I like the clean, simple look and they are fun as hell to ride.

I agree with all of this. On a personal note, I love all bikes. If I had the money and the space, I'd have a ss, fg, track, road, tt, cx, ss cruiser, geared cruiser, bmx, hard 29er, touring, full suspension mountain, downhill, ss mountain, fixed mountain, randonneur, tall bike, unicycle, penny farthing, moped...

Look, I want 'em all, okay? I want to be the Jay Leno of bicycles. But I can't have it all. I think fixies are cool, fun, and easy to maintain. I live in the city, I like a challenge, and have an aesthetic bias towards cleanliness and simplicity, so it's a good choice for me.

Anybody who views one type of bicycle as "superior" has no sense of perspective.

edit: 'bent, grocery-getting trike, folding bike.

ohhhh, i just got confused. i totally agree, the statement that geared bikes defeat the purpose of riding is completely absurd.

i mostly like the smiles and nods from other fixie riders- i like when people are friendly.
and the control
and the low maintenance/simplicity.

For me, riding fixed is all about the fun. It's about not putting on funny clothes and worrying about cadence and pace and heart rate and whatnot like I do on my multi geared bike. It's about trackstands and skids and riding backwards and wheelstands. It's about not caring how quickly I can crest the next hill as long as I do.

Riding fixed puts me in a different headspace than does riding geared. I'm more apt to look at the things around me with more than a passing glance and slowing or turning around around to investigate those things further.

I don't ride fixed exclusively. Lately, though, I've been riding fixed more than I've been riding geared because I've had a really stressful few weeks at work and riding fixed is a better de-stresser than is riding geared. At least for me. At the drop of a hat I can hop on my fixed and take off; I don't have to "get into garb" and whatnot.

*shrug*

I ride/commute by SS because I have no need for more than one gear. I can ascend and pace with anyone (so far). I discovered that on my multi-gear bike if I was a little tired on the commute home I would shift to make the ride easier - which was the problem. I didn't really lack anything physically for that ride, but the gears were there...

I suppose there are people to whom heart rate is crucial, but for most people in most towns I just don't see the need for more than one gear.

As for the 'elite' argument stuff - puh-lease. If somebody feels that their fixed bike gets them connected in a way a multi-gear doesn't and they phrase it in a way that chaffs yer saddle, who cares? The comment is more about the feeling and experience, not a social commentary. And calling the kettle black or what? We've all been in a LBS - some of us probably patronize one with racing teams. Cycling has this snobbery in all its forms - most noticably from the road-race contingency.

fixed gear bikes are pieces of art, i love riding mine and i love customizing it

So i just went somewhere with my geared bike since it has fenders, and boy do i hate that thing now. So much that i'm thinking of getting clip on fenders for my fixed gear.

i am having a hard time with wanting to put on clip on fenders but i know eventually i will want some for the coming seasons...i hear the freddy fenders are pretty decent

That's like saying a 22 Mile per gallon engine isn't inferior to a 40 Mile Per gallon hybrid engine because it's how cars have always been made and that's how it is.

If it's more efficient and better for you it is.

Also, I think single speeds are just fine for newb riders. We all ride them as kids, why can't we easily do it as adults?

Multi-geared, when used correctly, are smarter, better, and make much better use of your muscles. There's a reason why the Tour guys are not on single speed, when it's about getting from one destination to another in the most efficient & fastest way possible, you just can't beat multi-gears. I've had multi-gears for years, and they are great.

With that being said, I love my single speed. I did 60 hilly miles Saturday with it set at 47/16t, and it was a miserably awesome good time. The big disgusting finale hill was slow & painful, but the sense of reward after achieving it made slow zig-zag rocking climb worth it. I commute with it, and go for 20 to 30 mile rides throughout the week on it.

For me, what I love about it is the freedom from thinking about my bicycle when I'm riding. I just go, if I want to go faster, I pedal harder, if I want to relax, I do, I'm free to think about everything BUT the bike. And that's a nice feeling.

I don't believe in fixed as my riding style doesn't mingle well with it. I don't want to mess with tricks, skids, or riding backwards, I deserve to coast down a hill at 40 mph, I like take a sharp turn all motocross style and not think about pedal strike. Fixed, with my riding style, actually makes me think about the bike again too much. I don't want to worry about strike or going to fast down a hill or where my pedal is when I stop at a light.

I just want to ride and that's what my single speed means to me. (lol. I feel like I just wrote a paper for a 1st grade teacher or something.. .ha!)

i agree with you 100%, tsuru.

plus one on that. i don't take any sensory information for granted. and i'm not implying that non-fixed gear riders do. but, as it relates to me, the need for a larger anticipation window has made me more acute. especially hearing. the sound of the distance between me and the car behind me. the clicking of the traffic signal as it changes from 50 ft away. synching your cadence with the cross traffic yellow. remembering the intersections where oncoming traffic has longer greens. and so what, these may be things that any competant cyclist should do. But, i wasn't concerned before I started riding fixed. So, if nothing else, its made be a better cyclist.

simple
quiet
quiet
quiet

i haven't rode a geared bike for a while and today i test rode my dad's old Raleigh for which i have just rebuilt the back wheel and realized how much more momentum you get from never stopping pedaling. fixed is more efficient and lower maintenance. simple.

I don't think many people hear responded that they ride fixed for exercise. Or being efficient and/or fast.

Diff'rent Strokes. I can respect that. All the idiosynchricies just come with the territory of the joy of riding fixed. The trick here though is riding so that you never really have to dismount. Ever. ;)

Fixed is so much fun.

What is ironic is that you don't see how perfect is the slippage between your usage of populism and elitism.

cause they're sexy!

Thanks man! In the end, they are all great... riding is great, plain and simple. I can appreciate fixed for those who take advantage of it. But, for why I ride, just ain't for me..

It is different -- entirely different, from freewheel bikes. It makes me more aware. Just give it a spin and see what you feel.

That's a really poor analogy to what I was saying.

Regarding the analogy... the hybrid car is a more complex system, and more efficient, and the standard gas-driven engine system is simpler but less efficient. So, frankly, the hybrid would be the multi-gear bike, and the old-school car would be the single speed. That might not fit with a hipster credo, but the analogy doesn't wash the other way.

I appreciate the simplicity and directness of single speed. But it is not inherently more efficient than multi-geared bikes. It's the opposite...put them both on an incline, and you'll be putting out more power per result on the single speed than on a multi-gear bike. And you won't be doing anything healthier for your joints and body. It's a more inefficient, energy-guzzling system. Not very green...

Just like if you kept your car in the same gear, and didn't shift out of it, you'd eat gas and not really get anywhere. (now THAT's a good car analogy)



I like single speeds. Their simplicity, unfussiness. And for the kind of kick-around, relatively short-distance riding one did as a kid, they're perfect. I plan to get another one for short city rambling. (I also happen to like longer fast rides through the countryside, feeling the terrain, which a multigear bike lets me do with more fun. Those rides on a single speed are just beyond most people's capacity, and that doesn't make them sell-outs or lazy. It would make them quit biking, likely, if that were their only option, and why should it be?) There's nothing less authentic, for longer distance riding or commuting on varied terrain, about having multi-gears that keep one riding longer and safer, which encourages more riding. Isn't that part of the point, people riding? Or is it to adhere to some idea of what's 'authentic' vs. what's too cushy? Silliness.

If I could only have one bike, it would be a fixed gear. As it is, I have two of them, along with some other bikes that are geared and a SS chopper/muscle bike. The fixeds I ride the most. Why? Why not. I love it. Fixed gear bikes saved me from getting bored with cycling. I pull my two 35 pound boys in a bike trailer behind my fixed gear bikes.

Think of it this way. Riding fixed gear is like driving a manual car in third gear all the time. Low enough to get lots of torque, but high enough to get decent speed, depending on your ability to spin which increases the more you ride. I get excellent excercise, my spin is much smoother, I am far more aware of whats going on in my personal space on the road and I feel way more connected to the bike, to the point that I usually forget that it is under me(if that makes any sense).

Why not give it a try? I know you'll like it. You just might get hooked and become a fixed gear elitist and forget all about geared bikes, like me. All you have to lose are
your misconceptions.

The chain pushes your pedals when you are not pulling the chain. Think of it a little like regenerative braking on a Prius...

No way of imagining the feeling if you are on a SS or geared bike.

it's funny when i switch to my singlespeed because i ride it as though it was fixed...no clips on the pedals but it feels like the pedals are coming around on their own

developing a much cleaner pedal motion.

At first I didn't understand it either, but now it just seems like it's way more efficient than most bikes. Yeah you're pedaling all the time, but the pedals turn themselves, so half the time your legs are going through the motions. It's not like you have to be pushing hard all the time, although, I always find myself trying to ride it at a pretty fast pace most of the time. I rode 12 miles today next to my friend on his geared bike and I honestly think the journey was easier for me than it was for him.

I think riding brakeless is the ultimate experience on a fixed gear... That's when it really seems like the perfect invention, you want to speed up, push the pedals, you want to slow down, resist the pedals.

Its just a different experience than any other bike. Different bikes serve different purposes, so it's not like fixed gear is the answer for everything. But for pure enjoyment on a bike, I think it's the best option.

Wow! *where's the super impressed smiley*

Sorry, re-cycler, but THAT'S ^^^ a good car analogy.

Why not give it a try? I know you'll like it. You just might get hooked and become a fixed gear elitist and forget all about geared bikes, like me. All you have to lose are your misconceptions. [/QUOTE]

Was the OP saying that they were flat out anti-fixed? Or were they just curious?

I agree with deaonerox. You should give really it a try. I used to ride fixed and geared bikes as well. I found myself going for the fixed bike about 90% of the time. Now I have two fixed gear bikes and one single speed MTB with slicks and higher gearing for the street. I sold off my geared bikes. I just enjoy riding fg/ss so much more and fixed much more than SS. I ride 100% urban and these type of bikes work out perfectly for me.