Originally Posted by hobbsc
This is a terribly ignorant question, but how can you tell if a bike is fixed or single speed on first glance? Is it brake setup or is there something special about the rear wheel? Maybe the presence of a lockring?
I own a fixie and I've occassionally seen single speeds when I'm at the local mountain bike races, but I can't seem to tell the difference just by looking.
Thanks!
cmh
Rear wheel is the best way to tell if you can see the hub + cog
Otherwise the the constant pedaling... duh
If it's got a freehub with spacers, then for sure it's SS, unless they're using the Surly fixed thing.
Otherwise if it's a threaded hub. It'll either be Freewheel or Fixed.
You can tell by the the width of the cog/ freewheel.
Freewheels tend to be at least a centimeter wide due to the ratcheting system.
Fixed cogs are skinnier and "SHOULD" have a lockring.