs just to make money." Someone else said, "Nobody needed shift-things back in Hemingway's time." Thus a trend is born.

Then you have threads like https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...94-newbie.html where the OP states "I really am into the "hipster" city bike look. Simple frame without many logos, bullhorn or drop bars, a little saddle bag behind the seat." where function is absolutely in no way a consideration and the bicycle is almost as much a statement of personal style as a mode of transport, and whether or not gears are useful or might even make the person's life easier is not an issue---achieving a certain "look" is. (Nothing wrong with all that.)

Avoiding shifting has been dropped in favor of avoiding avoiding pretension which is in itself another sort of pretension ... but then, we all have some sense of style, and we all are "pretentious" in that we think our personal sense of style matters, when in fact every single person sees us through the lens of His or Her own sense of style anyway ....

We are complicated creatures and most of us don't know that much about what we are doing and less about why.

In the OP's case ... a lot of people do it because a lot of people do it. At some level we are herd animals.

WhyFi

And yet, for some people, the choice is a practical one with no regard to image or perception.

bmthom.gis

Sometimes they are better. If you want to perfect your pedal stroke, spend a few weeks/couple hundred miles riding a fixed gear. I like my single speeds and I like my geared bikes. In general, I think a single speed gets you up a hill a bit faster, unless the hill beats you and you end up walking.
There are times where I just don't feel like riding a bike with any level of complexity, and SS also happens to be lighter. In urban environments, or winter riding, they work well because there is no RD to get bent in a crash.
And then there are people who, for whatever reason, cannot understand shifting to save their lives.

wphamilton

For me, rain and winter bike. Steel frame, chain cover, good tires, very durable and reliable.

Mine is actually a good bit heavier, starting out that way plus the utility stuff I've put on it. I don't mind because it's not for sporting fast rides to begin with.

Bike Gremlin

Cheaper and simpler. For a flat-land transport over shorter distances (up to 5-6 km), it is the most practical bike.

Can't bend a derailleur when stashing 10 bikes in a tight bike parking. Don't worry if a 50 euro 2nd hand bike gets stolen. Coaster brake takes almost zero maintenance, so people not used to wrenching can ride those bikes for years without needing service or tuning.

Those are the main benefits.

I prefer having speeds, but I do my own wrenching and source cheap and reliable stuff for commuting, but 99% of the people are not in that position.

TimothyH

At the end of the day, when reliability, pretense and everything else is put to bed, a single speed is just plain fun, and none more than a fixed-gear.

Herd animal this...



48-16 (78.9 inch) gearing and did 3000 ft climbing this Saturday so no, not just for flat lands.

Lots of misconception and misinformation here from those who have zero experience. More to come I'm sure.

rpenmanparker 

Because of the inflated weight of the commonly used, cheap steel frames; cranks; wide, heavy chains; and basic, 36-spoke wheels, most SSs will be much heavier than an entry level multi-geared bike. That is despite the absence of derailleurs, cassette, etc. The only way to get a SS bike to be lighter would be to custom build it from specially selected frame and parts. That SS bikes are lighter is largely a myth unless you are comparing to a extremely low end geared bike.

Bike Gremlin

For city riding, the weight is not that much of an issue - IMO, most people find ss simple and cheap.

However, if comparing a multi gear with a ss bike - if using the same frame, the ss will be lighter for the weight of:
cassette (minus one cog)
extra front chainring (and the spider)
derailleurs
shifters

That adds up to a kilogram, unless going for really high end stuff, doesn't it?

Oh, I forgot - SS usually has shorter chain as well, so in spite of it being a bit wider (heavier) per link, it ends up being the same weight, if not lighter than a multi speed one.

TimothyH

Wabi Cycles Lightning SE fixed gear bike specs

17.5 lbs off the shelf for $1150.

Many other manufacturers out there too.

rpenmanparker 

First I don't care about the weight. I am just responding to those who claim lighter. Second it never is the same frame, is it? Or the same level of crank. Stuff speced on SSs is simply very old fashioned and very heavy. As I said, you would have to really go custom to get close to a stock bike with say aluminum frame and Tiagra despite the many fewer parts. Once again, I'm not saying it matters. Just setting the record straight.

TimothyH

You don't have to go custom. There are lots of manufacturers putting out sub 18lb steel single speed bikes.

See post 14.

fietsbob

Nothing weighs less, than a Part Not Installed..

bmthom.gis

My Trek Soho Single Speed is pretty damn light. It's alloy. Bikes Direct bikes might be heavy, but plenty of manufacturers are making quality single/fixed bikes out of the same material as their geared bikes. Also, plenty of mountain bikes are the same frame as their geared brethren and specced similarly elsewhere.

Maelochs

Come on folks ... no bike is better than any other bike. That, simply that, and all of that.

You like what you ride, lucky you. You don't, you probably don't ride it much, and probably won't keep it. No bike, no type of bike, is "better."

And yes, a lot of people ride SS for style ... the poster I linked to proves that. Others ride them for other reasons. That does not make them "better" or "worse." They are just bicycles.

TimothyH

No one is claiming one is better than the other.

A couple of us are however, rebutting false claims such as having to go custom to get a light bike, only good for flat areas and bikes with gears are always faster.

Those of us with actual experience riding single speed and fixed geared bikes know these statements to be false. That's all.

rpenmanparker 

I'm sure there are. I simply don't think you see a lot of those on the road...relatively speaking. That is not where the bulk of the SS market resides.

WhyFi

Does the bulk of the geared market reside in lightweight racers?

79pmooney

Big advantages of fix gears and single speeds as city bikes: cheaper, less desirable from a theft perspective, more reliable (especially if only ridden/looked at in the dark - a life of many norther city commuters in winter, far more crash worthy and in the case of fix gears, more training effect in fewer miles and hours riding. Also - again fix gear - better on ice and snow and works well in freezing snow, a place where derailleurs may not work at all. The drive train also works at a far lower standard of maintenance. (I used to not sweat chain lubrication and frozen links riding in Boston's and Ann Arbor's salt winter roads until the third link froze up. Just slide the wheel forward to keep the chain slack right.)

I have 3 geared bikes and two fix gears. I often change my mind after I walk into the garage as to what bike I am going to ride and it is often from the geared bike to the fix gear just because its more fun.

Ben

Bike Gremlin

If you want to say "an average SS you see on the road isn't lighter than an average road bike", I'd agree.

However, comparing heavy cheap SS to a decent road bike is not a contest. SS is "inhrerently" lighter, since it hasn't got ders. and shifters, less sprockets etc.

If a SS has a decent road bike frame (with horizontal dropouts), and decent crank and hubs, it will be lighter than a similar quality road bike (and it will be a bit cheaper, no shifting groupset).

Bandera

Not just urban riders, for the last century serious club cyclists have ridden fixed gear on the road to develop a smooth supple & powerful pedaling technique.

Oddly enough cycling is a pedaling sport, a well developed pedaling style w/ both spin & grunt on demand will prove beneficial over a rider's entire career powering any flavor of drivetrain over the decades.

Stripping the drivetrain down to convert my old Columbus frame race bike to FG removed a not insignificant amount of weight from a machine that was already race-spec for a rider of my size/weight. The result is an extremely lively and pleasant machine for long distance FG rides.
Doing the same to my CF Merckx would be very interesting....

That being said riding FG on the road isn't for everyone, as always suit yourself.

-Bandera