Really.. why would one want a single speed or fixed gear bike? No insult intended, I just don't know enough about it.
The last single speed bike I had was a loooong time ago, when I was a kid, a Schwinn big tire single speed with integrated drum brake and I rode the heck out of it, but I remember being envious of those with three speed bikes!

Feels good man.

Simplicity of a single speed.

Fixed has instant response, and awesome feed back.

Give it a try, find out for yourself.

Cause it's so zen.

Sarcasm aside, it just feels better. It's hard to explain, but go out and ride one for yourself. If anything, it teaches you to keep pedaling so you do better when you get on a geared bike.

because since building (over 2 years ago) my bike (which I ride every day) I have only had to keep my tires full and replace my chain once.

Simplicity...seriously, that's it. No messing with derailleurs, adjustments, gears etc....just jump on and go.

Why not?

swag

Simple
Silent
So much fun

+1

As an ex girlfriend once told me after I convinced her to buy a single speed and ditch her multi-speed MTB, (I'm paraphrasing) "Oh. My. God. This is awesome! I don't have to think. It's so simple. When I want to go faster, I pedal faster. When I get to a hill, I just pedal harder. Now I don't have to worry about whether I'm in the right gear or not. And it's so light! It doesn't make all of that 'click-click-click-click' noise when it's not in the right gear..."

So, there is something to be said about the simplicity.

It's sort of like this:



vs this

why solo climb?

unless you're doing competitive cycling or tours or long distance or categorized climbs, you don't need gears. it's 'distilled.'

First of all, I must confess to having a herd of bikes. Different bikes for different kinds of riding. I have two single speed bikes. 1) Surly Steamroller - fixed. Just to experience the experience. Tough but fun. 2) Kona Unit. This is a single speed mountain bike that I use in the winter. Eliminates any worry about cables, derailleurs, etc. And, no need to worry about what gear I'm in. Love it. However, I love my touring bike, road bike and cruiser as well.

Because when my bike has been locked up outside of my office for nine hours in a blizzard and the sun went down two hours ago, de-icing my derailers and shifters just is not very fun.

Because twenty minutes into a cyclocross race in which I am trying desperately not to finish last, the mental wherewithal to push the correct lever the correct distance in the correct direction to get myself into an appropriate gear is not something I possess.

Because the bushes that I invariably end up in because I am not very good at picking lines on technical descents like to grab hold of derailers and not let go.

My road bike has a bunch of gears, and I seem to be able to deal with them when riding along at comfortable speeds on paved surfaces on warm sunny days.

sounds pretty gnar gnar

WTF does dry brewed mean anyway?

There are many reasons to ride a fixed gear. Roadies have ridden fixed in winter for ages for training. Because you are limited to a single gear, you will almost always be in the wrong gear: if climbing or with a headwind, your gear will be too big, forcing you to mash, which will develop strength; if descending or with a tailwind, your gear will be too small, forcing you to spin, which will develop supplesse. Together these will widen your effective power band.

This.

because Sheldon Brown told me to

this

I have always been a "less is more" guy, so the simplicity and aesthetics of a bare-bones bike just appealed to me.

I think there is a huge difference between riding fixed gear and single-speed though, so its worth separating the "whys" for both.

In terms of being practical, fixed gear just flat-out isn't for many(hell, maybe even most) especially brakeless. Keep in mind that a lot of people have a quiver of bikes to choose from, not just one. I would guess that if you put a gun to a lot of fixie riders heads(age 21+) and made them pick just ONE to ride for the next year, they wouldn't pick their fixie. I know I'll probably get flamed for saying that(INB4 people qoute my post and use it as a platform to show how badass and commited to fixies they are)

I think a decent single-speed, CX style bike is just about as practical as it gets though for a lot of applications. Two brakes, 28-32c tires, maybe throw on some fenders. And you have something that you can commute to work or class on, as well as have some fun racing on the weekend.

That said, riding fixed gear is definitely fun. I also like the feeling of knowing I can handle pretty much all of the maintenance on my bike myself.

/guy who only has one bike and its a fixed gear.

No idea but socially awkward car is awkward.

I get a kick out of these threads everytime they pop-up, because the answer is self-evident. If you have to ask, you don't need one. I also hear single-speed riders ask why ride a fixed gear and my answer is the same.

If you can't tell by just looking at the two options, any explanation I give you will go over your head.

reminds me of me

I really love how it forces you to adopt a "do or die" mentality for climbs.

My dad was one of the 'why?' guys, but when I first heard of them, I was actually kinda psyched on the idea of something so different than anything I'd ever ridden before.