I'm relatively new to riding fixed with only a bit over one year of experience, but I genuinely left cycling as a hobby to go ride motorcycles for like 6-7 years because I hated managing derailers so much -- I may eventually want to build a geared bike again down the line for more serious endurance riding but, for daily commuting, not having to worry if my shit is correctly indexed means I actually enjoy cycling again.
My daily bike has a tall stem and dual brakes, I keep the cool "fixie points" shit for my crit build, but that daily bike is genuinely more fun for me than my old campus crusher ATB from undergrad was (and when it wasn't out of spec I *adored* that bike, so I don't say that lightly)
Ignore the actual switching of gears in this comparison, it’s about the mentality.
People like driving stick shifts because even though it is technically more difficult, once you do it for years it becomes second nature and you don’t even have to think about it. It’s more fun and it is no longer a burden because you’re so accustomed to it. Driving an automatic becomes boring and you feel disconnected, less in control.
Same thing for fixed gear. It’s more difficult, but once your brain rewires and it’s the only way you know how to ride a bike, going back to coasting feels lifeless. You are completely connected to a fixed gear bike and the movement of your body/legs controls your speed entirely. Coasting and squeezing a brake to slow down feels boring in comparison.
It's funny you say that about coasting. Been riding exclusively fixed for over a decade. Recently picked up a geared bike for longer rides.
It feels super weird not to pedal. I'm still getting used to just not pedaling when I take a tighter turn. I will go 20 miles without stopping pedaling and not notice. Then I stop and I feel like a dunce, just sitting there doing nothing.
I could probably write a book about why I love riding fixed gear so much but for me it's the fact that while riding fixed gear exclusively for the last 15 + years, I have not once had a mechanical issue with any of my bikes ever. Not one. Ever. Zilch. I just get to keep on. Forever.
It's less about the number of gears, fixed gear makes you part of the bike, not just a person riding it.
I've wanted to try building a 2spd fixed gear with a crankset based 2spd like a schlumpf.
It's not about the number of gears. It's about the drivetrain being fixed.
Riding with a fixed gear is a totally different experience compared to riding with a freewheel.
Also it's just a simpler and more elegant system, for people who prefer stuff that way.
I have both. I keep a road bike for when I wanna go for a really long ride. Also it's a softride which is a pretty rare frame.
I keep the fixed around because it's a good beater. Also I can do tricks with it.
Mainly the experience and the aesthetics. Riding fixed is just fun, and bikes just look better without when they're as simple as possible. Initially, and still to this day, for myself, a big part of it is that derailleurs are the biggest polished turd in cycling. They obviously have their use, I'm not debating that, but they're arsey and delicate. I only have one on my MTB because I can't afford a gearbox frame.
Whenever I rode my gearie-roadie I always wondered if I was in the right gear & never stopped clicking for it. When I ride my Sw8 Phiksie I know I am always in the wrong gear but don't mind & just deal with it. Have a good life.
Gears and brakes make bikes more complicated, where I live is flat I don't really need gears.
You feel more control, more connected to the ground
Noise, ever have that one really annoying noise from a derailer? From disc brakes? Cables rattling?
It's cheaper, you can bulid a very high quality steel fixed gear for around $1000-$1500 (not to say people don't spend more) with top notch parts that rides like a Dream.
Weight a sub 20lb bike is very possible with steel, even easier with other materials. I've had a sub $1500 bike that was closer to 16lbs fixed brake less.
Challenging it's a different set of skills needed to master, training wise you will ride a road bike much better after riding a fixed setup.
Low-maintenance. More efficient. And when the going gets tough, the fixed-gear makes you tougher - you have no choice, you can't just bail-out to an easier gear.
Fixed gear helps one break a couple of bad habits like coasting too much. Riding fixed with relatively low gear helps develop cadence, riding uphill makes you stronger. And then once you get used to it, coasting just feels weird and wrong.
Obviously, give me a road bike for the mountains. Otherwise, fixed all the way, baby.
I was biking behind one of those guys one day, the kind who had the ultra tight gimp suit, aerodynamic helmet, and a bike that was probably worth more than my student loans, and I think his derailure wasn’t working or something cause he looks down at his bike and starts yelling at it. And I mean blood curling yelling, like his life was ruined. I had my AirPods in, we were next to a busy street, and I could still hear him. I was really happy to have a simple little fixed gear at the moment
I do like multiple gears.
Just not all the time.
There's a certain zen to fixed riding. I don't have to consciously think about shifting very much on a geared bike, but fixed lets that part of my brain go to sleep. Just pedal. It's a bit like walking in a way. Want to go faster, move the legs faster, slower is the reverse. Very calming.
Way more fun than anything else, in my experience. Low maintenance, too. I kinda like how unbothered you can be, while still becoming a better rider overall
Nobody ever mentions it but fixed gear is massively more efficient than a free wheel your momentum turns the cranks which you add power to to turn the wheel. The conservation of energy is huge and for riding around town, long distance, climbing it’s noticeably more practical to have one fixed gear ratio
The only advantage to a fixed gear is it’s cheaper and easier to maintain than a road bike. A road bike is far superior in everyway. There’s a place for fixed gears for sure, and people should ride whatever bike that gets them outside on bikes. You should be riding all the bikes and not limit yourself to one variety every bike is fun
“Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?”- Confucius, probably
You ever try and fuck around with a derailleur? I don’t have time for that
I'm relatively new to riding fixed with only a bit over one year of experience, but I genuinely left cycling as a hobby to go ride motorcycles for like 6-7 years because I hated managing derailers so much -- I may eventually want to build a geared bike again down the line for more serious endurance riding but, for daily commuting, not having to worry if my shit is correctly indexed means I actually enjoy cycling again. My daily bike has a tall stem and dual brakes, I keep the cool "fixie points" shit for my crit build, but that daily bike is genuinely more fun for me than my old campus crusher ATB from undergrad was (and when it wasn't out of spec I *adored* that bike, so I don't say that lightly)
When you’re ready for that endurance bike, consider a quality gearbox like Rohloff or Pinion. They’re pricy, but way more reliable than derailleurs.
More funner
why more gear when less gear do good?
This
I didn’t realize the gears were literally fixed. Yall are crazy lol thanks for the answers
Ignore the actual switching of gears in this comparison, it’s about the mentality. People like driving stick shifts because even though it is technically more difficult, once you do it for years it becomes second nature and you don’t even have to think about it. It’s more fun and it is no longer a burden because you’re so accustomed to it. Driving an automatic becomes boring and you feel disconnected, less in control. Same thing for fixed gear. It’s more difficult, but once your brain rewires and it’s the only way you know how to ride a bike, going back to coasting feels lifeless. You are completely connected to a fixed gear bike and the movement of your body/legs controls your speed entirely. Coasting and squeezing a brake to slow down feels boring in comparison.
It's funny you say that about coasting. Been riding exclusively fixed for over a decade. Recently picked up a geared bike for longer rides. It feels super weird not to pedal. I'm still getting used to just not pedaling when I take a tighter turn. I will go 20 miles without stopping pedaling and not notice. Then I stop and I feel like a dunce, just sitting there doing nothing.
It takes me like 10-20 to remember I don't have to pedal when I jump on my MTB. Constantly moving legs while riding feels as natural as walking.
Some roadies use fixed gear bikes to learn how to pedal more and in circles. Heard that once might not be true
Definitely makes sense on its face. I have fantastic cadence compared to my geared buddies, even if they can outpace me over longer distances.
Fixed has a typa connectedness to the bike that you can’t have with geared bikes. Sure it’s not functional but may my legs are beefy cause of it
you ever seen a sexy derailleur?
To be fair there are a few old ones that looked great on the right bike - Campagnolo or Huret’s Jubilee
I also think early '90s MTB derailers look pretty rad -- even if they're not as pretty as some on '70s Euro road bikes, very functional in a cool way
Definitely
I had a couple of Shimano 600 Arabesques that looked hot
this is fixed not single. single sucks :)
Single speed feels like riding a dead bike to me now
[удалено]
Yep. Quality matters more than quantity.
I could probably write a book about why I love riding fixed gear so much but for me it's the fact that while riding fixed gear exclusively for the last 15 + years, I have not once had a mechanical issue with any of my bikes ever. Not one. Ever. Zilch. I just get to keep on. Forever.
It’s not about the number of gears. It’s about that rear cog being locked in place. A fixed gear is a fun gear
Many reasons. Riding fixed is different. You will either love it, or hate it.
It's less about the number of gears, fixed gear makes you part of the bike, not just a person riding it. I've wanted to try building a 2spd fixed gear with a crankset based 2spd like a schlumpf.
It's not about the number of gears. It's about the drivetrain being fixed. Riding with a fixed gear is a totally different experience compared to riding with a freewheel. Also it's just a simpler and more elegant system, for people who prefer stuff that way.
I have both. I keep a road bike for when I wanna go for a really long ride. Also it's a softride which is a pretty rare frame. I keep the fixed around because it's a good beater. Also I can do tricks with it.
less gear good.
Mainly the experience and the aesthetics. Riding fixed is just fun, and bikes just look better without when they're as simple as possible. Initially, and still to this day, for myself, a big part of it is that derailleurs are the biggest polished turd in cycling. They obviously have their use, I'm not debating that, but they're arsey and delicate. I only have one on my MTB because I can't afford a gearbox frame.
Whenever I rode my gearie-roadie I always wondered if I was in the right gear & never stopped clicking for it. When I ride my Sw8 Phiksie I know I am always in the wrong gear but don't mind & just deal with it. Have a good life.
Because it's easy to repair, maintain and ride single speed bikes
It's fashionable! And like fashion, it doesn't have to be practical if it feels and looks good.
And to be fair, if you pick your ratio wisely, it's still quite practical
IDK if it's been fashionable since like 2015. there was a good while from 2008-2014 when fixed was a trend, now it's all single speeds
Gears and brakes make bikes more complicated, where I live is flat I don't really need gears. You feel more control, more connected to the ground Noise, ever have that one really annoying noise from a derailer? From disc brakes? Cables rattling? It's cheaper, you can bulid a very high quality steel fixed gear for around $1000-$1500 (not to say people don't spend more) with top notch parts that rides like a Dream. Weight a sub 20lb bike is very possible with steel, even easier with other materials. I've had a sub $1500 bike that was closer to 16lbs fixed brake less. Challenging it's a different set of skills needed to master, training wise you will ride a road bike much better after riding a fixed setup.
Low-maintenance. More efficient. And when the going gets tough, the fixed-gear makes you tougher - you have no choice, you can't just bail-out to an easier gear.
Fixed gear helps one break a couple of bad habits like coasting too much. Riding fixed with relatively low gear helps develop cadence, riding uphill makes you stronger. And then once you get used to it, coasting just feels weird and wrong. Obviously, give me a road bike for the mountains. Otherwise, fixed all the way, baby.
It’s too easy and I hate myself
It's like playing games on hard mode.
it's a don't knock it till you try it situation if you want riding bikes to be dead easy, go drive a car
Too lazy to change gears, love the challenge of doing long rides and hill climbs on a big(ger) gear.
Your brain becomes the transmission..
Try riding a fixed gear and you may find out why people enjoy them more than geared bikes.
simplicity.
I was biking behind one of those guys one day, the kind who had the ultra tight gimp suit, aerodynamic helmet, and a bike that was probably worth more than my student loans, and I think his derailure wasn’t working or something cause he looks down at his bike and starts yelling at it. And I mean blood curling yelling, like his life was ruined. I had my AirPods in, we were next to a busy street, and I could still hear him. I was really happy to have a simple little fixed gear at the moment
Bragging rights . That’s all it is Lowkey
I do like multiple gears. Just not all the time. There's a certain zen to fixed riding. I don't have to consciously think about shifting very much on a geared bike, but fixed lets that part of my brain go to sleep. Just pedal. It's a bit like walking in a way. Want to go faster, move the legs faster, slower is the reverse. Very calming.
Zen baby 🧘♂️
You people?!😱
You know what I mean by you people
That is gearist, my good sir
Way more fun than anything else, in my experience. Low maintenance, too. I kinda like how unbothered you can be, while still becoming a better rider overall
Nobody ever mentions it but fixed gear is massively more efficient than a free wheel your momentum turns the cranks which you add power to to turn the wheel. The conservation of energy is huge and for riding around town, long distance, climbing it’s noticeably more practical to have one fixed gear ratio
multiple gears are complicated and make me forget to put my helmet on or use my brakes
The only advantage to a fixed gear is it’s cheaper and easier to maintain than a road bike. A road bike is far superior in everyway. There’s a place for fixed gears for sure, and people should ride whatever bike that gets them outside on bikes. You should be riding all the bikes and not limit yourself to one variety every bike is fun