Originally Posted by Matthew A Brown
52x17 across Gainesville, ~10 miles rt. Gvl's not really hilly, but I manage to hit pretty much all the big ones on my ride. It's probably way to tall of a gear, but works just fine for me. I may sing differently after I get the fenders on.
I'm just bumping down from 52x18 to 52x20 (and wheels down a smidge from 27" to 700C). I found myself mashing on the hills and hurting a bit more than I oughtta. Don't know if the (SKS) fenders are making a difference on that.
To the OP: My commute's 10 miles each way, I split pretty evenly between geared roadbike and fixie, depending on the weather, which one's running nicer at the moment, phase of moon etc. Fix started out as a bad weather beater but my new wheels cost as much as the frame so it's sort of beyond the beater category now. Definitely recommend going the conversion route as its much cheaper and you're far more likely to be able to fit commuter-width tires, fenders, rack, etc. Have fun