Fixed Gear Bikes

Yesterday when I was out riding, a guy on a fixed gear bike decided to ride w/me for awhile and we got to talking about his bike. He told me that he races and during the off season, will use his "fixie" to commute to work every day. Got me thinking about the advantages of riding a fixed gear bike every so often just to mix things up and challenge myself. My regular route is rolling hills and then a loop that is a continual gradual climb for 3.5 miles, then reverse, gradual downhill for 3.5 (I repeat the loop several times).

Anyone out there ride a fixed gear? Aside from the obvious advantages (less mechanical upkeep), how does it help with strength, cadence, form, etc.?

Thom talked me out of a fixed gear because of my knee issues. Our terrrain is awfully hilly. :p I wanted one to work on cadence and getting a smoother pedal stroke.

I saw a guy yesterday doing one legged drills on his bike outside. Man, I can barely get through Coach Troy's one legged drills in the trainer. Outside I'd probably fall over. :p

V.

First off, let me say that I think fixies are cool and encourage people to try them. I've done some riding on a fixie in preparation for track racing next season. It is definitely an adjustment and a learned skill plus technique is paramount.

On the road though, for regular riding, I honestly cannot think of one sole reason why I'd ride a fixie over a gearie if my goal was to get fitter, faster, etc. For fitness? There's nothing you can train on a fixie that you can't do just as well, if not better (especially since you ride hilly terrain) on a gearie. Example, people say a fixie will keep you from coasting....yes it does, but then there's no reason to coast on your gearie unless you want to. Moreover, you'll be very glad to be able to coast on your gearie around sharp turns where a fixie, because of the crank length, becomes more sketchy.


For fun? Yeah go for it. Riding backwards for one is very cool. Plus there is something really elegant about the simplicity of a fixie - it is quite neat.

Oh and if you do ride a fixie on the road, please keep at least a front brake. I know it is really popular with the hipsters to ride with no brakes but other than on a track, I think it is dangerous!

I rode one for my commute which was 13 miles each way for awhile. I never could have ridden it without a break because it was to scary. I did like the simplicity of it and sometimes I think oh I could try again. I have permanent shoulder damage from a wreck that would never have happened on my singlespeed or my geared bikes. It was a freak deal where I hit a a pothole and for one split second stoppped pedaling and was thrown off my bike which resulted in PT/ surgery of sorts and some pain I will always have when I ride. I should have had a complete recovery however through a comedy of errors it was not to be. I think you could use rollers because they offer the smooth pedaling and also sometimes they can be a bit scary. For simplicity I love my singlespeed because it is light and fast. I know many people who have never had any problems riding fixed.

I love riding my fixie, if you can't tell from my user name ;) . I came to it as a mountain biker, and feel that the effort of riding hilly terrain helped prepare me for anerobic efforts. I ride it on single track, and it's a completely different experience from riding the gearie and makes old trails new again.
It also engrained good cadence and smooth pedal stoke into my muscle memory so that I felt at complete ease when I started riding a road bike with roadies.

I can get a little spiritual talking about fixed gear riding, so I'll stop before I get to waxing poetic about the Zen aspect :o .