Why are fixies steel framed?

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Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
There used to be a weekend of 3 hillclimb events here. I'm not sure if it was 2 on the Saturday and 1 on the Sunday, or the other way round. Anyway, it was 3 tough events in 2 days...

A friend of mine went along to watch and got chatting to a lad from Tyneside who had cycled down to the Calder Valley on Friday after work, was doing the 3 hillclimbs, and would then cycle home on Sunday afternoon, and be back at work on Monday!

By the shortest route it would be about 95 miles each way, but that would involve riding over a lot of Yorkshire hills. A flatter route could be nearer 110 miles. :notworthy:
I rode a 25 once on the O2 course (near Blythe?). Rode from Merseyside the day before, over the "Cat" and stayed at the YHA near the course. Or it might have been a pub - the White something. Did a slow time and rode back.
 
My aluminium Pinarello fixie
535002
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Why are fixies and single-speed bikes steel framed? Why does aluminum never seem to be used?
I had an Alu single speed :unsure:
The aforementioned Touché
 

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Location
London
I'm finding it hard to find a fault in your reasoning :laugh: That being said I am down to only one steel framed bike, the others are Alu.
You need to move to n minus several, have a good shower in a tub of sanitizer, then emerge born again to add to n.
 

12boy

Guru
Location
Casper WY USA
My guess is that Al bikes are lighter with less expense in manufacture. As far as dropouts go, I used to have a fixed Cannondale mtn bike, since sold to a friend who still rides it fixed and its dropouts were very thick. He also bought my Fuji Classic which although TIG welded was triple butted and very light. I still miss that bike, although my Surly Steamroller is a lot more versatile.
 

Beespoke

23yrs of tying hubs & rims together
Location
Macclesfield
562644

Nothing wrong with a bit of fixie carbon... My track bike is also aluminium, though my fixie mtb is steel.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
The industry has geared itself up to produce aluminum for the mass market, and because most is made outside of Europe and where energy is cheaper, if you go for big diameter frame tubes in alloy you get a marginally lighter bike at less cost than you could achieve by hand building in light butted steel.
SS/Fixed bikes have an inherent weight advantage due to having no gear shifters, no derailleur mechs, a shorter chain, no cassette, and only one chainring. That means they can afford to build with a heavier steel frame and it will still end up no heavier than a multi-geared alloy mass market bike but also have a higher mechanical efficiency transmission, which itself is the equivalent of a pound or two weight reduction in terms of power required,. The low end geared market is still steel, and will likely remain so, because ultimately steel is cheaper to build with if you can automate it to the same extent as with aluminium. It just isn't as light, but not all parts of the bike market place the same importance on low weight.
Simplicity, price, mechanical efficiency, low maintenance requirements, and durability are the main criteria applied by riders who buy or build SS bikes.
 
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