This has probably been asked before, but I dug through this forum and couldn't find the answer. What exactly is the point, or the appeal, of reducing your bike's functionality by stripping it down to one gear? I mean, don't you guys have hills where you live? Am I missing something?

For the same reason I like to drink my coffee black.

We have hills and they certainly don't stop us.

I look for hills. As for "reducing your bike's functionality by stripping it down to one gear"... well... first off, you only need one to make it go, and even with 30 gears you can only use one at a time anyway. They're generally lighter, stonger, cheaper, and less finicky than geared bikes. There's no thinking about being in the right gear because you're always in the right gear, you just pedal. For me the big reason tho... it's just fun. I think the real question here isn't "why singlespeed?", it's "why multispeed?"

That sums it up beautifully.

why not?

I ask myself the same question about riding SS (I don't really see the point in single speed- seems to me the worst of both worlds- none of the advantages of fixed nor geared)- riding fixed, however, is a completely different story.

For me, it is a backlash against how crazy the high end bike industry has become- everything made of carbon fiber or titanium, 10-speed clusters (rendering 9-speed obsolete), ultra-fat tubes and bars- integrating bar/stem combos costing $700-800... $2000 wheelsets... then having a bike you'd never consider riding in the rain, or actually using as transportation.

Also- I can actually build and repair a fixed gear bike.

Ride fixed and you will either gain strength or cadence- if not both. You'll also learn how to more effectively use your gears when you do ride a geared bike.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html

what exactly is the point, or appeal of riding a bicycle at all? Motorcycles can get you anywhere a bicycle can without all that pesky pedaling.

"For the same reason I like to drink my coffee black."

Yeah, I like the taste of my FG too!

this will get me booted...

"Because I'm not a pu$$y."

What are the advantages of fixed above single-speed, other than perhaps a more rehearsed spin?

Here are the advantages:

I can control speed with my legs.
I can track stand for years.
I can snear at singlespeeders.
I don't need a brake (allthough my bike has one).
I can ride backwards.
I can skid and skip.
I learned how to pace myself. E.g. steady pedalling vs. spring, coast, sprint, coast, sprint, coast.
My bike is very quiet.
I can babble about that Zen experience that comes with riding fixed - like everyone else.
I can make funny and not so funny jokes about being fixed.
And on and on and on ad nauseam - you see there are many advantages.

fun.
sexy.

I first started riding one as a training tool. Geomorphology dictates hills here, so the one gear makes legs stronger. I still take my standard MTB for rides where I just want to go fast, but the SS rides make me faster. They are so simple and can be ridden in harsh conditions. Now one of my favorite things is the night ride. The trail here begins with ~1.5 mile climb. This is great because I can pass the $2000+ bike riding HID whielding guys and say great night while they can't catch their breath as they turn up their nose at my sub $400 SS and 10w light.

The first time I spun up to around 130 rpms on the fixed gear bike it scared the crap out of me. After I became more accustomed to that I noticed that when I ride the geared bike I spin at a higher cadence more fluidly, which should mean more efficiently.

Another advantage/reason why that comes to mind (paticularly today) is that winter is upon us. A ss is far more durable/trustworthy in snow an ice than any geared bke except Maybe a Nexus. A Fixed is far better than a SS or Nexus in the same conditions. Nothing beats fixed in harsh winter conditions, and th harsh winter conditions can't beat a fixed.

Its just something that needs to be experienced to understand. No amount of Sheldon Brown, anyone on this board, no one can answer that question except yourself. My guess is that if you have to ask why, you most likely are not ready for it.

why not a rohloff multispeed hub?

While my project is still just that, a project (I have a few things to sort out before my SS roadie is ready to ride) the reason I'm going for it is that I love the simplicity of the machine. Want to go faster? Pedal harder. I don't feel the need to go fixed yet. I just am sick of shifting. Plus, I like to be different than the norm. Its not too often you're going to see a 300+lb guy hammering away on a single speed road bike. Its just not common.

Phfft! You're only ready to try riding fixed or SS when you already know that's what you want? Please. It's really not that deep.

Planetary gears are even less efficient than derailleur setups. That's not to say they don't have their advantages (they're certainly lower maintenance and less finicky than a der and that's got a lot of appeal), but nevertheless more complicated than what a lot of people need and still shift. It's hard to believe until you go 1-speed, but you spend a lot time thinking about what gear to be in. A lot of us just don't like always doing that little mental check to decide if you should up- or down-shift. Again, it sounds silly until you don't have to and you realize it can be a source of a bit of subconcious stress.

I hung out with the Rohloff reps at a show recently, great product. It mught do well in winter conditions, but me myself and I won't be subjecting a hub that I'd laid a cool G on to road salts

try it, then get back to us.

From an earlier post:
All the great thinkers have obsessed over the benefits of walking to the act of thinking, and it occurs to me that perhaps the cause of this has to do in part with the rhythm which the regular steps present. I have found the same to be the case with the fixed gear machine; the unbroken cadence that must be maintained presents also an unbroken cadence for the mind to follow. Even when stopped, the effortless trackstand converts what would elsewhere be a gap in the experience into an integral part of the seamless whole.