Originally Posted by Barley Boar Forsman

Like most other fixie riders, I was first drawn to the simplicity of one, single, fixed gear. You have to grind to get up the hills and spin like a mad man to get down - no gears to get in the way. Trainers say that it is good for developing a good, smooth spin - which it does, but it can also give you a pretty good dead spot in your pedal stroke (no one ever talks about that!) When you get back on the "coastie" after a month off, it is very likely you'll feel, and hear a knock, or clunk in your pedal stroke - where you've gotten used to the wheel pulling the pedal around for you. You'll have to re-learn how to spin, and how to descend!