Why fixed gear/Single speed bikes with no brakes?

[aNOMalous]

I have been seeing a lot of people with single speed bikes. I kind of get it.. "be one with the road" or "its an accomplishment to get up a hill and I want a good work out".

Makes sense'ish.

But fixed gear? What are the benefits?

Maintenance/initial purchase price is cheaper?

So like I said.. I kind of get it.. "Kind of" lol but what I dont understand is why anyone would not want brakes and prefer sticking their foot in back tire to stop..?

I just attended critical mass and a younger kid hit a corner pretty hard and attempted to do the whole foot in tire break drift into wiping out. Pretty sure if he had a regular brake, slowed down and took the turn he would have been ok. Lol

Not trying to bash on anyone or anything.. im am actually just curious to what lures people into getting these bikes.

Thanks!

 

[xxDarkRiderxx]

Hi @aNOMalous , I have a single speed which I purchased around 2010 and absolutely love riding it. I was commuting into central London (on my Hybrid) and was seeing more and more cyclist using them so decided to bite the bullet. The first month I used to the freewheel side and then tried the fixed wheel side and still really enjoyed it although you really need to think ahead all the time in traffic in London. Reasons to get one are.
1. Cheap running costs and maintenance (I just check my chain tension every few weeks) less components to fail.
2. Keeps the legs spinning even when your tired (builds strength)
3. Riding fixed encourages you to pedal in circles, applying power all through the pedal stroke.
4. As you said "You feel at one with the bike and the road"

Get one .... unless your terrain is seriously hilly.
I have both front and rear brakes on mine.

 

[Citius]

Single speed is for people who don't go uphill. Fixed wheel is for the track.

Running costs - nothing to go wrong
Strength building - nonsense
Pedalling in circles - nonsense
Feeling at one with the road - the guy who wiped out certainly did..

People still buy them though. Any without brakes are technically not legal. You need at least a front braked on a fixed wheel bike.

 

[RichardB]

With a fixed gear, the idea is not to stick your shoe on the rear tyre, but to resist the movement of the pedals with your legs. Sort of trying to pedal backwards. It's surprisingly effective. What aNOMalous saw was a child without a clue what he was doing, I would think, not a serious rider. For the few grammes of saved weight, however, I would probably stick with two brakes if I did it again. From a fitness point of view, having to work hard on the uphills (no soft option of a granny gear) and having to spin like mad on the downhills (if you want to get home before next week), builds both strength and flexibility. I commuted across the Yorkshire Wolds one winter on a 70" fixed gear (from memory), and I was a fitter rider at the end of it. Crossing Hull city centre was a hoot. But relaxing it ain't. I went back to 10 speeds in the Spring.

 

[swee'pea99]

I've been a fixed fan for several years now - just love the ride. I still ride (two) geared bikes on occasions - for long rides, and for anything involving lots of hills - but for my riding, which is basically inner city sprinting, I just prefer the fixed experience. It is very low maintenance too. And I like the silence when riding. I have a front brake, and wouldn't be without it - I live on quite a serious hill, and have several more around me, and use the front brake all the time when going downhill. But the leg-braking on the back is super-effective...and strangely satisfying! Dread the thought that one day I will probably have to give up fixed. It is certainly pretty tough going up steep hills. But like I say, I love the experience, and don't plan to give up on fixed unless and until I really can't do it anymore.

 

[Racing roadkill]

If you take the brakes off, there is one less thing to go wrong

 

[ChrisEyles]

Single speed is for people who don't go uphill.

Haha! Fixed gear must be for people who don't go downhill either then

Tried to stick in a single gear (52/20) on my last ride - no way could I make it up any of the "proper" hills, but that's OK, you can always get off and push... On the way down would have been even more interesting though. A bit of calculation suggests I'd have been sustaining a cadence of 165rpm - maybe just about on the straights, but going into a corner? No thanks!

Must admit I am actually really keen to give a fixed gear a go on a nice flat/rolling route to see what all the fuss is about. If it's better than having a derailleur it must be pretty damn good!

 

[swee'pea99]

Haha! Fixed gear must be for people who don't go downhill either then

Tried to stick in a single gear (52/20) on my last ride - no way could I make it up any of the "proper" hills, but that's OK, you can always get off and push... On the way down would have been even more interesting though. A bit of calculation suggests I'd have been sustaining a cadence of 165rpm - maybe just about on the straights, but going into a corner? No thanks!

Must admit I am actually really keen to give a fixed gear a go on a nice flat/rolling route to see what all the fuss is about. If it's better than having a derailleur it must be pretty damn good!

It's not 'better' than a derailleur, it's just different. And yes, downhills can be challenging - you simple can't go down as fast as you would on a normal bike...there's only so fast legs can spin! (I've heard talk of unclipping and letting the pedals do their thing, but that sounds bonkers to me.)

(Your 52/20, BTW, = roughly 69 gear inches; I ride 75", which is significantly higher, and pretty much every ride I do starts by going up this:

Have to admit I'm glad there isn't more of it....I'm generally grinding fair slow by the time I reach the ridge at the top!)

It's all do-able. You just have to get into a different mind-set. "Push harder" is a phrase I mumble in my own head, from time to time.

Oh, and standing on the pedals is a copout. Just... push harder...

 

[vickster]

I got my SS because I wanted a different type of bike and given 99% of my riding is pretty flat and urban it seemed the logical choice (having had an MTB for a bit which I think I rode twice round the local park and hated on the roads to get there). I really like the simplicity of it (and scalping people on geared bikes on inclines with a cheery ' on your right' ). Fixed isn't for me, I'm far too accident prone and day dreamy, and I'm not yet old enough to grow a proper beard

 

[ChrisEyles]

@swee'pea99 - yes, I think I would need to run a slightly higher gear to cope with the downhills if I ever went fixed or my legs would spin right off. Respect to anyone who can both manage to climb hills in a 75" gear (seated?!) and still enjoy it though, I am suitably impressed! When I ride my old single speed roadster and get to a hill, my hand inadvertently searches for a shifter, first on the bars, then the stem, then the downtube, and is most dismayed when there is none.

 

[fossyant]

Some of us can ride uphills on fixed, and down. Usually faster than those with gears.

 

[fossyant]

I've climbed The Wizard on 78". Wasn't pleasant but I got up.

PS I have brakes.

 

[ChrisEyles]

Like I say, respect for those who can manage those sorts of climbs in a 70"+ gear. Makes me wonder if I could have made it a little further up in a high gear without that tempting shifter beckoning... probably only a little though, since I guess some conditioning/acclimitisation is necessary to get used to the lower cadence first?

I'm sure I saw a 3-speed Sturmey Archer fixed hub online a while ago - now *that* sounds like a great compromise to me (SA hubs are usually still pretty light on the maintenance side too, except for the occasional drop of oil). IIRC there was even a "neutral" gear so you could coast down steep hills (not one for the purists then!). Anyone here had a go on one?

 

[Tim Hall]

Like I say, respect for those who can manage those sorts of climbs in a 70"+ gear. Makes me wonder if I could have made it a little further up in a high gear without that tempting shifter beckoning... probably only a little though, since I guess some conditioning/acclimitisation is necessary to get used to the lower cadence first?

I'm sure I saw a 3-speed Sturmey Archer fixed hub online a while ago - now *that* sounds like a great compromise to me (SA hubs are usually still pretty light on the maintenance side too, except for the occasional drop of oil). IIRC there was even a "neutral" gear so you could coast down steep hills (not one for the purists then!). Anyone here had a go on one?

I think @User dabbled with one. Or was it the two speed hub? Or both?

 

[Racing roadkill]

I only had a fixie for 15 odd years, I've still got the low cadence now, I don't use many of the ratios available to me now. I guess it's why I prefer my 9 speeder to my 10 speeder.