Should I get a fixie?

[Jayhawk]

Or single speed? As a complete newbie, I have lots of questions. Here are a few. I like the idea due to the simplicity firstly. How do I try it? I have a mountain bike in the shed. Can I try riding it in a fixed gear to try to get an idea? Very wide tyres of course. I should add that it's only road riding I'm interested in. Would the wide tyres give a false impression of the gear ratio I'm using? I'm guessing yes, but is it significant? Lastly, I live in a rural undulating/hilly area. Is this the wrong idea? Should I go for the multi geared option? I should add that I don't always like things easy and want part of this to exercise.
Remember, newbie, first post so please be gentle

 

[kyuss]

Simple answer is maybe. If you are planning on putting in lots of miles in undulating terrain to improve your fitness, then maybe a geared bike might be a better solution, especially if road riding and big distances are new to you. It might be a bit more fun that way. Even after 15 years+ in the saddle, if I'm planning on doing any decent distance (20-30miles+) then I always take the geared bike. Fixed wheel and singlespeed are great about town, for short blasts in the country and for crazy audaxers who enjoy pain. They do force you to get fit though.

Riding your mountain bike in one gear will give you an idea of how a singlespeed would feel, and the tyres will only really effect your speed, not necessarily the experience (hard to say how it would effect the gearing).

Going fixed is a whole different beast however, and IMO if you are going to give one gear a shot, go the whole way and make it fixed. It really is a different experience, and a good one at that. Strangely, it feels a bit easier on hills to a singlespeed with the same gear. A bit more efficient on the way up, but obviously without the ability to rest properly on the way down.

Most off the shelf bikes come with flip/flop hubs, with fixed on one side and singlespeed freewheel on the other, so there's no need to go all the way if you fancy easing yourself into it. Just turn the wheel round to suit the conditions/fitness/mood.

Fixed feels strange at first, and unless you're careful you'll scare yourself a couple of times before getting the hang of it, but it only takes a day or so before it becomes second nature. In fact, after a week or so, going back to a freewheel bike feels odd.

And don't worry about the hills too much, I'm vastly overweight, fairly unfit, and live in hilly Edinburgh and I manage just fine on a fairly high 73" gear. Sure, it's hard work, but what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

PS: Welcome to the forum. Where about in the Borders are you? I often head down that way when the weather's nice (well, Peebles and back is about as far as I've got so far ).

 

[palinurus]

I built a singlespeed up for my commute, while it was nice enough I can't help thinking fixed would've been a whole lot more fun. Flip flop hub sounds like a good idea.

 

[Madcyclist]

I'm an advocate of riding fixed but agree with an earlier comment that it really depends on the nature of the riding you intend to do. Fixed wheels are ideal for commuting and short blasts, the extra control in adverse conditions is the major attraction for me. If your rides are undulating and your fitness level isn't too high then a geared bike would probably be a wiser choice.

 

[Jayhawk]

Thanks guys, Lots to think about as I look out the window at 4 inches of snow:-)) Near Duns btw

 

[HeartAttack]

Get both a fixed and a geared bike, have the best of both world.

This is my first year riding and I now ride fixed in the winter and geared in the summer (OK warmer than freezing) months and love them both, I still ride the fixed on club rides 60 odd miles at 18-20mph average, I also ride it on my midweek ride with a couple of 2nd Cat racers and again I suffer but I hang with them for at least 95% of the time, in fact I find it easier on the fixed to stay with them than when on gears.

As a side point I really can't see the point in getting a single speed freewheel bike if you have a geared one, just leave the geared one in the same gear and there you have a single speed, thats all I do and mine has 20 single speed freewheels.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Short answer: Yes!

Slightly longer answer: See if you can borrow one for a few days first. But definitely try it out.

 

[yello]

Yes.

It's very different and results are unpredictable. Some hate it and give up very quickly. Others take to it immediately. People like me um & er for a while, alternate between loving it and hating it, have it scare the crap out of you, have moments of bliss, persevere and end up selling their soul to it!

I live in a hilly area and prefer my fixed to my geared bikes. I've done audaxes on fixed. I'll pootle into the local village for a paper on it. It's simply more fun to ride.

 

[tyred]

This is a question I've been pondering recently as well as I am restoring an old Carlton in my spare time and I'm trying to decide if I want gears on it or not. I like the idea of the simplicity and the reduced maintenance but feel I chicken out in going the whole way and making it fixed. I still live in the area I grew up in and it has quite a few rolling hills but as a teenager, I used to ride up all those hills on an old Raleigh sports type bike which was a single speed (and much heavier than my Carlton) and never found the lack of gears a problem. The gear ratio was 46/20 IIRC. Should I chicken out and fit my Carlton with gears?

People would probably laugh at me for deliberately building a singlespeed bike. I normally ride a 15 speed moutain bike with road tyres and I had a conversation with a teenager outside a shop the other day who had a 27 speed dual suspension supermarket junk who was questioning how I could ride a bike with only 15 gears and no suspension!

 

[cchapman]

I too would suggest a double sided hub with a fixed cog on one side and a clutch on the other (old fashioned terminology). I personally would use the fixed side for rural rides and the freewheel for towns where there is a lot of sudden stopping . You'll be surprised how quickly you get up hills when there is no opportunity to change down to a lower gear - you just have to keep going and keep the speed up!

 

[Joe24]

I started riding fixed this year, and built my own up from a frame i was given. Fixed/fixed hub and i love it. I got used to it quick, and when i thought i was ready went on a club ride on it. Found out how its harder and kept riding it in the week, and my geared on club rides. Got fitter and now i go on club rides on the fixed. I have to slow down to let the group catch up when it gets hilly, and when the pace picks up i can now keep up.
I commute on the fixed into work on saturdays, preffere to ride fixed in traffic, and also train on it.
Now when i get on my Giant(geared) it doesnt give me as much fun as my fixed gives me, so the Giant has been sat in the shed for a while. Which i dont mind because its nice and clean, and im wanting that as a best bike.
Give a fixed a try, they are harder, but also more fun.

 

[ASC1951]

I have a mountain bike in the shed. Can I try riding it in a fixed gear to try to get an idea?

I would go fully fixed. As you are only using it for the road I would also put a set of slicks on - about 28s, from memory.

My only query would be the flat bars. My riding style on fixed is that I stand on the pedals for short hills and I have never found that easy with flat bars because you don't get your weight far enough forward. I would recommend a set of bar ends to give you better balance out of the saddle.

Go for it.