I ride both. Singlespeed/fixed is my daily commuter ride. No, it's not as fast as my road bike but I get a great workout with it and it's fun to ride. I've ridden the fixed gear on long rides and it's quite a workout. I am no fan of descending even with front and rear brakes. On many group roadie rides I'd get left behind eventually if I were on the fixed gear bike. We've got lots of rolling countryside and some long climbs that would put me at a disadvantage. But the fixed gear riding has made my road bike riding stronger. And going on long(70-80-100mile) road rides has made me a stronger fixed gear rider. Climbing Monte Sano on both bikes, I'm faster with the road bike and less tired when I reach the top. Other riders are quite impressed when I ride the fixie up Monte Sano. (3+ mile climb, 5.5% overall grade with some 8-9% stuff thrown in there to keep you awake)