farmerlee

I was thinking about converting one of my old road bikes to a fixed gear. I went down to the local bike shop to check out the prices for the parts and the dude in there tells me i shouldn't ride a fixed gear on the road as its very dangerous. Now i've never been on a fixed gear bike before so i was just wondering if this guy is right? Any help would be appreciated!

europa

Oh dear, where's my popcorn, this thread'll be a beaut.

Basically, your bike shop dude is WRONG! Fixed gear bikes are no more dangerous than any other bike.

Some people ride without brakes fitted and many of us think that increases their level of danger, however the fixed gear means that you can still control your speed and stop your bike.

On a loose/slippery surface, fixed gear bikes provide far more control over your bike than anything with a freewheel - in that respect, they are safer, quite a bit safer in some situations.

The big thing about fixed is that it's a completely different skill set to any bike with a freewheel - they're worth exploring for that reason alone. Convert it. You may not love it, you may become hooked, but you will increase your well of cycling skill and knowledge. It's worth it mate.

Richard

darksiderising

I am guessing that the guy thought that you were going to ride brakeless. And they sound like the kind of person who likes to tell people what to do.

Ride Among Us

yes it is dangerous.

PunctualAlex

just practice in the parking lot before you go on the road, it's hard to turn off the coasting instinct and you don't want to get pitched over the handlebars...

GMERGOD

ahh interesting indeed!

larsalan

Might even be safer than coasting. Cause you better be on the f*%$ing ball at all times.

HandsomeRyan

I'm having a hard time believing this is for real....?

Did the mechanic mention any specific reasons it was "very dangerous"? I mean riding a road bike at all is dangerous unless you live on an island with no car traffic, and even then you can still wipe out due to operating a vehicle with contact patches about the size of 1/2 a postage stamp.

The only real dangers of FG riding are:
• If you don't run a brake and or foot retention you'll probably die.
• If you practice the mad skidz too much you can hurt your knees.
• You'll likely start shopping exclusively at thrift stores, listening to bands no one else has ever heard of, and generally adopting the hipster lifestyle.

cobrabyte

The guy at your LBS meant it was dangerous to his buisness. Shops that don't cater to the fixed gear riders needs want nothing to do with them. He probably was mad that you weren't walking out with a $2,000 Specialized & wanted to discourage you.

If you use a brake, they are no more dangerous than any other bike

Drwecki

Were you trying to use your old road hub add a track cog and put on a BB lockring? Well if you are this can be dangerous. My winter tank is this way, it works, but I know it's a little dangerous. On Sheldon's sight they walk you through this. Basically, bike shop people like to tell me my stuff is dangerous all the time... you know what I tell them "don't worry it's just an art piece that I'm going to hang on the wall" As long as the component you are talking about is sort of flashy (deep vs) then they leave you alone.

chase.

i vote for this reason— due to the increasing popularity of fixed, and the simplicity of the drivetrain, many people without the knowledge or wherewithal to keep their bicycles maintained are now riding. many of these are converted from bikes that may have needed work to begin with; brake adjustment, new cables, bearing work, &c. it's also a likely possibility that there are suicide hubs involved, and/or that some of these new FG riders are brakeless without the skill to do so.

so there is a margin of danger, largely due to negligence, that is directly related to fixed gear right now.

ianjk

If you know what you are doing, have any new rider try going down a decent grade hill without a brake and see what happens.


A freewheeled bike with properly front and rear brakes will be better that a brakeless fixed gear.

Agree.

do while x

dont be a pu$$y

jdms mvp

you WILL die

vegipowrd

Others have hinted at this, but it is worth mentioning explicitly. Riding fixed is like relearning how to ride. After riding a single speed for a few years I switched to riding fixed and could not believe how different it felt. For me, that's the fun part, but you will want to take things slow until your body has developed a new set of instincts.
In terms of safety, it's about like riding SS, but you have better control in bad weather. Some folks only ride fixed on a snow bike. You can find plenty of pix of such bikes in this forum and the commuter one.

roadfix

The OP is definitely NOT from Echo Park.

roadfix

But those instincts should immediately come back to you naturally if the bike you learned to ride growing up as a child was fixed.

rotharpunc

its no more unsafe then it was when you learned to ride a bike the first time

darksiderising

Riding fixed on the road is not dangerous until you ask a LBS to give you a free fit so that you can buy a bike elsewhere. You might get a spanner wrench thrown at you.

HandsomeRyan

But a FG fitted with brakes will allow a better road feel [and therefore will be safer to ride] in less-than-ideal riding conditions than any freewheeling bike. europa never said anything about brakes; you were the one who qualified the comment with "brakeless".

betaZenji

Two things no one has mentioned for some reason. Pedal strike and Toe 'overlap'. Both can be avoided but are new things to people who are new to fixed (maybe not so much the toe overlap, I had this pretty badly on a Trek I used to run.) Just be cognizant of what is going on and where.

hnsq

EVERYONE who rides a fixed gear will die.

(through not necessarily because of the bike)

timothyday

ianjk

Europa lumped all "fixed gear bikes" together and compared them to "freewheeling bikes".

Just wanted to point that out.

devilshaircut

Fixed gear is not more dangerous on the road than a 10 speed.

I mean, the only difference is that you can't coast. Coasting is not a safety feature.

IMO, fixed gear bikes are more dangerous only in the sense that you can get clothing (or worse, a finger) stuck in the drive train. But that has nothing to do with riding on the road.

Fixed gear bikes are not more dangerous.