Should i go fixed? Pros/cons please.

cycleboy1988

I've been riding happily with gears for about 7 years, but have always liked the idea of fixed in the winter. As ive recently got a bit of money (no enough for a shiny new Di2, lightwieght wheels, de rosa frame bike, but enough for a nice fixie) i thought maybe i would seriously consider it.

Im in a bit of a pickle, im based in Plymouth the majority of the time, which is very up and downy, and don't know how much id struggle, or how east it is to find a gear with a compromise.

So, basically, help me weigh up the pros and cons, and any advice would be amazing.

The stage is yours.......

markos1963

The advantage for me moving over to a single/fixed has been my climbing ability. I now ride all week on it and use the geared bike on the club run. You can cheaply experiment with different sprockets to find one that suits your terrain. People ask me what do I do going down hill, don't I run out of gear? but to be honest after the effort of climbing up all I want to to is freewheel down the other side.

majormantra

Just do it. There is a constant demand for fixed gears at the moment so if you buy a used one and decide it's not for you, you can probably sell it without making a loss.

Fixed is fun for the simplicity, the demands it places on you for climbing and the sheer comedy aspect of being chained to your back wheel.

Descending isn't as much fun but spinning at crazy revs can be an entertaining challenge in its own right. I can get up to just under 40mph (180ish rpm) on my 70" fixed so my top speed isn't that much lower than what I'd be hitting on my geared bike.

Matthew

stevewj

Have a go - first time out drive with your bike in the back to somewhere very quiet with little traffic. Be aware that going downhill can be VERY SCARY at first - first time I went out on a 42/16 down a steepish hill my cadence was such that I panicked and stupidly tried automatically to stop pedalling- bad idea. Also at junctions the pedals stop where they want not at the six o'clock position so that takes getting used to. I'm doing it to improve my cadence a for timetrialling and the fact that a 50mile ride means I pedal for 50 miles not 40 and 10miles freewhel.

chrisw12

Given where you live, I wouldn't bother.

I live in South Wales and used fixed for a year or two and whilst it was enjoyable, I was confined to the valley floor.

Lets face it the best thing about S Wales is the hills, don't limit yourself by buying a fixie.

Have you got or though about a mtb as an alternative, have you already got a road bike?

Jimfrandisco

All i can say is good luck - lived in plymouth for 4 years and wouldn't attempt it myself...North Hill on a fixie will either make or break you!

billy whippet

I live near bath, which is even more up and downy than plymouth. ALL my training (and commuting) has been done on fixed/singlespeed for a couple o years, and it has transformed my strength and fitness, as well as my maintenance routine, not to mention my riding pleasure - I far prefer the challenge of riding with one gear rather than getting into my comfort zone and staying there. Generally I ride 73 inch in summer, 70 inch in winter and can get up anything round here, as well as pedal down... Do it, you wont regret it. If it does happen that you hate it, sell the bike and you've lost nothing.

scapaslow

If you decide to get one make sure it has a flip-flop hub so that you can change from fixed to singlespeed just in case you don't like fixed.

As stated above going downhill can be scary on a fixed. I now prefer s/s to freewheel down the other side for this reason - you don't lose much going uphill on s/s.

In terms of gearing why don't you stick your geared bike into a selected gear (try somewhere around 65 inches as a starting point e.g. 48/18 or 20 or equivalent) and do a few runs round your local area without changing gear (esp. on the uphills) this will give you an idea of what gearing you will need. There's no point in getting too big a gear as you won't get up the hills.

The main benefit is the simplicity of riding and maintenance and the challenge of getting up the hills without a bailout option. I don't agree that riding fixed has any training benefits over a geared bike - it just forces you to employ a different riding strategy. It's simply enjoyable and different, which IMO is a good thing.

oldwelshman

Cold weather + hills + fixie = knackerred knees.

Anonymous

oldwelshman wrote:

Cold weather + hills + fixie = knackerred knees.

+1

billy whippet

agreed with scapaslow that when it's hilly, singlespeed makes more sense as riding is more fluid - you're not worrying about having to 'keep up' with the cadence - and also faster. If you do a lot of training on tiny lanes, ss also makes sense. agreed also, that other than the huge benefit to your strength and fitness, the simplicity is a massive bonus. Never had a problem with my knees...

markos1963

I don't get this thing with 'knees' I don't suffer any problems from them. I think if you get the fit and the gearing right you won't have any problems. Knackered legs is more likely early on as you get used to the work load when climbing. Like others have said I have gone S/S instead of fixed so I can freewheel down the hills but will give fixed a go just to feel what its like. The other week I posted my fastest 50 miler to date on my single speed of 2hr 35m so it must be doing some good.

oldwelshman

I suppoes it depends on what you define as hills.
But if you had a geared bike would you grind up a hill on a big gear or change down?
If it is cold and you are on "hills" and pushing a bigger gear than you would on a geared bike you will risk straining knees, muscles also.
Agreed fixed are very useful on flat and even rolling rides where you can attack the slight slopes, but not good on long or steep climbs.
To do this you would need much lower gear which would make riding on the flat pretty useless on such a low gear.
When I go out on mine I just use 49 x 17 and go on a flattish loop.
I had bad knee trouble years ago when riding a fixed in winter in wales.

mclarent

Can I just check, as you're posting this in the training forum, are you asking for advice as to whether riding fixed would help with your training? Or whether their are people on here who are fixie evangelists (to which the answer is definately )

vorsprung

I am over 40 and riding a single speed in Devon for commuting
My knees are fine. I'm careful to wear longs when it gets cold

I don't ride fixed because

1) you have to spin downhill
2) normal stuff like jumping potholes is extra difficult
3) although there is less to go wrong, if something does it is more dangerous
4) my single speed uses recycled geared bike freehub wheel, no special goldtec hub here
5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4

amaferanga

dmclite wrote:

oldwelshman wrote:

Cold weather + hills + fixie = knackerred knees.

+1

-1

Cold weather + shorts + hills = knackered knees

Cold weather + hills + fixed + roubaix thermal tights = no problem

Its the numpties riding around in shorts in the winter (cos they think they look hard? ) that knacker their knees....

the_village_idiot

stevewj wrote:

and the fact that a 50mile ride means I pedal for 50 miles not 40 and 10miles freewhel.

well yeah.......but pedaling downhill with the tyres driving your legs, not visaversa doesn;t really do much! :?

markos1963 wrote:

I don't get this thing with 'knees' I don't suffer any problems from them.

Evidently! But to say "im not having probs now" is a little short sighted- smokers dont have any problems with caner now....but that does't mean much does it? :roll:

cycleboy1988- m8 where do you live in Plymouth? Im in Coxside- cycle along embankment on my commute!

Personally i dont see the massive advantage in fixed gear- if you want to get stronger at climbing- just climb in a harder gear! I sometimes think the whole fixed thing is an irrational like of something inferior- a bit like the Robin Reliant- people still drive them- despite being cr@p- simply due to an irrational like!

vorsprung

the_village_idiot wrote:

Personally i dont see the massive advantage in fixed gear- if you want to get stronger at climbing- just climb in a harder gear! I sometimes think the whole fixed thing is an irrational like of something inferior- a bit like the Robin Reliant- people still drive them- despite being cr@p- simply due to an irrational like!

Ok I did a post above with some of the disadvantages of fixed.
The winter training advantages are

1) It is widely accepted that using a high cadence is general a good idea. See
http://www.53x12.com/do/show?page=article&id=36
If you ride fixed when going DOWNHILL you are forced to use a high cadence.

2) Some people believe that increasing leg strength is a good idea. Also that the best way to do this is to climb hills in an inappropriately high gear. On fixed this happens UPHILL. Leg braking is believed to also be benefical in this way.

3) As fixed gear have less parts and so less to maintain they are better for the dirty, wet roads of winter. It's much cheaper to replace a single sprocket and a chain than all the cassettes, jockey wheels and stuff that wears out in the winter due to the grinding action of mud

Alex_Simmons/RST

vorsprung wrote:

the_village_idiot wrote:

Personally i dont see the massive advantage in fixed gear- if you want to get stronger at climbing- just climb in a harder gear! I sometimes think the whole fixed thing is an irrational like of something inferior- a bit like the Robin Reliant- people still drive them- despite being cr@p- simply due to an irrational like!

Ok I did a post above with some of the disadvantages of fixed.
The winter training advantages are

1) It is widely accepted that using a high cadence is general a good idea. See
http://www.53x12.com/do/show?page=article&id=36
If you ride fixed when going DOWNHILL you are forced to use a high cadence.

2) Some people believe that increasing leg strength is a good idea. Also that the best way to do this is to climb hills in an inappropriately high gear. On fixed this happens UPHILL. Leg braking is believed to also be benefical in this way.

3) As fixed gear have less parts and so less to maintain they are better for the dirty, wet roads of winter. It's much cheaper to replace a single sprocket and a chain than all the cassettes, jockey wheels and stuff that wears out in the winter due to the grinding action of mud

1. for sprints that is, not in general

2. that's not true, strength is not a limiter in endurance cycling and the forces in such efforts are too low anyway to induce strength gains

3. agree - if it means you ride instead of not ride because you don't want to get your pride and joy grimey, then that's a good thing

thiscocks

A single gear is good for just the simplicity of it and not having to worry about adjusting gears. For this reason I have a ss bike. Wouldnt bother with fixed though, personally I found it really annoying.

Tom Butcher

I've been out in Derbyshire on mine no problem - yes I probably wouldn't be going up WInnats Pass or Rowsley Bar on it but you don't have to stick to flat routes by any means - for those that know the area I'd go up the Via Gellia and the hills round there. I use a fairly small gear - something mid 60s - still big enough to get a decent speed up on the flat.

Once you get used to fixed it's not really a problem - I used to commute through the city centre on mine and aren't they popular in London so if you do find stuff like clipping in and stopping with the cranks in the right position a problem at first just persevere. I would say it definitely gave me an ability to spin smoothly at a high cadence - whether that is actually any benefit I couldn't argue but it's nice to be able to tell people you can spin at over 200 !

stevewj

the_village_idiot wrote:

stevewj wrote:

and the fact that a 50mile ride means I pedal for 50 miles not 40 and 10miles freewhel.

well yeah.......but pedaling downhill with the tyres driving your legs, not visaversa doesn;t really do much! :?
[/b].

it improves cadence - as a tester, I am looking at improving my cadence from 85 to 95 this season. Riding fixed forces me to pedal well beyond comfort as well as (supposedly) improving suppleness although I have yet to find if this works.

mclarent

vorsprung wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4

man, that is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. Riding in east London as a roadie, you see all that track bike sh*t all the time, saw some idiot with full discs and no brakes today, plus all the hipster action. Can't complain too much, cos more bikes on the roads = safety in numbers, but man you see a lot of "too cool for school" idiots out there. Funnily enough, the cold and wet seems to have put them off. Along with the Brompton bunch :roll: They just don't get that it's all about performance...

chrisw12

vorsprung wrote:

I am over 40 and riding a single speed in Devon for commuting
My knees are fine. I'm careful to wear longs when it gets cold

I don't ride fixed because

1) you have to spin downhill
2) normal stuff like jumping potholes is extra difficult
3) although there is less to go wrong, if something does it is more dangerous
4) my single speed uses recycled geared bike freehub wheel, no special goldtec hub here
5) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4

Very funny youtube.

My wife watched it and just laughed AT me.