agarose2000

Hi all. As per my other post, I'm in the market for a commuter bike after my beater mtn bike was stolen (Kryptonite lock cut off apt bike rack.)

I'm seriously considering a fixed gear bike. Mainly because it's cheaper - I want to be able to consider my commuter bike "expendable" and not feel too badly when it is eventually lost.

I'm a triathlete and train regularly with competitive road cyclists in mountain territory, so riding strength won't be a problem for me. However as I'll be using a fixie for commuting and/or errands, I don't want to have to put up near-max efforts just to get over significant hills due to gearing.

How steep are the hills you'd face on your fixie before you'd not bother or really, really wish you had a geared bike?

noisebeam

As steep as the grade length and my gearing allows. Generally if called a hill: yes. If called mountain territory: no.

chipcom 

That being the case, you should know the terrain of your commute, what the steepest grade is and what gearing is required for you to get over it normally. If that gearing is too low for the rest of the route, you probably would be better off with a geared bike.

caloso

I did 2 miles on a 6% with 41x16 gearing. Never again.

The thing is that if you have the gearing low enough to get up a steep long hill, you'll have to spin a million RPM on the way down.

tjspiel

Last year we had a guy on our group ride that rode a fixie. There's one massive hill and that was his comment. Going up is bad enough, but it's going down that really sucks.

HardyWeinberg

Builds character.

agarose2000

Forgot to clarify - I'll set up the fixie actually as a downhill-coast bike, not as a must-pedal at all speeds bike.

JeremyZ

It is funny that it didn't occur to anyone to coast down the hill. Why does coasting suck so badly?

If I were you, I'd try to make sure it was geared low enough that you could conquer any hill in your commuting territory, and plan on coasting down the other side.

Also, to go back one more level, I'm not sure that a fixed gear bike is any less desirable to steal than a cheap MTB.

If I were you, I'd strongly consider a folding bike. There are good ones out there, and they are heavier than stiffies, but even so, it is nice to have gears. When I use my folder, I alternate between bringing the bike in (home and high crime areas) and locking it up. (low crime)

noisebeam

4% extended. 18% peak

chipcom 

In other words, as a single-speed, not a fixie.
You still might not like it on the flats in the gear you need to climb.
If you can climb your steepest/longest grade with about 70ish or more gear inches, you should be OK, otherwise you might want to stick with gears.

chipcom 

If it's truly a fixed-gear, you ain't gonna be doing any coasting down hills unless you put your feet up on the top tube.

caloso

Fixed gears do not coast because the gear is fixed. You're describing a singlespeed.

sooprvylyn

If you are concerned about hills on a fixed gear try this:

Get a low enough ratio to manage the hills- you wont get a high top speed, but even at 2:1 you can get up to 15mph easily if you have good cadence and that is good enough for most "hills"
Use a freewheel so you dont spin like a madman going down hills.
Use front and rear brakes.

tjspiel

Stiffy? Those things I wake up with every morning? As big as mine is, I'd expect most any bike to be heavier

JeremyZ

Why would anyone want a fixed gear bike, when coaster brakes are available? Just to save a few oz? That's crazy.

noisebeam

Going down is only problematic if you feel you have the need to keep up with other cyclists with freewheels.

chipcom 

Dude...no.

I gotta use this for a sig line tho.

tjspiel

Yeah, but if you're on some rollers it's sure nice to be able to use the downhill side of the first hill to help get you up the second. Just controlling your speed going down a steep hill on a fixie requires some effort (and good foot retention).

echotraveler

ive seen a couple of guys drifting down a big hill around this parts...youll have to learn how to drift (you have to shift your weight to the front wheel and lock the back wheel...)

fixies are pretty trendy and attractive to thiefs even when they look bad..
Have you considered a 3 speed internal geared hub?

noisebeam

I love fixed rollers! If anything I find fixed gearing helps one focus on using momentum.

noisebeam

OK, with brake. None of this drifting nonsense.

tjspiel

That was my reaction when I first learned of the popularity of modern fixies. I've since been enlightened about some of the advantages. It's probably something you need to try for a while to fully appreciate.

jtgotsjets

Wow, this thread is ridiculous.

HardyWeinberg

You can do that fixed. Even if you can't spin downhill at 30mph (although someone probably does), you absolutely get your legs going fast enough to fly up the next side. I definitely climb faster fixed than geared; mostly I choose to spin a lower gear on my geared bike, but there's also a 'just get it over with' speed bonus fixed even if my cadence is lower by the top.

tjspiel

But I can coast down a big hill faster than 30 and not any burn any energy trying to keep up with my own bike. I'm not saying you can't climb faster on a fixie if you choose to, only that you're loosing some of the energy you expended getting up the first hill.

If you enjoy riding fixed that's great, but I think it's silly to pretend there's no benefits to freewheels and gears when it comes to hills.