A single speed doesn't have the advantages of neither a geared bike nor a fixed gear. In other words it sukcs, unless its a cruiser for cruising around town.

The problem with coaster brakes is that they're relatively heavy, and they act only on the rear wheel. You have the most stopping power in the front, on ANY vehicle, because the more you decelerate, the more of your weight goes to the front. Your maximum rate of deceleration from either wheel is achieved just before the wheel locks up (that's the point of anti-lock brakes); that point occurs much, much sooner in back than in front because the more you decelerate, the less traction it has. In the front, the more you decelerate, the more weight is up there, and you get more traction. It's still useful to have two brakes, but the front is by far the most important of the two. (it's also good to know instinctively which hand operates which brake). And of course, you noticed the problem of what happens if the chain falls off.... :P
Cruisers are good candidates for coaster brakes because they're relatively heavy already; they're generally not ridden as fast; they generally have long wheelbases and more of the weight farther behind the front wheel; coaster brakes need minimal maintenance and cruisers are often ridden by people who don't want to bother with maintenance; and they're often ridden by people who aren't comfortable with hand brakes (there are lots of reasons for that, but that's another story).

On a related note, why does "fixed gear" so often seem to be synonymous with brakeless? Whether or not you have rim brakes, disc brakes, rod brakes, drum brake, or a cinder block on a rope to drop when you want to slow down, has nothing to do with whether your drivetrain has a freewheel or not.

To get back to the original question, it's slightly nutty to go on a long, hilly ride on a bike with only one gear now that modern bikes have so many different ways of getting variable gearing. But it's really only slightly nutty, and it's certainly possible to do it and have a good time whether it's a SS or a fixed gear. Do what you think you'll enjoy more. But please use at least a front brake, whichever way you go.

ya not looking like a ElevenTeen year old girl oh daddy bike.

I just switched to fixed, and it's only mildly terrifying. What are you waiting for?

well thats my new signature...hahaha

..

Just try each, see which ride you prefer, then go with that.
I tried FG for 2 months, didn't like it as much as SS, so just went back.

If you need a fixed gear to help you through the dead spot at any speed or cadence, then you aren't pedaling properly.

This is wrong and actually slightly backwards. The only momentum that matters in this situation is the momentum of the rider and the bike. If you're rolling forward then you're rolling forward, and it takes basically no energy to move your feet through the "dead" spot. If you think about it the difference between a fixed and a freewheeling bike is that the pedals can transmit a decelerating force to the bike. Ergo, when you're slacking off at the top/bottom of the pedal stroke and letting momentum turn the cranks you're effectively backpedaling.

The equivalent on a freewheeling bike is when you get sloppy and you can feel the freewheel re-engaging as you turn the cranks over. The difference is that it's more obvious and you're not wasting the momentum you already have.

Fixed gears don't help you climb, they just let you feel smoother than you are while letting you slow yourself down.

Care to back that claim up with some evidence?

Advantages of a singlespeed drivetrain over gears:

- No derailleurs to maintain.
- Less weight thanks to no detailers, a single chainring and no cassette.
- A more durable bike.
- A simplified drive train without the additional resistance provided by the upper/lower jockey wheels required by a derailleur system.
- No need for asymmetrical wheel dishing to accommodate a cassette, resulting in more durable wheelsets.
- Can still coast.

Advantages of a singlespeed drivetrain over fixed:

- I can coast down hills as fast as I want.
- I can keep an absolutely silent core while braking hard and shifting my weight back as far as possible (since I can stop my feet while maintaining rear traction at high speed).
- All of my energy goes to moving the the bike forward and none of my bicycle's (forward or wheelspin) momentum ever gets wasted on lifting up my feet.
- I can spin rpms well into the red zone of my body's capabilities, without worrying about having to keep up with the pedals or being knocked off balance by them if I lose steam.
- I am generally more nimble thanks to my ability to stop and start my cranks at any moment I want, in any position I want.

Yeah. Singlespeeds suck. Whatever am I thinking "cruising around" NYC traffic on my singlespeed drive train.

As far as the dead-zone goes: you are still translating your bike's momentum into pedal momentum, which is energy going the wrong way. It is no harder to continue cycling in the dead zone on a singlespeed, you're just much less likely to lose any energy to bad cycling technique when you are tired. If the dead zone is a problem for you on climbs, you are not strong enough for the gain in your drivetrain given the terrain you are riding on.

This.

It just seems that for most people, most of the time, a non-fixed singlespeed makes more sense than fixed. You gain more in practicality and convenience than you lose in simplicity. For that matter and for the same reasons, an IGH probably makes more sense than a dearailleur. I guess that the maximum the possible performance (as measured by mechanical efficiency) is going to be greater with the fixed or derailleur solutions - an advantage that probably shows up only with ideal technique (fixed gear) and optimum adjustment of equipment (derailleur).

Help me out folks; does this make sense?

Singlespeed has more advantages.

But fixed can be more fun.

So it depends on what you're doing.

/thread

If you cant make the summit you havent earned the descent. ...maybe that doesnt apply as well to road bikes as compared to mountain. But, as for me, give me a fixed gear!

That's more things that can break. I commute with my fixed. It has to be reliable.

On flats i see a somewhat snowball effect, momentum gaining you forward. I came from a heavy bmx background.

I was responding to the OP who was planning to do a mountainous century. The only time anything has broken on any of my geared bikes has been when I crashed, and this has only occurred in races. I have ridden my geared touring bikes on multi-day camping rides up to 1000 miles through rain and dust w/o any problems beyond flat tires, which can happen with any bike, regardless of the type of gear system. FG bikes are fine for shorter distances and less varied terrain, but my point is that they are not the best choice in this case.

Wha...?

I fail to see the point of SS without fixed gear. I guess it'll be more reliable without derailleurs, but other than that, why not just buy a road bike?! If they invented a fixed gear casette for multi speeds I would buy it.

SS just looks sleek... you dont get the FG feel or effect, so its rather stupid IMHO. All the kids on campus went out and got SS bikes cuase they wanted to pretend to be cool without having to learn to ride FG.

It's cheap. I live somewhere flat. Road bike would be stolen.

RABBLERABBLERABBLE

I beg to differ. I had two bikes set up as fixed gears, put a freewheel on one last year and I'm building an SS freehub wheel for the other one this winter. A third bike's gone from 5 speed to SS temporarily, and I'll probably make it permanent. I also bought a road bike.

Did you completely miss Cab Chaser's list of advantages of SS over derailleur and fixed gears above?

A fixed gear is just a single speed than can't coast.

There. Fixed it for ya.

All the kids on campus most likely went out and got SS bikes, because that made sense to them and they couldn't possibly give less of a **** what the self proclaimed cool kids think of them.

Riding a century, especially a mountainous one, on a single speed bike, is a big challenge. If you're doubtful about keeping up w/ the cadence on the decents, I would just ride the whole thing SS. As already mentioned above, SS has many advantages over fixed gear, just as a geared bike has over a single speed one. The reason behind riding on a single gear is the challenge to yourself. I don't think riding fixed will give you any physical advantage other than remind you that you can't stop pedaling. So in terms of difficulty fixed > SS > gears. So you're already challenging yourself by riding SS instead of a geared bike. If you want even more of a challenge, then ride fixed. Choose the most appropriate one for yourself.

Have ridden a century on both fixed and singlespeed on the same bike over the same mild terrain. 8% was the steepest grade. Was much more depleted at the end of the fixed ride and it took longer. Couldn't freewheel on descends. Worked the brakes front/rear to keep the rims from heating up and causing a blowout. Would I do it again? Yes, as a matter of fact we're doing one this fall. But, I did the singlespeed ride first and I'm glad I did it that way as it, sort of prepared me for the rigors only having one go to gear.

Advantages of a geared bike over SS:
- highest efficiency through gearing for climbing, sprinting, speed
- higher speeds since you don't spin out as readily
- weight is usually a wash since road frames are mostly carbon fiber whereas most SS are aluminum or steel
- can still coast

Advantages of a Fixed over SS:
- can pedal down hills as fast as you want (or can), which will help increase the suppleness of your legs. (disclaimer: not saying it's easy....)
- can brake with a combination of hand brakes and legs, useful if your brakes fail, or your hands slip, or can't grab them in time
- no coasting, which means no wasted energy or momentum while going forward
- no coasting, which will break bad habits of coasting too much
- no coasting, which generally means being more mindful, and more awareness of your riding ability, and technique
- no coasting, which generally means more awareness of your environment and surroundings (eg. traffic, stop signs, etc.)
- the ability to skid
- the ability to ride backwards (hmmm...is this an advantage? lol)
- more challenging

The advantage of a fixed gear drive train is: some people like the way that it feels, it will probably improve pedaling technique if you need help with that (though you can certainly learn how to pedal correctly on just about any bike), and hipsters will think you are cool. Most of the other "advantages" you listed are pretty much bunk.

I've never heard of a brake failure, certainly not a double brake failure ... perhaps it happens to people who pay utterly no attention to bike maintenance. But supposing both of my brakes fail on a non-fixed drive train, I could stop myself by jamming my foot between the tire and the seat stays ... which would afford me about the same braking power as a fixed gear bike under the same conditions. If you have problems with your hands slipping while braking ... well ... your drivetrain is probably the least of your concerns.

Please explain how coasting wastes energy or momentum while going forward. While coasting, you are not putting more energy into the drive train but neither are you taking any away from it ... as has been exhaustively explained by several people in this thread, one of the primary advantages of a single-speed drivetrain over a fixed is that there is no way to resist your own forward momentum through backpedaling. You are more likely to waste momentum on a fixed gear drivetrain than a singlespeed because a fixed gear permits you to transmit energy from the wheels to the pedals (effectively backpedaling). A singlespeed drive train provides you the CHOICE of coasting or not. If you want to coast, you can if you prefer to always be pedaling you can do that too.

Again: your fixed gear drive train does not magically turn your bike into a perpetual motion machine. There are no perpetual motion machines.

As far as bad habits go: a little discipline goes a long way. I'm pretty much pedaling all the time since I like to go fast. the only time I am not pedaling is on very hard turns, while hopping obstacles, and on downhill grades where my speed overtakes my gearing (which is very rare). A singlespeed drive train provides you the CHOICE of coasting or not. If you want to coast, you can if you prefer to always be pedaling you can do that too.


This is hogwash: a fixed gear drivetrain will not magically make you more aware of your surroundings, paying attention will. I am in plenty of situations all the time that require utmost care and attentiveness, and I can assure you that a fixed gear drivetrain would not make me any more aware of the consequences of my actions in these or any other situation.

Saying it twice doesn't make this claim any less false.

Locking up the rear wheel and skidding with a rear brake takes absolutely no effort. In fact ... i'd argue that skidding is WAY easier though caliper braking ... just clamp down on the rear brake and the wheel stops and skids. Whoop-de-do. Most people on singlespeed drivetrains choose not to skid becase: this is the least effective way of stopping on a bike, it damages tires, and it reduces control.


Yes, this is an advantage to riding fixed. Personally, I like seeing where I am going.


Yes, if you consider making cycling a more difficult endeavor a benefit then I suppose that would be a benefit ...

One *real* advantage to riding fixed that you did not mention is that you are able to slow down your bike without having your hands on the handlebars. That is something that cannot be done on a singlespeed drive train. Personally, I like to keep my hands on the bars at all times since the streets are littered with potholes around here and evasive maneuvers are often necessary thanks to careless drivers and spaced-out pedestrians.

Another *real* advantage to riding fixed is that you did not mention is the ability to track stand more easily (related to riding backwards). SS (somewhat) limits your ability to track stand, but you can still do it.