BeerBiker

I built my first fixed gear as a training tool and because Sheldon said it was cool. I found that a half hour ride on the fixed was like doing fifty miles on my road bike, work wise. The thing that really attracted me was I never felt as connected to the bicycle on a geared bike. You and the bike are one; you give input, it goes, you slow your legs, it slows. It's just a really weird feeling and connection you get with the bike and it's just way different than what you feel on a geared bike.

As others have mentioned, a simple little noodling ride can give you a superior workout. I've been known to lead slower group club rides on my fixie and never felt slighted on the workout. People who ride geared bikes think they have to do 50-60 miles at 20+ mph to get their fix. I can do a thirty mile ham and egg ride at 15 mph and be just as happy, plus get breakfast out of the deal! Can't beat that!

Mark

starcrossed2nit

you don't have to worry about wires when you throw it in your car. or wherever

Ray_B

For me it's the right tool for the right job. I have a roadie, mtb, SS and a fixied gear. My ride to work is only 6 miles with a few small hills. With the fixie, I work hard for six miles. On my roadie, I can get lazy and spin for six miles. The build process for the fixed gear was a blast as well. I'm 40 years old and far from being a hipster or even a wannabe. I liken the fixie and SS to a small sailboat....dead simple, quiet and almost zen like.
FWIW

lamalex

simplicity, versatility, speed, fun, aesthetics (face it, dérailleurs are fugly).

rando

simple, purtier, quieter. I was only using one gear anyway.

SaltyDog

I like trying new things, I especially wanted to put it together myself and I loved the whole process. I already had a short commute in the city where I only used one gear (lots of stopping and starting, gears are annoying in this case, especially on my city beater). I got some hard to find parts (old cotter pins) for my beater at Harris Cyclery in Newton, and on their website Sheldon's articles convinced me to try it. I just had to see what the fixed craze was about and I'm hooked now.

jodypolk

first sig!

9Rings

SS/FG are simple and super lightweight.

My $299 BD bike weighs in at ~18lbs.

How much $$$ would you have to drop on a "road" bike to get that?

trich

Instead of the KHS, I ended up getting a Windsor "The Hour". What I found is that it is more fun that I imagined. I've only taken it out a few times (15-20 miles at a time, maybe 5 or 6 times now), but I'm hooked. I almost feel bad for my road bike, sitting in the corner collecting dust :-)

Bushman

AWESOME!!!!!!!! we want tie-flapping pics!

TheRobbStory

If I didn't ride fixed I couldn't very well wear these silly little hats now, could I?

Non-fixed riders are so ignorant and narrow-minded. I wish everyone thought exactly like me.

gregtheripper

fixed/ss bikes are great commuting bikes. they are relatively cheap, offer a lot more reliability than say a $600 hybrid, and can be lighter as well. even if you build a nice track bike, its hard to spend more than a mid level road bike retails for. they really shine in the winter though, which is notorious for ****ing up bikes.

for shorter rides where i don't want to go out to far, a spin on my track bike feels nice... after 5 or so miles my pedaling feels very smooth and i keep a good pace. For my 3 mile commute to school/work, it is a fun and reliable ride. however, i also try to do at least 100+ miles on my road bike a week on top of any fixed riding i do, and at least one mtb ride a week (a very geared, full suspension mtb at that..)

it's just nice to vary it up, fixed is not this superior riding technique, but it's fun and easy and has its advantages and disadvantages.

elemental

I bought mine because it was cheaper than gears, and it felt much much more satisfying than any of the geared bikes anywhere near the price point (come on, OCR3 vs Langster+cash? It was a joke). I really hated all of the entry-level road bikes because they felt like tanks, and I didn't have the cash to get one that I liked. What I did like was how the Langster rode and cornered, and how simple and freeing it felt to not worry about shifting. A couple months in I bought a cog and tried out fixed, and it felt like the natural next step. Unlike some of the other posters here, I am a college student and don't have the money for a small herd of bikes, and the SS/fixed was easily the most fun bike I could afford.

squeakywheel

No mountains here. I do all the work myself. Not a very good bike mechanic. SS bikes are easier to work on.

-=(8)=-

I like one speed and I like coasting.....
Kind of limits it to SS.

brinskan

me too... my BMX roots have me scoffing at gears (tho I do run 8spds on my MTB), so when I got a road bike, it only made sense to go SS. Thing is, I have yet to actually do the conversion, so to get into the spirit, I have not shifted once since I first bought my conversion candidate. Thankfully my rims arrive on monday. But the one thing i noticed about riding one gear is how much different I attack hills. Instead of gearing down like I do on my MTB, I just charge ahead and while it burned at first, the bridges are making me a much stronger rider. Now as for going fixed? Right now it doesn't appeal to me, but I wont rule it out, people do swear by it.

Roche

I started as a roadie when I was about 14 years old, then quickly switched to mountain bikes. Was a hardcore mountain-biker for 18 years or so before I discovered fixed-gear bikes.

Suddenly road rides are fun again. I like the variety, the simplicity, the control, the lack of coasting, etc. It's just fun and different. I even converted one of my old mountain bikes to single speed (freewheel).

relaxxl

Very nice.

EMT

Funny--talking to my friend a few weeks ago I used the sailboat metaphor too. My other bike---Sunn Cycloss---feels like a jeep maybe just in comparison.

roadfix

I always use the black coffee analogy.