Originally Posted by
mihlbach
Fixed gears do not create some sort of magical extra momentum. Its a myth that defies basic physical laws. Many of you need a physics class.
If you can pedal a freewheeled bike, and keep the pawls engaged (virtually anyone who can ride a bike does this), it makes not a bit of difference whether you are climbing a fixed gear or a SS. If your pedalling is so sloppy that you can't smoothly pedal a freewheeled bike, then you need to work on more than just your climbing skills.
Not entirely true. First off there is a significant (ballpark I'd guess between 2 and 5%) gain in efficiency by having a direct drive with no derailler and a good chainline.
Second it's easier to pedal through deadspots in your rotation on a fixed-gear which helps when your climbing at low-cadence/high-gear.
That said a good climber is going to climb well on any bike and a geared bike is going to be better for "real" climbing than a typical fixed-gear.