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why?
 

I have one singlespeed bike, and several geared ones.

I find myself enjoying the singlespeed more and more every time I ride it. I'm also planning on picking up a new rear wheel with a flip flop hub on it to give fixed riding a chance. The satisfaction of getting up a hill in a gear ratio I used to only consider when going the opposite direction is hard to compare. I know I'm getting stronger, and I've been told I'm a pretty fast rider these days, so it must be paying off.

I guess another way to think about this is why ride a bicycle with multiple gears? In what situations do you absolutely require multiple gears, and how often are you in those situations? For the remaining proportion of any given ride, all else is equal. Plus, I bet you'd be surprised just how much ground you can cover with a single-gearing where on your geared bike you where changing gears.

Straight up, it just plain works for me, better than anything else ever has.

Fixed gear is more indie. You look cool when you lean against your fixie and smoke an American Spirit.

Because Puma makes such a cool looking bike.

Enjoy

it makes trackstanding at lights easier.

I'm a latecomer to fixed, having ridden multi-geared bikes all my life. It's a different experience, it's fun, it gives me a tougher workout (it's hilly where I live). I'm not usually a fashion victim but I probably wouldn't have got interested but for the numbers of fixies one sees around nowadays, and I'm glad I did.

OP, I used to think the same thing, but it was because I didn't know the difference between singlespeed and fixed. I don't know if that's the case for you, but a singlespeed bike can be mimicked by using any road bike with gears and just not switching the gear ever. Or you can convert it to be an actual singlespeed bike, but that's a different story.

Fixed gear, however, is way different. You cannot coast. It makes the riding experience very different. I think this is a big why for many fixed riders.

Personally, I own a singlespeed bike because it's a simple and a good errand bike, where using my more expensive road bike would be overkill for doing things like just going to work or stopping at the grocery store. I hope that helps.

Variety is the spice of life. After riding my fixed gear bike I enjoy riding my multi-gear bike more. After riding my multi-gear bike I enjoy riding my fixed gear bike more.

And less to get out of adjustment when the temperature swings from ten below to ten above between my morning and evening commutes.

Make sure to get two good brakes, to avoid catching Street Cred. It causes colorway blindness.

Riding fixed is simply a more satisfying experience for me. The only thing I have found to be unnecessarily difficult when riding fixed is hauling serious loads in the hills - like on a BOB. Simply riding in the hills I find fixed to be no deficit. Now, my old knees sometimes grumble on the way down if I decide to be a tough guy and back pressure to maintain a reasonable speed for 30 minutes or more but as soon as I let my brake do its' job my body forgives me. With the singular exception of heavy loads on long, mountainous rides I find no need for gears or to coast. Actually, coasting feels downright broken. I don't get it. It feels unnatural for the bike to be moving without my direct input. I also have to say that riding fixed allows me to leave my ego at the door. You see, if I'm on a nice road bike I feel the need to try and be fast. If I'm on a mountain bike I feel a little silly on the road. Fixed, I don't care about anything but the ride. Fast, slow, climbing, descending, the ride - not my ego - is important. I do not mountain bike so loaded touring is really the only activity I can see needing gears. The rest of life is handled very nicely riding fixed.