Originally Posted by
Metricoclock
I think the key phrase people were talking about as a phenomena on why fixed bikes will help pull you through the dead spots of the stroke and not loose effeicency is the fact that..
the rear wheel is acting like a free-wheel in an engine of a car. A spinning mass helping keep the engine or in this case the pedal stroke continuous and smooth.
With a non fixed bike, all the rotational mass and energy is lost.
if you relax and let the cranks pull your legs thru on a fixie then your slowing down or just fighting your legs somewhere else in the pedal stroke, zero sum game
there is no magical loss or gain of energy or efficiency here
what a fixed gear does do quite well is remind you instantly if you don't pedal smoothly
from the bike's perspective it takes X amount of work to make it go Y miles per hour PERIOD no matter how it is pedaled pushed or towed, it doesn't matter what gear ratio is used or anything else, you have to overcome drivetrain friction, rolling resistance, and aero drag and that's it, being a fixed gear doesn't alter the laws of physics