Commuting on a fixed gear?
 

Hi. I have read that bike messengers and some commuters like fixed gear bikes because of the weight savings and lack of things that can go wrong. What is a good gear ratio? My commute would be 25 miles round trip with a 1-2% climb on the way home. I'm an experience roadbiker so I don't mind mashing or spinning, but I am intrigued by riding a fixie?

What is a good average gearing on a fixed gear bike for commuting?

1- convert a beater - cheaper - so to find out if you like it
2- buy some cogs - dura ace will work - from 14t 15t 16T flavors so to have options

start with the 16T for a whole week, then move up one at a time

if needed, go down on tooth count, or up, depending on how they feel for you or measure in your bike computer.

I go with 88 gear inches, but I do not cyclocommute every day.

i run 42x16 and like it a lot, other than i can't get a LOT of speed, i can't go much over 20 mph for very long. where i live is really flat, but really windy as well, so i like to keep it a little lower. i think most others around here run a larger ratio.

oh and i commute every day, not as far as you would be though...

Commuting on a fixed gear? Nope. Can't be done. Fixed only works for 1) going to the bar 2) going to indie rock shows 3) going to your friend's art opening.

I rock 79 gear inches (48x16) and 81 gear inches (46x15).
I think both are nice.

Set a gear on your geared bike and see what you can reasonably tolerate for your route. Use that gear to figure out chainring/sprocket combos.

Seriously guys, if you think the hipster/mess bag situation is bad now, then you really have not looked into the crystal ball enough to foresee what a nightmare it would be if Sincity joined your ranks. Discourage him as much as possible, unless of course you love to be called "gay." :)

I run 74 gear inches (48x17). An 18 tooth cog on the other side gives me 70 if I want it.

My old conversion ran 66, but it was a real tank. The low gearing came in handy for the hills though.

iI run a 44x17 and commute everyday but my commute is only 2 miles each way....I think that most people run somewhere in the vicinity of 70-80 gear inches

As someone said, you have your road bike to help you get an idea of what sort of gear inch you want to run - buy cogs that get you close ony our fixie and don't be afraid to play around with the gearing until you get it just right.

Also consider getting a flip flop fixed/fixed rear hub if you want to be able to take your bike on a commute (with a lower gear inch) and on group rides (with a higher gear inch) or whatnot.

Excellent advice.

Yes, I just lived with one gear on my geared bike to figure out what would work for me.
However, after I started riding fixed gear, I found that I could have gone up a tooth or two.
When we have no ice on the road, I commute round trip 27 miles on my fixed gear with an 800' gain on the way home.
I find it much easier, faster and more fun than on my geared bike.

48x16- only problem is getting up hills over 15% grade

46x16 - 4 miles downhill, 4 miles uphill. gets the job done in low temps and crappy weather.

44x16 from somerville to newton mass. a coupla hills. 24 miles r/t. easy.

I ride a 69 inch gear, 42x16 and when I have to ride to my parents house, I have to climb a nice 300' gain hill. It have to crank it over hard but i can make it home. I could probably gear higher but where I live its really hilly in parts. I love my fixie because its simple, nimble, and I don't have to worry about dinging the tubes (my other bike is a soda can thin Cannondale).

38x14. Upper Darby, PA to Center City, Philly. 12 miles RT. Mostly Downhill in, mostly Uphill out.

I commute 8 miles each way on a heavy Schwinn Traveler, 46x16. No complaints after a few weeks now

I was wondering how long it would be before you ended up over here.

46x16, 10 miles r/t everyday, and it's Chicago so it's nearly totally flat. I could probably stand to drop a tooth in the back. I like riding my fixed in the city for the oft-mentioned reasons- simplicity, elegance, so so easy to maintain (I hate cables), and sexxx appeal, yo.

EDIT: I, too, have a crinkly aluminum Cannondale.

I like somewhere around 70 gear inches. I live in hillly terrain.

I tried living with 1 gear on a geared bike for a while in trying to choose my gear ratio, and found I could tolerate taller gears on a climb without a freewheel than with. That's good, because coming down tthe other side, you want the tallest gear you can tolerate.

So for me anyway, I could easily drop a couple of teeth in the back on a fixed gear compared to a single speed.

Im running 46x16 on my 20 mile r/t commute everyday. Moderate hills both ways. I find its alot easier to climb hills on a certain hills with my fixed as opposed to my geared bike. I now find that I fly up hills on my fixed that would normally kill me on my geared. I dont know why .

But go for it. I find it alot more fun and challenging.

52x17 across Gainesville, ~10 miles rt. Gvl's not really hilly, but I manage to hit pretty much all the big ones on my ride. It's probably way to tall of a gear, but works just fine for me. I may sing differently after I get the fenders on.


I should not be in front of a computer right now.

I am currently using 72 gear inches... 40x15..

here is a nifty chart you can use to get your gear selection ...

http://www.i1.net/~dwolfe/gerz/

and here is a cadence calculator to give you some idea of what RPM you will be spinning @ any given MPH .

http://fixedgeargallery.com/articles...ence/index.htm

=)

Enjoy!


I like my gearing because it allows me to spin and I have learned to like it ! When I started, I used a massive 52x14 gear.. it was overkill for me so I quickly realized my mistake (thanks to ss/fg people for telling me how it is)... and I geared down and bam ! Instant improvements in cadence and spinning performance !

Hells yes.

My commute is about 30 miles round trip with a few decent hills. Im old and smoke two packs a day so I roll 38x16.

I'm just bumping down from 52x18 to 52x20 (and wheels down a smidge from 27" to 700C). I found myself mashing on the hills and hurting a bit more than I oughtta. Don't know if the (SKS) fenders are making a difference on that.

To the OP: My commute's 10 miles each way, I split pretty evenly between geared roadbike and fixie, depending on the weather, which one's running nicer at the moment, phase of moon etc. Fix started out as a bad weather beater but my new wheels cost as much as the frame so it's sort of beyond the beater category now. Definitely recommend going the conversion route as its much cheaper and you're far more likely to be able to fit commuter-width tires, fenders, rack, etc. Have fun

42x15 it works just fine... I can get up 10-18% grades if I carve.

I bet it's easier to do track stands on these fixies too.

It's a ***** on a roadbike!

Well, yeah. It's called "trackstand" for a reason.