who rides a fixed gear bike?

Since you don’t need brakes on a fixed gear (because you can lock up the rear wheel using only your legs), many people go without.

(It makes it totally badass)

Yeah i understand that, but why always a rear brake on single speeds, but always a front brake on fixed gears? Or did i misunderstand you?

Singlespeed bikes need front and rear brakes just like a normal bike. They are a normal bike with the only difference being they only have one gear.

Fixed gear bikes sometimes go completely brakeless. It’s a macho thing, not necessarily a sane or fully legal thing. Some fixies will have a front brake and no rear brake. And others will have both front and rear brakes.

If the bike has a flip-flop hub that can be flipped from fixed gear mode to singlespeed mode, you’re going to need both front and rear brakes on the bike. Cause when you’re in singlespeed mode you need the brakes regardless of how macho you may be when in fixed gear mode.

Fixed gear bikes road bikes (and singlespeed bikes with a fixed gear option) are getting more popular. Many of the bike companies are now offering a singlespeed/fixie in their lineup. The number of manufacturers has increased every year for the past 7 years or so. Now it’s hard to find a bike shop that doesn’t carry a line that includes a singlespeed/fixie and more bike shops are keeping a singlespeed/fixie on the showroom floor.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article about fixies last year:
Look Ma, No Brakes
It covers the recent rise in popularity of fixies.

i have a fixie road bike and a single speed mountain bike

I guess I don’t really get the idea behind fixed gear bikes or why they are so trendy now. Is it just the added difficulty of the ride which makes them popular?

I’m intrigued by them but I’d like to learn more.

its actually the simplicity
if your man you dont use breaks

its fun and easy

a real man doesn’t use that silly front wheel

a real man who has someplace to be does.

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I had to revive this thread to make a confession… lately I’ve been spending way more time (as in all) riding my fixed gear instead of unicycling. I think I may have been converted. :o

There’s a local group of riders that meets twice a week for fun group rides, and after going on one two weeks ago I’m completely hooked. I ride for extended periods every day, cruising around campus and learning tricks. I’ve got down many variations of trackstands, am becoming proficient at riding backwards, and just learned to skid last week (went down a parking garage yesterday. :)).

It’s way fun.

Here’s a picture of my fixie. It’s in fixie mode now and has been that way for about a month. It’s fun. New bits are a Rolls saddle and Egg Beater pedals. There is a full resolution shot in my Miscellaneous Stuff gallery (scroll to the bottom).

But there is no danger of me defecting to the bike as my primary fun cycle. I use the bike mostly for commuting type rides where I need to get somewhere. I use it to get to Seattle in lieu of driving or get over to Redmond or Bellevue. Round trip to the North parts of Seattle is about a 40+ mile round trip. Too far to do by Coker.

I also use the bike or the Coker for local shopping trips and local errands. I’m trying to drive the car less and get some cycling exercise in as well.

I have no desire to learn how to skid the fixie bike or ride it going backwards. Learning track stands would be handy though.

The unicycle is my primary fun cycle device.

fixie.jpg

That’s a nice bike :slight_smile:

Looks a lot like my excessively-many-speeds bike.

This one is Pauls, it used to be mine back when it had gears and wasn’t pink.

pinky.jpg

I’m looking to buy one.
Whan should I look for and whats a good starting model?

Also, how fast can you expect to go on a fixie? Like the average pace you would say?

pista? just build up your own. ill sell you my frame for 150$
its an 06 61cm pista frame/fork

It seems like almost every consumer bicycle company is now making a singlespeed/fixed road bike. It would be hard to find a local bike shop that doesn’t carry a line that includes a ss/fixed road bike. The problem though is that most of them are using a traditional road geometry or touring geometry for their ss/fixed bikes. Road racing and touring bikes will have a lower bottom bracket than a track bike. A lower bottom bracket makes the bike more stable because it lowers the center of gravity. But it also puts the pedals closer to the ground so you increase the chance of a pedal strike during a turn.

Traditional road bikes have a bottom bracket drop of about 7cm. My feelings is that a road fixie bike should have a bottom bracket drop of 6cm or less (less being better). Bottom bracket drop is how far the bottom bracket drops below the height of the wheel axles. If you end up liking or getting a bike that has a 7cm BB drop then opt for shorter cranks to compensate (160 or 165 mm cranks instead of 170).

My bike is a Cayne Uon by Sun Bicycles (the same folks that make Sun unicycles). Specs and geometry here. It is carried by J&B Importers so any bike shop that has a J&B catalog can get the bike.

Schwinn also has a ss/fixie. I saw it at a local Performance Bike store. I don’t know the full geometry and BB drop. You’ll have to ask a bike shop that has it. Schwinn Madison.

IRO would also be one to look at.

Another thing to consider is toe overlap with the front wheel. Ideally you’ll be able to find a bike that doesn’t have any toe overlap, but it depends on the frame size, frame geometry and your foot size. You’re always pedaling with a fixie so you can’t coast to keep your shoe from hitting the front tire during a sharp turn.

Other than that, find a bike that fits you.

Depends on your gear. My bike has a 46/18 gear which is about 69 gear inches. Cruising speed is 15-19 mph. Over 20 mph and you have to spin pretty quick. More than 24 mph is a quick (short lived) sprint. Fastest I’ve gone on a flat road is 29 mph cause it is not easy to maintain a 150 cadence on a bike.

I think of the 46/18 as the perfect bike path cruising gear. It doesn’t let me go too fast for the trail and is still low enough that I can make it up the local urban climbs (but if it’s a 12%+ grade I ain’t even going to try).

Yes, I bought one recently, and have posted a couple of ride reports in JC. It’s great fun. My longest ride to date is around 45 miles. Highest recorded speed on GPS about 27 mph, but it cruises somewhere between 15mph and 20 mph. Bear in mind I’m 44, so a fit young person would go faster.

Uphill is less difficult than you might think. Down hill is the challenge.

my fixed convert

You should plug the bar ends. It’s a safety hazard. You can end up getting gored by the handlebars during a crash if the ends aren’t properly plugged.

How do you like running completely brakeless? I don’t quite understand the rationale to go brakeless. I don’t see how it can be safe, at least in the areas that I ride. Often while riding on the bike path I’ll have to do some quick braking to avoid someone who suddenly walks in front of me or for some other reason. The gear ratio on a fixie means that you go about 15 to 20 feet with each pedal rotation. That means it could take you 15 feet or so before you’re in the power position and able to skid the bike. If you don’t react quick enough you’ll have to wait another 15-20 feet for the power position to come back again. How can that possibly be safe? Especially if you are going fast.

Yeah, I realize that Cokers also can’t stop quickly and I’ve never had a problem with that causing an accident.