Running SingleSpeed or Fixed
10-19-08, 01:22 PM
#1
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Running SingleSpeed or Fixed
Are there any advantages to running SS besides coasting? Or I guess I could ask what are the pros and cons of both SS/FG?
Thanks!
Thanks!
10-19-08, 02:01 PM
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10-19-08, 02:06 PM
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10-19-08, 03:28 PM
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Coasting is mainly good for giving your butt a rest, taking it easy on the downhill, and going over bad surface seems more comfortable when you can just stand up and coast through it.
10-19-08, 03:37 PM
#6
Uber Goober
I ride a single-speed cruiser. It is geared 42:21 or so, which I think is lower than most cruisers. It's definitely lower than most fixed-gear bikes (ie, 52 gear inches).
I find this gear ratio to be very handy on moderate hills. But it also means that on level ground, you're pedaling at the high range of your cadence (going 15-17 mph). In that case, the advantage to being able to coast is that you can pedal just three or four strokes, then coast for three or four & repeat. I could increase the gearing a lot where I could just continually pedal slowly under those conditions, but then I'd never make it up the hills (I'm old and heavy, not young and thin like most of these Fixed Gear guys, btw). So that's one advantage to coasting capability.
I find this gear ratio to be very handy on moderate hills. But it also means that on level ground, you're pedaling at the high range of your cadence (going 15-17 mph). In that case, the advantage to being able to coast is that you can pedal just three or four strokes, then coast for three or four & repeat. I could increase the gearing a lot where I could just continually pedal slowly under those conditions, but then I'd never make it up the hills (I'm old and heavy, not young and thin like most of these Fixed Gear guys, btw). So that's one advantage to coasting capability.
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