Fixed gear bicycle

I was wondering if anyone here owns a fixed gear bicycle and if so, whether it is worth getting rather than a normal bike for athletic performance. I've heard that because the gears are fixed and there aren't any free wheels, that they're great for cardiovascular endurance and leg strength...(Btw don't know if this is the right section to post)

I have one man and its great. I got it because Its simple, easy to maintain, and kicks my legs ass!

They are over priced right now because they are trendy for hipsters.....

I would build your own. Cheaper and more fun

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html

That guy is the father of fixed gear bikes.

Just know that the hardest part about fixies is downhil, not up. O and make sure you get a front brake for the o shit moments!

ps I have a Surly Steam roller, and 2 built from old ten speeds I picked up at pawn shops and garage sales.

Good luck!

Alright cool that's what I was hoping. I just got one for $250 off craigslist cuz the guy had to move unexpectedly so it was a good deal. It doesn't have any brakes tho so I'm a little nervous about that

I own a fixed gear and my son just got a fixed gear track bike. He rides his in the mornings on rollers in his room. I prefer to call them track bikes rather than "fixies" because the new trendy thing, like Timy said, is to be a hipster emo and rid a fixie.

All that aside, I much prefer them to geared bikes. They are more simple, they are totally quiet as there are no freewheels to click and clack, no derraillures (sp), and they are just awesome.

You DO need a front brake. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Sometimes you can lock up the skid in time to stop. You'll need the break. Other than that, just go ride and have fun. The cool thing is that you'll get as good a workout going downhill as going up. I found that controlling speed downhills on my fixed gear worked EXACTLY the same muscles and connective tissues as steep mountain hiking.

Congratulations on your new hobby.

Funny anecdote,

My boss recently said he was in the city with his family and they saw two people. One was riding a bike without a helmet, the other was walking with a helmet.

That is a good deal; I have been riding fixed gear for a while, and have watched the prices shoot up now that fixies have joined iPhones as the must have hipster accessory.

A couple points to consider.

- You won't get a huge benefit in conditioning over a regular bike. In fact, depending on the terrain you are riding on, you might actually get a lesser workout. For example, I have a couple different routes to commute to work. One route is fast and flat. I don't get as good a workout because I basically spin out my gearing. If spin at 120 rpm or more it gets harder, but that cadence is pretty messy and hard to control. Difficult to explain, but the best way to think about it is to put your normal bike in low gear and peddle like mad. Yes, you can get a workout, but not a very good efficient one. But if I take another route that has more stops and a couple small hills, then there are lots of opportunities to push a bit, and with the start and stop and hills, more energy needed.

There is some additional fitness benefit because you are always peddling, but that is marginal at best. For my previous examples - the flat and fast route I am always peddling anyways, so no real benefit. For the stops and starts route, much more benefit, as I can't coast to the traffic lights, coast down the hills, and so forth.

Fixies used to be used in the early season by professional cyclists. This was because as you get back in shape after the winter months, by not allowing you to use the harder gears, it forces the cyclist to spin at an easy and fast revolution. As a general rule, the slower your cadence (lower than 70 rpm), the more stress you put on your knees. Faster is lighter and generally healthier.

- Careful with your knees, it is easier to hurt them with a fixie. This is not a myth, but I have met lots of people who want to argue that it is. I used to do Ironmans, so that makes me an expert! But in seriousness, the time to be careful is when you are decelerating. With a fixie, the peddles want to keep going, and you want to stop. Inexperienced people who have been riding normal bikes for eons often get caught. You apply your brakes, and in your head you imagine the peddles are going to stop. But they don't, and your leg muscles are not expecting it. Very easy to torque the knee. Same with going up a curb - this still gets me at least once a month. I see a curb, prepare to bump up it, and at the last minute I stop peddling and pull up my handlebars. But my peddles are still going....

- Buy a front brake. Please don't be the guy without a front brake in the cycle path with me... Yes, you can skid and yes you can use your legs to slow down the peddles, but it will be a long time before you can do it as well as you could with a brake.

So all this to say, enjoy your new ride. I love riding a fixie; simple, eligent, and retro enough to make a luddite like me smile.

cheers,

David

Thanks for the response. I hate that whole hipster trend thing it's stupid. I live in a coastal/mountain area so there are a lot of hills etc. I am definitely going to get a front brake installed and i'm worried about the pedaling situation, as in not being able to coast, but I rarely bike anyways so im hoping the transition wont be too difficult

element3904 said:

I am definitely going to get a front brake installed

Excellent idea. You won't be sorry

element3904 said:

i'm worried about the pedaling situation, as in not being able to coast, but I rarely bike anyways so im hoping the transition wont be too difficult

It's a whole new thing. If you are going to use cages or clipless pedals, just getting into the pedals might be cause for charging admission at first. It's nothing like "just pedaling all the time" because you really can't coast. I'm not trying to give you a negative here, but rather just a heads up on something to look forward to. In about four days you'll have it dialed in and won't know what all the fuss is about.

Living in a hilly area is a great place for a fixie.

This is an excellent site for info on bicycles.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html

I am currently cycling a singlespeed non-fixed wheel and really like it. I would go for a flip-flob hub/wheel if I was interested in a fixie.

Flip-flop, or double-sided, hubs are threaded on both sides. Usually one side has a track-type threading, (with lockring) and the other side is threaded for a single-speed standard freewheel.

The usual way to use a flip-flop hub is to have a fixed gear on one side, and a single-speed freewheel on the other. The freewheel sprocket is larger than the fixed sprocket, providing a lower gear.

So you just take the back wheel off and flip it over and you have converted it.

I would have 2 brakes. 1 or 2 brakes might be a legal requirement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-gear ... e#Legality

ed x said:

My boss recently said he was in the city with his family and they saw two people. One was riding a bike without a helmet, the other was walking with a helmet.

It may seem strange but it could be more beneficial. Many people blindly presume cycle helmets are "win win", but there are downsides to them. I do not wear a helmet, it is snowing where I was still cycling to work, I came off my bike twice and was fine. I got elbow, wrist and knee pads but still do not bother with the helmet (even though I have one in my house).

I have read that even with seatbelts & airbags that wearing a cycling helmet in your car is 7 times more "benefical" than wearing it on a bike -not sure how they quantified this but it is always one I tell to people who say I am "crazy" not to wear one. Though these same people routinely would have rode bikes without helmets as children. People laugh at the idea of helmets in cars or walking but I have pointed out the A&E departments would have far less casualties if people were required to wear helmets while drinking alcohol!

A study was done which showed motorists gave more room to cyclists without helmets. Also it might give people a overly confident sense of security.

a few sites about bike helmets

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/s ... ioncode=26

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1848 ... d_RVDocSum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1601 ... d_RVDocSum

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/

And a pro site if you still want to get one after reading that!

http://www.helmets.org/