Fixie, single speed ??

simo28

Hi,
This may be a silly question but could someone explain what a fixie/single speed bike is all about. I've recently got interested in bikes and I see them everywhere. In the city centre and often online when I'm looking for a new bike.
Sorry if I'm a dumbass. Thank you

kmart6

You seem to know everything about them already!

Single speed, no gears, shorter handle bars.....that's about it! Handy for using in around traffic...and even better if your a hipster!

macnab

Super trendy fashion items ;-) a must have for hipsters

Lumen

A single speed has a single gear ratio. A fixed gear is a single speed with no freewheel mechanism.

Single speeds are easier/boring to ride. Fixed gears are more difficult/interesting/stupid to ride.

The main advantage is ease of cleaning and maintenance by having a simplified drivetrain.

You will need at least one rim brake with a fixie and two with a singlespeed.

petethedrummer

Everyone's riding fixies but noone's riding fixed.

piston

Everyone associates "fixies" with the trendy crowd but it doesn't have to be so. My winter bike is an old hi-ten steel road bike complete with rack, mudguards, dynamo lighting, wide tyres, brakes back and front and a low 63" gear. Hugely fun to ride, very practical, great for training as you really learn how to spin on the descents with a low gear and so easy to maintain compared to derailleur geared bike.

I also have a lighter version on a quality 531 frame with better components and higher gear ratio. This is my summer fixed gear bike.

I only usually ride my geared bikes if I'm heading into seriously hilly terrain, carrying a load or going more than 50 miles.

bustopher

fakies

QueensGael

Word from my NYC bud is that the hipsters are abandoning the fixie in favour of the cyclocross - quick, a wagon to get aboard!

"look at all the fixed-gear people and how they're all coveting cyclocross bikes with derailleurs now"

Caroline_ie

I ride fixed and ... I really want a CX bike

Miklos

I've been riding a fixed gear for many years, they're pretty much the perfect commuter bike, especially if you ride a road bike also as (apparently) it helps your pedal stroke.

I enjoy the simplicity of look and singularity of purpose of a fixed gear, I'd say a lot of people will still be riding them long after the fad passes.

Ant

QueensGael wrote: »

Word from my NYC bud is that the hipsters are abandoning the fixie in favour of the cyclocross - quick, a wagon to get aboard!

My bike's a cyclocross - and it's fixed. If it weren't for the full-length mudguards, panniers, sensibly wide handlebars, spoke reflectors and multiple rear lights I could be some sort of link between the current generation of hipsters and the next.

rflynnr

For a variety of reasons I've been largely limited to a single-speed for about 4 months now. However, having gotten back on the road bike in the last couple of weeks, I'm of the opinion that the single-speed interregnum has made me a better rider. Certainly, my cadence riding into headwinds is up and in general I find grinding it out in such conditions easier than hitherto. Admittedly there could be other causes but I'm at a loss to think what they might be...

jameverywhere

I lived in central-ish Texas for almost two years and in a place flat as that all you really need is a single-speed. They're simpler, easier to maintain, less to worry about. I commuted to school and work on a kinda Dutch-style one. Never went more than seven miles on it at once though. Then some asshat stole the seat off it. That was like the most annoying thing that happened to me ever.

The minute I moved somewhere with hills, I regretted mah use of single speeds. Because I had to walk it up the steepest ones.

fixies are a bit different in that all fixies are single-speed, but not all single-speeds are fixies. (if this is not true someone can correct me)

The thing about fixies is that you cannot stop pedalling and coast--if you stop pedalling, your wheels stop moving and you start to skid. It's set up so that you exercise your leg more and don't take so many breaks just coasting forward or down hills or whatever. A lot of people use them for training or to keep their cadence up. Since they're single-speeds, they're useless in really hilly areas, altho on certain kinds of hills you can use 'em for training.

flat6

There's always an exception:

The Felt 3-speed fixie!

abcdggs

flat6 wrote: »

There's always an exception:

The Felt 3-speed fixie!

the tyres don't match...

Miklos

abcdggs wrote: »

the tyres don't match...

23 in front, 28 in rear. Bit weird!

Lumen

flat6 wrote: »

There's always an exception:

The Felt 3-speed fixie!

I've read bad reviews about the feel of that hub. Loads of slack in it, so it doesn't feel fixed.

Mycroft H

Fixies are fun but my knees would not be up to it long term. If I'm mashing in a high gear, I get knee pain within 20 minutes so I'd imagin a fixie would be no use to me.

piston

BX 19 wrote: »

Fixies are fun but my knees would not be up to it long term. If I'm mashing in a high gear, I get knee pain within 20 minutes so I'd imagin a fixie would be no use to me.

Gear it low and learn how how to spin. Something in the 60-65" range. 75-85" gears that many talk about are only really suitable for very flat areas or time trials.

simo28

Lumen wrote: »

A single speed has a single gear ratio. A fixed gear is a single speed with no freewheel mechanism.

Single speeds are easier/boring to ride. Fixed gears are more difficult/interesting/stupid to ride.

The main advantage is ease of cleaning and maintenance by having a simplified drivetrain.

You will need at least one rim brake with a fixie and two with a singlespeed.

Sorry but I've another dumbass question on this. Does having no freewheel mechanism mean if you stop pedalling the bike stops?

petethedrummer

simo28 wrote: »

Sorry but I've another dumbass question on this. Does having no freewheel mechanism mean if you stop pedalling the bike stops?

There are 3 scenarios.

When you try to stop pedalling and but back pressure on the pedals, the bike will slow down gradually.

If you lean over the handle bars and take your weight of the rear wheel, the bike will skid stop.

If you forget you're riding fixed and just stop pedalling dead, you will get lifted out of the saddle.

C3PO

Now that we're down there ....

What advantage(s) does a "fixie" have over a single speed with freehub?

Lumen

RPL1 wrote: »

What advantage(s) does a "fixie" have over a single speed with freehub?

Easier to trackstand.

rp

RPL1 wrote: »

Now that we're down there ....

What advantage(s) does a "fixie" have over a single speed with freehub?

No chance to goof-off on the down-hills.

piston

RPL1 wrote: »

Now that we're down there ....

What advantage(s) does a "fixie" have over a single speed with freehub?

A fixed gear bike with the same gear ratio as a single speed freewheel bike will be easier to ride up hills due to the flywheel effect of the back wheel carrying the pedals through the dead spot. For the same reason, fixed is also much easier into a headwind. Fixed has a further advantage if it's icy/slippery as you can control the speed of the bike without using the brakes. Fixed will also work wonders for your pedal technique as you have no option other than learn to pedal smoothly in circles at high cadence (or else bounce up and down in the saddle if your pedal technique isn't what it could be).

The maintenance argument over derailleurs holds true for single speed freewheel as well but I have found most cheap SS freewheels to be very poor quality and short lived and the "Rolls Royce" White Industries freewheel is prohibitively expensive whereas a track sprocket can be had very cheap and has nothing to go wrong with it.

sarkozy

I think this thread just goes to show that when you take trends out of it, the important thing is having a bike that suits your lifestyle. I bought a Trek hybrid years ago and rode it well and took some perverse pleasure in maintaining it. Then I decided, with the SS/fixed thing, I'd build my own to learn more about bikes if I ever invested up. I haven't done that yet because I'm perfectly happy riding my very simple single-speed. I live in Dublin, so I don't need more than one gear. It's a decent frame but it doesn't look overly pretty so it won't (touch wood) get nicked. And I built it and there's nothing else like it. But ... it's not brilliant for load-bearing.

If I went geared, I'd be going the 3-speed internal hub route (maybe a reconditioned Sturmey Archer) on an old classic frame for the purpose of carrying shopping, etc.

Everyone should have more than one bike ... different purposes.

kumate_champ07

With icy weather you also have control of traction, with more feel for the road conditions. As mentioned above the rear wheel acts as a flywheel and carries your legs when you coast , you just have to move them in sync which becomes 2nd nature, freewheels feel very strange when you try them again after a long time away. Back in the day road tt's on flat coures where done with a fixed gear by some.

souter

piston wrote: »

The maintenance argument over derailleurs holds true for single speed freewheel as well but I have found most cheap SS freewheels to be very poor quality and short lived and the "Rolls Royce" White Industries freewheel is prohibitively expensive whereas a track sprocket can be had very cheap and has nothing to go wrong with it.

That's what I thought, but track sprockets tend to fail more catastrophically i.e. the lock ring works loose over many months, this lets the sprocket unscrew when there is no forward pressure and lots of vibration (e.g. bombing downhill) resulting in one or more of chain broken / hub stripped / frame damage.
This has happened to me twice in c. 5 years, while a damaged freewheel generally causes nothing worse than an annoying noise or excess friction.

So one of those cases when a bit of extra engineering improves reliability,

abcdggs

souter wrote: »

That's what I thought, but track sprockets tend to fail more catastrophically i.e. the lock ring works loose over many months, this lets the sprocket unscrew when there is no forward pressure and lots of vibration (e.g. bombing downhill) resulting in one or more of chain broken / hub stripped / frame damage.
This has happened to me twice in c. 5 years, while a damaged freewheel generally causes nothing worse than an annoying noise or excess friction.

So one of those cases when a bit of extra engineering improves reliability,

if something like this is happening over a matter of months then in my opinion it's your own fault for not looking after your bike properly

souter

Well I take the more holistic Toyota approach - yes it's my fault, but what caused me to neglect this maintenance?

My excuse is it's relative rarity - if I check it every time I clean the chain, it might be years before I actually have a lock nut that is noticeably loose.

A freewheel rachet is an elegant engineering fix to this problem by obviating underlying cause (potential unscrewing force).

So in this regard freewheels while not mechanically simpler, are simpler in system terms.

Err, not quite sure where I'm going with this. Still riding fixed cause I like the sensation and element of danger, but to claim they are simpler maintenance wise is a trifle disingenuous.

And nothing is ever my fault.

piston

My winter fixed gear is on a traditional freewheel hub meant for a 5 speed block and no lockring. It did unscrew once, and dropped of on to the axle. I was able to take the wheel out and thread it back on again and continue but as it turns out, it bent the axle.

I have since put it on with the really strong red Loctite thread lock and no problems since. It just means I can no longer change the sprocket for something different as according to instructions, this stuff needs to be heated to 450F to break the bond.

piston

Oh, and for people who say fixed or single speed bikes aren't practical, remember that people toured long distances on these bikes in the 1950 and before.

kumate_champ07

souter wrote: »

That's what I thought, but track sprockets tend to fail more catastrophically i.e. the lock ring works loose over many months, this lets the sprocket unscrew when there is no forward pressure and lots of vibration (e.g. bombing downhill) resulting in one or more of chain broken / hub stripped / frame damage.
This has happened to me twice in c. 5 years, while a damaged freewheel generally causes nothing worse than an annoying noise or excess friction.

So one of those cases when a bit of extra engineering improves reliability,

always make sure the threads are clean on the hub,cog and lockring before installation. use proper tools. the cog generally tightens more after first being put on, so after a couple of miles you should retighten the lockring.

that shouldn't of happened to you a 2nd time if you realized what you did wrong the first time.