courtesi

I'm curious about all those people gave it a chance and decided it wasn't for them - despite all the talks of "oneness."

i r yo

Maybe the reason that makes it different from any other bike... being able to coast and/or change gears. Is there any other possible reasons?

na975

it's F'n hard to do wheelies :0

craigcraigcraig

maybe a fixed gear/SS forum is not the best place to find people who dont enjoy riding them. just a thought.

Cynikal 

^Exactly.

djeddiebear

Well, I'm not in the best shape physically and always found myself struggling when riding with my friends. I switched to singlespeed and now have enough energy to keep up with them. Now I just need to start going back to the gym and maybe i can keep up with them fixed in the future. For the shorter rides, I usually throw fixed wheel on there.

na975

just eat a powerbar then u can keep up.

supercub

They're plenty of people here who ride with a freewheel. Many of them tried out fixed and decided against it.

adriano 

excuse you. the fixed elite eat only clif until they find a local organic granola treat start up that no one knows about.

lukewall

I never thought FG was any more tiring than SS. Actually SS seems to require more effort to me since I can't take advantage of the wheel's momentum the way I can on an FG.

lukewall

I just avoid any Powerbar product because they all taste awful.

djeddiebear

I do agree that you can take advantage of the momentum, but I was going in a different direction. First of all, I forgot to add that I live in a pretty hilly area. Anyways, like I said earlier, I am really out of shape. I can't keep up speed wise with my friends, but I can keep us energy wise with a singlespeed.

The ability to coast down hills saves me a lot of energy. With a fixed gear, I usually get burned out from a 15-20 mile ride. With a single speed I've done a 30 mile so far and haven't felt tired. I noticed that I am significantly slower up hills, but that trade off is worth it to me.

Once I get back in shape, I hope to go back to FG exclusively.

buck65

I stopped FG because I just get the hang of getting my food into my pedal/strap/clip. I usually push off and coast for a couple feet then start pedaling once both feet are secure....guess I'm not that coordinated. Besides, I really like coasting on my SS bike.

Saberhead

I just got my first fixed yesterday and Im really enjoying the ride, Im just struggling with my fitness level and the hills I have to push (in short, I walk them! Lame!! Ill get better though). But I can see how its not for everyone. I hope I dont get frustrated in a week and give it up, its so fun!

LeCollectif

Don't mock, guys. That sort of attitude is often why people don't "like" riding fixed gears.

Realistically, riding fixed comes with a short learning curve. Like anything else that's somewhat demanding on your body, you have to work at it. It takes a week or two, and then you're good. You also might want to make sure you're working with a gear ratio that's not impossible.

It's work. And it's not always practical. But after giving it a chance, most people find it to be a really fun way to get around. That's why I have one.

I realize that this doesn't really answer your question, but I suspect it might answer what you're trying to ask.

PluperfectArson

I am only a week into riding my fixed gear, and I can tell you that hills become easier. Also, when I approach a hill, I realize there is no way in hell I am going to stop midway, so that helps me push on. Also, knowing that the downhill awaits on the other side helps me push forward because it is the gratification of climbing the hill.

It has been a while since I have ridden hills on a bike.

Saberhead

A fellow Cascadian! So you know what Im talking about if youve been to Seattle. Ive been to PDX many times and you guys have it pretty nice as far as more flatness goes but I hear ya. I must be seriously out of shape if I cant do it on bigger cogs. Bums me out when I see other girls on fgs riding way better than me, and they haul up those hills fast. One day!

lukewall

I never understood that mentality. Why would anyone limit themselves to only one type of bike. I like having a roadie for road rides, a FG for whenever I get in the mood to ride, and a MTB for getting dirty. Just thinking about riding only one type of bike makes me boredd.

sp00ki

i can't imagine giving up fixed just like i can't imagine giving up geared.
a geared bike has never been as fun as a track bike when blasting around the city or doing fast 30 milers with your friends; a track bike has never been as fun as a road bike when climbing and descending long steep hills.

kwena

> I do agree that you can take advantage of the momentum,

This is a misnomer. Any energy you take from the rotation of the cranks to assist your legs you are taking out of the force that rotates the wheel. It may *feel* like an advantage, but you cannot create enerhy out of nothing

impure

Speed, its what its about with me. Its freakin hard to hit high speeds for me on a fixie and have to come to an abrupt stop, I do like fixie though and its nice for commuting because of simplicity and what not

~Stuart~

Wow this guy is actually thinking. /\ (two up)

You can't create energy on a fixed gear. That "helping hand" you feel, is actually you sucking energy from your forward momentum.

roadfix

Although you can't go nearly as fast as your road bike, you should be able to stop just as quickly on the FG with just the front brake and some backpedalling.

courtesi

I know this will be odd as hell but I've tried fixed gear and think a single speed is more of what I want. The problem is, even though I've decided this I can't help if I'm picking the worse choice even though I like the freewheel.

Kind of like cars: I'd probably be happier in reality with an automatic transmission - but I'll always be wondering if I'm driving the inferior transmission.

I guess I have yet to realize is that this blank slate called "life" is just that. It's up to me to decide what works for me.

Flimflam

I think you're doing it wrong.... (Sorry, couldn't resist )



After a while you'll learn to love the up-side and dislike the down-side Going down hills on a fixed gear is pretty much the worst IMO, it's really hard work to keep the spin in check or to control speed constantly down a long-ass hill without keeping the brake on for all of the descent.

With fixed there's that learning curve to adapt to the no-coasting deal, and the inevitable increase in difficulty with climbs in the one gear, but once you're conditioned to that, you'll be fine. When I changed my gear ratio I felt like I had another learning curve to deal with as I really felt the difference and it felt hard, just a matter of time to condition myself to it again.

There's also no shame in gearing down, if you're having a particularly hard time with hills, just change the ratio - this will also help you out with spinning technique eventually.

It's fun though (IMO). I ride my fixed gear as my everyday/everything bike right now, which is mostly commuting/general getting-about-transportation - I'm craving my roadbike again but I'm slacking off and not been getting it ready to roll.