Fixies - I just don't get it

[Spooner]

Morning fellow lemmings

Can someone explain the benefits of Fixies to me?

Whilst all the cool dudes seem to have them on my commute in, all I see is a bike with the potential to make a steep uphill climb at the very least a trial and where's the joy in not being able to freewheel down the other side?

I realise you fixie boys (and girls) are passionate about your wheels and I'm genuinely interested to know what it is that makes them so appealing.

I await enlightenment.

A

 

[musa]

It looks cool and good for training (for me that is)., The effort you put in = effort put out

 

[Recycle]

It's a bicycle. For any N+1 that's enough.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I built mine for a giggle, because I had a suitable frame lying around.

Fixies are enormous fun. They take a little getting used to, but they are fun.

Mine makes me smile a lot. There doesn't really need to be a 'benefit'.

I did notice that I was able to sustain higher cadences for longer on my geared bike after riding fixed for a few months... But that's not why I like it. It is a hoot.

I'm not sure one needs to list the relative merits or benefits of geared and fixed cycling. One might equally usefully argue about the merits of one position in the Karma Sutra over another. Sex, like cycling, is usually quite good fun and doesn't benefit from comparative analysis.

I hope I have helped, but I fear that perhaps I have not.

 

[Steve Malkin]

I'm with you on this one Spooner, why anyone would spend good money taking the gears off a bike to make it single speed is beyond me.
I had a go at converting my geared bike to single speed once by the simple process of selecting a middling gear and then going for a ride and not changing it.
I didn't like it, so I 'converted' back again.

 

[Canrider]

Single speed =/= fixed.
+1 to what Boris said.

 

[nilling]

Cos Sheldon said...

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixeda.html

 

[HovR]

Only having ridden single speed and geared bikes before, I recently had a go on a friends fixed gear bike. I'm with Boris here that it puts a smile on your face, they're good fun!

The ability to slow down without touching your brakes is also nice in order to save your brake pads a bit of wear.

 

[mcshroom]

Here's a few reasons: -
- They are a lot simpler to maintain and run and the bits last a lot longer, especially in gritty or wet conditions.

- They can be a lot lighter than geared bikes

- The chain line is perfect, and there's no clicking sounds from a freewheel, so they are just about silent

- The lack of dishing on the rear wheel makes the rear wheels stronger.

- Not being able to bail out into a lower gear makes you climb hills better

- The simplicity of just getting on and pedalling instead of concentrating on which gear you think you should be in at any one moment is quite liberating.

I don't like spinning downhills though (we get a few round here) so I tend to stick with singlespeed rather than fixed for my commuter.

 

[Buddfox]

That's a wonderful quote from Desgrange!

 

[GrasB]

Fixies are for hipsters who want to look cool... end of story.

Fixed gear bikes are for those who love cycling & want a simple bike which gets the job done with the minimum of fuss. They also make you a more flexible cyclist & help your muscles to develop a better pedal motion. Oh then there's the magic of gently rolling terrain... you can hit the crests at what would pass for implausible velocities on an upright geared bike.

EDIT: Turned recumbent mode off!

 

[format]

I'd suggest the OP should try one for a while and see what you think before passing judgement.

I ride a singlespeed day to day, mostly because it's cheap, light, and really easy to maintain and keep clean. When I get on a geared bike (something of a rarity at the moment) it's so easy it feels like cheating because I'm used to smashing hills on one gear.

 

[thegravestoneman]

Way back when, they were a winter training tool they get your legs spinning and in a smooth motion so when you get on your geared bike in racing season you take the extra speed and smoothness with you. I used to be able to push big gears at high speed for miles after a good winter on one, more so then being able to take the easy option of changing down when out on the geared bikes.

 

[Spooner]

I'd suggest the OP should try one for a while and see what you think before passing judgement.

I ride a singlespeed day to day, mostly because it's cheap, light, and really easy to maintain and keep clean. When I get on a geared bike (something of a rarity at the moment) it's so easy it feels like cheating because I'm used to smashing hills on one gear.

"Passing Judgement"?

Please point me to the part of my original post that led you to believe I was because I've re-read it several times I can't find it?

My OP was just a question, that's all.

 

[Herzog]

...The ability to slow down without touching your brakes is also nice in order to save your brake pads a bit of wear.

But not your knees!