Are fixies comfortable to cycle on?

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Marty-mart

Regular
Some of my local roads can cause a wee bit of discomfort due to their rather patched and broken nature and it being less easy to allow the bike to move under you due to it being a fixed wheel.
 

12boy

Guru
Location
Casper WY USA
As Jack Nicholson's character said in The Bucket List..."Never trust a fart". Riding with your shorts full of trouser chile ain't pretty. I gave up fixed because I'm a grinder and the descents here were too many rpm. However, they do climb better than anything else, geared or single speed with the same gear inches, and they are better on ice or snow because it is so easy to sense traction or the lack thereof. Until I learned to plan ahead, getting out of snug SPDs at a stop resulted in many slow sideways topples.
 

MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
Loved mine commuted for 8yrs on it, got rid of it last year due to my knees :eek: . I did like a stupidly big gear but years of abuse playing football took its toll. Its the best thing for teaching your legs to spin ! Great for technique IMO.
 

Profpointy

Legendary Member
Number 1 ,it's not a fixie.its a fixed wheel, fixed gear , or just a fixed . Fixie is only appropriate if you have a huge beard armfull of tattoos and wear tight black jeans, and cycle around trying to look like a cycle courier. As to the question are they comfortable.yes if you choose the appropriate bike ,l used to commute on a bike based on a steel track frame( with front brake) brilliant for 17 mile round trip in traffic. Not my first choice for 100 miles out in the countryside.

Mine's a fixie but I don't have a beard, tattoos, nor am a cycle courier, nor is it a track frame. I have front and back brakes, pannier rack drop bars and mudguards
 

JPBoothy

Veteran
Location
Cheshire
What else could it be?
I'm guessing @Teamfixed is referring to those awfully nice SS chaps (like me) that value their knees but still like the quiet simplicity of having none of those unnecessary bits and bobs.. I am always getting asked if I'm on a 'Fixie' though.
 

avecReynolds531

Veteran
Location
Small Island
I've tried fixed and single speed in years past. Single speed was preferable - to be able to freewheel is worthwhile for safety, banking on corners (I like outside foot down) and having a break.

As for comfort, springy cromo frames with proven (to me) saddles and handlebar tape/ grips - so all good:smile:
 

Wrinkly Len

Regular
I see quite a lot of them when cycling about, therefore I wondered how comfortable they are to ride as I can't imagine going up hill without changing gears.
Used to love my Lugless Butler fixed wheel bike when I was young and could go anywhere on it. I had legs and lungs then, though. I envy anyone who has the fitness to ride one, I’ve now resorted to ‘granny gears’
 

12boy

Guru
Location
Casper WY USA
If the terrain is suited to the gearing you have set up they are very efficient, at least climbing and on fairly level ground. Coming down steep hills is another matter and since I don't enjoy 140+ RPM I've gone to single speed. However, the fixed aspect works much like a flywheel so that a climb in a given gear seems easier than singlespeed which in turn is easier than the same gear in IGH or with a detailleur, at least to me.
Riding fixed or single speed is different in you must get used to putting out effort at all pedaling speeds instead of having a "best" cadence that you maintain via gearing. With these bikes it is frequently necessary to stand on the pedals to get up hills or take off from a stop. I have singlespeed, derailleur, and IGH bikes and I love them all.....makes for a nice change.
 

Rimmer

Active Member
Loved mine commuted for 8yrs on it, got rid of it last year due to my knees :eek: . I did like a stupidly big gear but years of abuse playing football took its toll. Its the best thing for teaching your legs to spin ! Great for technique IMO.

Does a fixie bugger up your knees easily (sorry just reading through the posts because I've just got a fixie)?
 

Juan Kog

permanently grumpy
Does a fixie bugger up your knees easily (sorry just reading through the posts because I've just got a fixie)?
No,your knees will be fine just don't push a big gear .I was a relatively late starter to riding fixed ,I was in my mid thirties. The advice I was given is to ride a mid sixties gear. So now my age and my gear size coincide .My knees are in great shape it's just the rest of me that is falling to pieces.
 
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