It is true and it's noticeable - especially on the chain wear/elongation.

fixed gear, front brake for road
single speed for mtb

Fixed, if youve been riding a long time, you will embrace the complete change bike riding

ss

Did someone say fixie?
Fixed gear with front brake gets my vote.

As far as I know, there's actually a fairly big fixed gear following in San Fransisco. How many of them actually ride them, I don't know.

To the OP, I have a Mark V Pro with a 17t/19t fixed/free flipflop, 46t chainwheel, and it works great in Seattle which is pretty hilly (on the fixed most of the time, unless I'm getting tired and still in a hilly area).

Have a front brake.

Its a personal choice my friend.

Fixed with a front brake.

Ride with a 39t chainring and a 17t cog, or a 44t chainring and a 19t cog, for 60-61 gear inches.

Forget about skidding, learn to stop by back pedaling, and use the brake for safety while learning.

Frankly, and with all respect for single-speed riders, I don't understand single-speeds.

They look like a broken fixed gear bike.

Coasting has no value that I can see, although back in my geared bike days, coasting somehow seemed desireable.

Nowadays, riding a bike that coasts would give me the creeps.

I think most single-speed riders would choose fixed if they would only make a two day commitment to fixed gear.

As for flip-flop fixed/single-speed bikes, that REALLY has me wondering.

I've been quiet, but I think I'll say this now. I think skid stops are kinda dumb. They display impressive strength and skill, but it's not a very smart way to stop. Brakes work better. So the only advantage of skid stops is that they show off your skill. Oh, there's another: it builds and maintains strength. But that seems like a bad time to do so. When you need to stop, you should get serious.

I don't object to people developing the skill or even using it where it's adequate, but relying on it while not having a brake seems foolhardy to me.

I have a dolan fixie which i love to bits, building a single speed for long distance ride enjoyment. go to your local bike shop and try both for a good hour or so, then you will fall in love with or the other.. gears are for pu**ies !

if you go for fixie try a ratio of 48 by 18 , its fast, easy uphill and dont wear out ur teeth as much !

If you can't see the value of bombing down hills with a freewheel or railing tight turns that would normally cause a pedal strike then you haven't been riding enough.

Each has their benefits and drawbacks. I choose SS.

i am new to fixed gear, veteran single speeder, and am intrigued by it's differences...learning slowly....but there's still nothing like slalom coasting down a big hill....thank god for flip flop hubs and mini wrenches....

I likes goin downhill at 40mph on an ss...scuured to go faster.

This has been proved somewhere (I can't find it), but from experience I know it to be true:
A fixed-gear drivetrain has a distinct advantage on hills. Your cranks are coming around behind you, helping out on every revolution. For all but the most murderous hills, this actually makes it easier to climb on a fixed gear. (It doesn't mean that you'll always be in the gear you want. But you will hit a groove and blow by almost everybody else on the hill.)
This is not true with a freewheel. Climbing the Manhattan Bridge on a singlespeed with a tall gear (say 48x16), frankly, is a drag. HOWEVER, if you ride in heavy traffic and have ever found yourself picking your way between a car and a curb, it's nice not to have to keep turning the cranks.

Both are great commuting bikes, but fixed gear is more of a game in traffic, and a very fun one. It's also cooler, which is why so many singlespeed riders foolishly opt to dump the rear brake, I guess.

Go with the flipflop hub, as many suggest, but I bet once you get accustomed to the fixed side, you won't go back. I didn't.

A word about skidding! I was very proud to have taught myself to skid. Very impressive and a great skill to have in an emergency. Unfortunately, my gear ratio was 48x16, which left me with exactly one skid patch. Meaning that I essentially wore down my tire in the exact same spot with every skid until one day, the tube was almost bursting through the tire's fibers like an aneurysm.

Good luck.

PS: As for the people who feel that a freewheel feels broken after riding fixed? Alas, it's your pedal stroke that's broken. You've become accustomed to the cranks kicking your feet around rather than doing it yourself.

I also climb better on my fixed gear, seems easier to me for some reason. When you think about it, the rear wheel is spinning, and as a result it spins the hub and cog in the direction you're pedalling, so it has to give some positive effect.

I set up my Steamroller as a fixie, the simplicity appealed to me. It was fun to ride fixed, changing speed was done without conscious thought. That said, riding down big hills SUCKED (especially when my feet got bounced off of the pedals.... Bunny hopping big pavement heaves and potholes SUCKED.

Put on a coaster hub and loved it... a coaster brake stops much better than backpedaling.

My $0.02.
Muttley

Being new to fixed gears I feel the same way about booking it down a hill at a high cadence, without the slaloming. I had my fun coasting 50mph on my road bike, I won't go down those sorts of hills on my FG but I find it thrilling to climb and bomb all the hills around the city pedaling my ass off .

the bike pedals itself, we're just making sure it doesn't stop :P

muttley, did you have toe clips? Fixed gear without foot retention seems like asking for trouble.

a front brake stops much better than a coaster brake

And has less friction when the brakes aren't engaged.

Tis' true.

I see fixed gears every time I'm in San Francisco. I've seen some pretty gnarly hill climbs/descents.

Check out Mash SF for some videos of fixed gear riding in San Francisco.

My vote goes to BOTH (flip flop hub)

My bike has a drum front brake and a coaster rear. Stops great. And the powder-coated rims still look great, too.

Not mine. I have a Velosteel coaster and the valve-stem weight is enough to rotate the wheel (assuming the wheel is off the ground....)
Muttley