Fine. Some people are only motivated if they ride in groups or on an expensive bike. Whatever gets you out there riding is good I suppose. You can still learn all those techniques you mentioned just as well on a regular bike. The reality is a fixed gear bike puts more limitations on your training than a geared bike.

It's a bit like adding weights to your current bike. Ride around for a while on a heavier bike and it will feel lighter and easier when you take the weight off. That doesn't mean it's a good training technique.

Then why bring all those gears if your not going to use them. A steel single speed for me is a means to an end. It makes my geared carbon bike feel like a rocket, especially climbing.

On the track yes.

I don't have that habit unless I'm descending when it becomes quite useful.

I bring them because they're on my bike and I do use them. Occasionally in the winter I'll do a group ride and stay in my 39-15. It's a tough workout particularly on downwind legs. I do it for a change of pace. I also ride a MTB for change of pace and when I go back to my road bike it feels different.

Just because you road bike 'feels' like a rocket doesn't mean you are any faster or powerful than you would have been if you'd stayed riding your road bike.

Helps explain your comments. Thanks.

Just because you road bike 'feels' like a rocket doesn't mean you are any faster or powerful than you would have been if you'd stayed riding your road bike.[/QUOTE]

I recently did a tour with some hills. It was amazing to me how effortless the hills seemed. I passed everyone in my sights and wasn't passed. Sure, I guess I wasn't among the most serious of riders but I have to attribute this to my daily workout on my single speed. I have to disagree with you.

Strong agreement.

I started a diet and my energy levels sucked for a while. It's coming back now, but I switched from FG back to one of my multi-geared bikes. When I'm pedaling, I more automatically change gears to find the best gear for pedaling; about the only reason I coast is when I hit a long downhill.

I don't race, so I don't give a damn about good training technique. I'm interested in learning, and SS is a very organic way to learn some riding techniques.

It can also teach you some poor techniques and expose you to injury, particularly if you're carrying a few extra lbs. Just be careful on the hills!

Hum... lots of interesting thoughts here... I too don't race, but I do have a somewhat restricted amount of time for riding, and I want to get the most out of that time.
I'm riding a sort of heavy hybrid now, but was planning to upgrade to something nice as a reward for getting under 200 lbs. (or maybe just 207 - 'no longer obese' point for me) - now I'm thinking that I'll keep pushing the hybrid around at least weekdays - not so much to increase speed as to make the workout just a bit harder - but, someone earlier said 'that's not good training technique' - why is that? Whats the context?

There's nothing wrong with continuing to ride your current heavy bike. Perhaps bad technique was not a good choice of words.

The fallacy is thinking that training with a heavier bike will make you stronger than training on a lighter bike. Training stress is strictly a function of how much power you're putting out. If you put out the same power you'll just be slower on the heavier bike.

Meh. After a year on the FG I'm doing fine. I think you worry too much.

I wasn't speaking specifically to you as I imagine you don't have many hills to deal with in Texas. Others may have different conditions to ride in.

I plan on getting my first SS/FG soon, but I get the same power increase from commuting on my Pugsley

You might be surprised. We have some hills in town that will stall a bike cold. The linked spot is over 30% grade, according to Google Maps.

Hats off to you if you're going up 30+% hills on a fixed gear!

No, I can't make it up on my FG. I've done it on my hybrid with panniers loaded with change of clothes and stuff for commuting though. The point was simply that there are some hilly areas around town. No miles-long climbs, but hills that present challenges even to accomplished cyclists.

I've done 12% hills with 46-18 gearing as recently as a couple weeks ago.

I love riding my fixed gear (and have only ridden it in SS mode a few times). I don't think it trains me, especially at my age and with my years in the saddle, to be a better rider on my geared bike (getting out of the saddle, riding seated, spinning, climbing, texting while spinning, drinking lattes at Starbucks, etc).

Definitely it:

1) Makes me feel like I'm 25 again, since I see so many younger people on fixies and single-speed bikes and

2) Gives me better workout on the fixed gear bike, because there's no coasting (which is one reason I like riding fixed rather than in ss mode).

I go back to my original post that a lead weighted bat will quicken my bat speed. Did you ever see a major league batter in the on deck circle without the doughnut on his bat? A SS/FG will make you work harder than a geared bike and therefore is a good training technique. It sounds logical to me....but I could be wrong.

All you have to do is over gear on a geared bike. I've ridden thousands of miles in a gear that wasn't optimum for efficiency, but definitely improved my strength. I can do that on any ride, and still have the utility of a geared bike if desired.

But a FG/SS is both overgeared and undergeared at the same time depending whether your climbing or on level terrain. Your working harder in both instances. The only way you can replicate this on a geared bike is to stay in the same gear whether your climbing or on level ground. So what is the sense of having gears. Gears make riding easier which is what they're supposed to do.

Yes, I've seen them. I've also seen major league batters spend 5 minutes in the box twitching and adjusting their sweatbands and helmet just so. Does that increase their batspeed?

If you still think swinging a heavy bat is the way to faster bat speed read this: Warming up with a weighted bat does not increase swing speed.

There's no question you can train on a fixed gear. You can also train equally well if not better on a regular bike. For example, if you want to do muscle tension intervals you want to find someplace where you can ride at 90-100% of FTP at 50-60RPM. You could do this on hills of a certain gradient with a fixed gear bike, but there are many more locations and conditions (i.e. headwind) that you can achieve this with a geared bike.

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If you still think swinging a heavy bat is the way to faster bat speed read this: Warming up with a weighted bat does not increase swing speed.

Good research and I'm going to have to do my own. On face value, I don't buy it but the only backup I have is that 99% of pro baseball players can't be wrong.
As far as bikes are concerned, I'll admit you can train as hard on a geared bike as you do on a FG/SS but you probably won't. You would have to be very disciplined not to kick it down a notch when things start to hurt. Something most of us couldn't do. There is no option on a FG/SS.

If I tried that there for sure would be another option... The 'get off and walk' option.