Single Speed Bicycles

[JohnMF]

Very off topic here I know...

Anyone here own/ride a single speed bike?

They seem to be getting quite popular these days and i've been toying with the idea of getting one, or converting an old town bike i have into one, for my daily commute to work.

They look like a lot of fun but I'm still not 100% convinced it would be the most practical choice for me.

 

[bigboi3]

You mean fixies?

 

[Derrel]

Ruh-roh....the fixie raze raz rooved to the rooh-kay!!!

 

[Leo4]

If you have a death wish, ride a bike without brakes. I have tried it for fun and could see how survival of the fit works. I mean how dumb can someone be, I get the lets be trendy thing, but fixed gear is just plain stupid.


Single speed, free wheel bikes on the other hand are a blast. Its all I ride on the trails and I every once in a while switch hubs on my Bianchi and ride road single speed. Its alot better than gears, a true challenge.

 

[JohnMF]

nah, not a fixie. I had one of those things when i was a kid and nearly smashed my legs apart on the pedals many-a-time. Never again.

I'm talking about single gear free wheel

 

[Leo4]

nah, not a fixie. I had one of those things when i was a kid and nearly smashed my legs apart on the pedals many-a-time. Never again.

I'm talking about single gear free wheel

Free wheel single speed is the ticket. You will love it

 

[vandy1821]

My buddy rides a single speed Kona mountain bike, he loves it and when I ride it I like it besides hills make it very very tough.

 

[Heck]

It's a new trend that is for sure. But like any trend it will die out in a few years. I used to ride BMX when it first started and had no fear but these fixed bikes scare me lol. The riders of these bikes do take pride in them and they look interesting for sure but a good looking bike does not have to have a single gear and no breaks.

 

[JohnMF]

i might wait til i get my fitness levels up a bit then. The ride home from work has a bit of a hill at the end, usually kills me. Dont think i'm ready for that with only the one gear.

 

[Fate]

its all about having as many gears as possible

 

[davisphotos]

I had an old mountain bike that a frankensteined to be a single speed several years ago. It really was fun. I had the gear set a bit too high, so it wasn't that great for trail riding, but it was a kind of cool way to ride. I now have a 21 speed Bianchi road bike, and it's always a little embarrassing to get passed by somebody on a single speed.
One good thing about a fixie-instant karma for somebody who tries to steal it when they stop pedaling and go flying over the handlebars.

 

[j-dogg]

This is my latest project.

Marin fixed conversion with brakes. I built it for bike polo, hence the short gearing.

 

[JohnMF]

Never heard of bike polo before.

Are the BMX handle bars on the front?

 

[j-dogg]

Not quite BMX.

Bike polo, think regular polo, but on bicycles.

 

[den9]

i had a fix/free bike, its fun, simple, quiet. especially in the city. its much easier to use a dedicate ss frame with horizontal drop outs though.

up hills are the best on fixies, it helps you pedal when your wheel is spinning, and eventually you will get stronger legs, or messed up knees.

down hills are the worst though. riding fixed makes you so much more aware when riding down the city, always looking for a spot to sneak through traffic or timing for going through red lights, stopping sucks when you have high gears. another thing i dont like about fixed gear is that you can stand up to stretch.