Do single-speed bikes wear longer/better?

[Bigbananabike]

My bike is a SINGLESPEED (with 1 sprocket on a freewheel hub) not a FIXIE. My knees wouldn't cope with a fixie downhills.

Its just a multispeed racebike(sloping dropouts) without multi gears.
Its not a lightweight being a steel frame and having bulletproof (never trued in 13 years!) wheels.
I've cut the shifterbosses off and repainted it etc though so it looks the part
Of course I have brakes at both ends (as I think fixies need too - safety IS important) .

It really has been a help to me; from grinding up a local steep piece of hill at 31 rpm to doing 170 rpm on a slight downhill (and 164 behind a truck!).

in my poking around on the intertoobs about fixies, "personal preference" and "matter of style" were words which came up frequently.

I'm at the stage where having a tight butt and a fit body (including healthy knees) far outweigh any benefits of being a bike hipster.

my research plus the many excellent comments here, both pro and con, give me a picture that fixies, for my purpose, offer far more disadvantages than bennies.

Now, is there such a thing as a fixie which uses one gear with a freewheel hub? IOW, one that lets the rider "coast" when s/he needs to?

having a rig like that plus front and rear brakes seems much better to me, but then maybe the advantage of lightness disappears...


gd

 

[wheelist]

With regard to the issue of brakes - here in the UK you're legally obliged to have 2 sets of brakes in order to ride on the road. A fixed wheel is considered to be a type of brake, given than you can slow the bike by reducing the speed of pedalling (though this isn't easy!), therefore you only really require a front brake. I'd suggest fitting a rear though until you're happy riding fixed.

To the OP I'd say go for singlespeed if the area where you live is flat and you don't plan to ride up hills, and you're not into getting from A to B (or C) as fast as you can.

Benefits from fixed?

I'd have to say that the strength boost is one. I understand that it's possible to ride as hard on a multi-geared bike (pick a harder gear) but there's really no incentive. On a fixed there's no choice. I'm fitter and faster than I have been in years since starting to ride fixed.

Wear and tear? Almost certainly less wear and tear than a multi-speed derailleur set-up, and there's less to maintain. Even less wear if you enclose the chain with a guard.

Problems with fixed?

Well....it takes some getting used to. It feels good when you finally do get used to it, but it feels bad when you forget you're riding fixed.

Knees. I'm having trouble with mine. Is it fixie related? Maybe.

It sounds like what you really should be looking at is hub gears. Shimano have a lovely new 8-speed which retails at about £150 (I'm guessing that's about $170), which will solve your wear and tear/maintenance concerns and provide you with a bit more flexibility.

Happy riding!

 

[rowskein]

Problems with fixed?

Well....it takes some getting used to. It feels good when you finally do get used to it, but it feels bad when you forget you're riding fixed.

Yup for sure! If you're new to a fixed or will regularly switch between fixed and a freewheel do yourself a favour and have a front and back brake! It will also help you to master braking with your legs safely. There's plenty of opportunity to eat tarmac on a fixie without adding to them in my opionion! Infact the kind lad at the bike shop gave me his track cog in October after smashing his face into something with no brakes.

The only other thing not already mentioned is the fixed is it's a bit too slow! I kinda like being able to keep up with the traffic it's safer.

 

[Bigbananabike]

in my poking around on the intertoobs about fixies, "personal preference" and "matter of style" were words which came up frequently.

I'm at the stage where having a tight butt and a fit body (including healthy knees) far outweigh any benefits of being a bike hipster.

my research plus the many excellent comments here, both pro and con, give me a picture that fixies, for my purpose, offer far more disadvantages than bennies.

Now, is there such a thing as a fixie which uses one gear with a freewheel hub? IOW, one that lets the rider "coast" when s/he needs to?

having a rig like that plus front and rear brakes seems much better to me, but then maybe the advantage of lightness disappears...

That is the set up my bike has (I have geared bikes too). I have two brakes, drop bars and freewheel hub.