Sigurdd50

Just curious...

I'm setting up a single speed/fixed bike, and I intend to try it as a commuter for my 8.5 mile (one way) commute; currently using a Jamis Aurora (24 speed), and I have 5-6 modest 'bumps' on my route thru MAdison's Isthmus.

I told the young fellow I work with about the SS set up and he thought it was wild... but he asked how it might affect my actual commute time... assuming that, without the high gears, the actual average speed might be slower with a fixie.

I'm curious to hear the experience of other riders who ride geared and fixed on their commutes and if there is any elapsed time difference between them (of course this assumes the usual variation in age, leg size, caffeine consumption, wind speed, geography, presence of psycho motorists, etc as variables to the time space continuum)... and I am just an average middle aged guy.

thanks!

bostontrevor

5.5 mi OW, my 77" fixed gear gets me there in about the same time, maybe even a bit less, than my mid-80s Panasonic. More or less flat, a few gentle climbs here and there.

Especially on flat terrain, a single speed or fixed gear bike won't really be any slower than a geared bike.

*new*guy

My commute is somewhere between 22 and 25 miles one way. I average around 1:10, best time is a touch over an hour. I tend to feel faster on a geared bike, but the reality is that it's about the same. Descents and long flats the geary is faster, but sustained (minor) grades and for short climbs the fix makes up for the ground gained by having the big ring on the geared bike. YRMV

Aeroplane

I shouldn't really be chiming in, since I've only ridden the fix on my commute, but I will anyways. 8.5 miles OW, usually in around 1/2 hour. 48-16, but I should gear down, because I am a pansy. I think that the only real advantages of a geared bike are keeping your effort even, and coasting (which is a debatable whether it's advantageous or not). Over 8.5 miles, especially if you are already used to biking it, I don't think that going fixed will slow you down too much. It'll just get you in better shape.

Kiecker

Not sure.....don't really have a geared bike for commuting. My commute to work is 25 miles one way. Took me 1:20 each way; geared at 72 or so gear inches. Mostly flat but lots of lights.

LóFarkas

Flat commute here as well, and the fixie is not noticeably slower than a gearie. It's actually faster than my slick-tyred, light, rigid-forked MTB. If I rode brakeless, it would be slower, though. Partly because I would have to go slower in messy traffic situations (80% of the way...), partly because slowing down would tire me a lot.

vobopl

Hilly 10-15-20 (depending on the route chosen) commute. At first, fixie was faster. Then, when I was forced to go back to geared (10x2 almost same weight as FG, same wheels) the times were even shorter.
I guess I have learnt something riding fixed. The comfort is greater on the geared one, though.

noriel

I currently commute on my Fuji track (48x18) and at times with my ss mtb (47x16). I may have been faster on my gearies, but I enjoy my commute a lot more on my fixie/ss. I've geared my bikes for traffic, so I don't think I'm losing out too much on the high end, as there's really no way for me to run full out with a (53x12) or a (47x12) on my fix/ss, respectively. I'll probably change my ss mtb into a fix, as I dislike the coasting. My commute is 5 miles round trip, but I do ride my fix through downtown Houston for a 20- 30 mile loop around three times a week in the evenings.

chuckfox

I have a pretty flat 6mi each way commute. 75% mulituse trails and 25% streets. I'm a little faster on the fixie because I tend to keep the pace up to keep my spin comfortable. I'm at 77 gear inches. The geared bike I use is a lot heavier than the fixie and I tend to daudle more when I can shift to an lower gear. On the fixie I'm more likely to stand up and hammer.

I've found I ride more aggressively on my fixie...anyone else notice this?

isotopesope

i commute a semi-hilly 6.5 miles one way. the ride to work is slightly more uphill and pretty much takes me the same time whether on my road or track bike. however, the ride home on the road bike can be faster at times due to the overall decline, 53:12, and brakes.

honestly, i think the ride to work is easier on the fixie when my brain is not working as well and i don't want to or have to think about shifting and brakes.

Sigurdd50

Thanks for the input... so far!

For my initial incarnation, I am using the original NERVAR crank/chainring, and it is 40T
Since I am bit tentative, I will start out on the SS freewheel, and run a 17T free
I'm looking at putting a 15T fixed cog on the other side. I've heard that a two tooth diff is about right. The Bottecchia has a campy drop out which seem VERY generous in it's depth.

I'm also looking forward to the weight diff. I tend to LOAD up the Jamis, but I will have to have some sort of pannier or my JANDD Trunk to carry work stuff
(the Bott is sweet as it is almost devoid of braze-ons for RD/FD... even the RD cable stop is screwed on). The decals are a little beat which makes it looks nasty

stinkyonions

I have the same thing happen. I am also a bit more aggressive on my road bike in traffic situations and will try to squeeze through stupid small gaps that I otherwise probably would have never tried before I started riding fixed.

delay

Well, here is my take on this situation. I have been experiencing this directly since my fixed gear is out of action at the moment. I can definately get up to higher speeds on the geared bike, however in traffic there is little oppertunity to utilize this. The fixed gear gives me more control in slower congested areas.

I guess what I am saying, is that when I can't go top speed due to conditions my "attenuated" top speed is higher fixed than geared. The overall time is always about the same.

isotopesope

just ride it fixed. i just changed my peugeot (my chrome fendered, scorcher barred, 27" wheeled, toe clipped townie fixie conversion) from 48:16 to 40:15 and i love it. my other other two fixies are setup with 48:16 and will stay that way.

i think i ride waaay more aggressively on my road bike. i can bunny hop, go much faster, stop much faster, and lean through turns waaay deeper.

atomsuite

This, exactly. Same for me. Although I can shave a minute off of a 30 minute ride if I really wanted to....but I don't.

noriel

I think I have a different form of aggression on my fixie. On the gears, you can do a lot while coasting. You don't have the low speed control that you do on a fixed. My best weaving through traffic is done on the fixed. I don't have to my hands out of position, on brake hoods or levers when I'm on the fixed. You never realize how much people coast like when you're right behind them, getting ready to take a hill. Of course, you'll beat a lot of people down the hill because you have to keep spinning.

Heraclitus

42 x 15 gearing. 8 mile commute. Gentle hills. Faster (only the slightest bit) on the fixed gear because I think I actually get lazier sometimes when I can change to a lower gear.

Fixed gears can make you faster and stronger. You may try different gearing sooner rather than later. I am guessing that a 40x17 freewheel would probably make my commute last a little longer than on my geared roadie.

deskpedaler

I went from riding a 35 lb. geared mountain bike with slicks to my fixed gear bike on my 10 mile each way commute. The times have definitely decreased. But a lot of that could just be my fitness level increasing. The only time I've really wished I had gears is when I've had to spend 8 of those miles grinding into a pretty bad headwind.

On a sidenote, it seems like a lot of us commute on our fixed gear bikes. A couple of us are logging miles on the activebody.org site. It helps me keep track of my miles, and other stuff. But even better than that, you can "race" with others. It helps keep me out of the car knowing that if I don't ride, someone is going to catch me. It'd be cool to see more people in the fixed gear section.