Originally Posted by
StephenH
I assume you're already riding a geared bike now? Pick a gear that feels good, go ride the flats and try that hill, just leaving it in that gear. That should be pretty educational. Just leave the bike in that same gear for a couple of weeks and see hot it feels, for that matter.
What I find is that I can go up a decent little hill on a single speed, but I'm not going up any mountains, either. If you can't pick your grear, it is definitely more tiring.
Fixed is actually totally different than just picking a gear and trying it out. For one thing, you quickly find out just how much you are gliding and coasting. On a fixed, if you forget and stop pedaling, you're quickly over the bars and on the ground.
Slippery roads and fixed are great, because you get immediate feedback as to what the drive wheel is doing, by the way.