

The Virtues of Riding Fixed (2005) [pdf] - brryant
http://www.wabicycles.com/files/Jim_Lee_fixed_gear_article_2005.pdf

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pedrocr
If I understand the situation correctly what's being called fixed here is
actually two differences from the usual gearing. The first that the ratio
between pedal and rear wheel is fixed (there is only one gear) and the second
that the pedals and rear wheel are linked directly with no way for the pedals
to stop while the wheel keeps going as is usual in a cyclist coasting. The
benefits seem to be related to the second change so could we not build gearing
like in a car where once the shift is done the link is direct?

~~~
analog31
In cycling parlance, "fixed" refers to a bike where you can't coast. A bike
that can coast is called "freewheel." A bike with only one ratio is referred
to as "single speed."

It's possible to have a fixed gear hub with more than one ratio -- Sturmey
Archer makes one with three ratios. This hub is a rarity, and most fixed gear
riders also prefer single speed.

[http://www.sturmey-
archer.com/en/products/detail/s3x-silver](http://www.sturmey-
archer.com/en/products/detail/s3x-silver)

I'm not sure that I follow the article. It seems to suggest that on a
freewheel bike, you pedal at a discontinuous rotational speed. If that were
happening on my bike, I'd hear the freewheel mechanism engage and disengage
with each stroke. Maybe this happens to elite cyclists, but I'm just not that
strong.

~~~
pedrocr
_> In cycling parlance, "fixed" refers to a bike where you can't coast. A bike
that can coast is called "freewheel." A bike with only one ratio is referred
to as "single speed."_

Yeah, I assumed there would be proper names for both concepts but they do seem
to go together usually and the article does discuss them without distinction.

 _> I'm not sure that I follow the article. It seems to suggest that on a
freewheel bike, you pedal at a discontinuous rotational speed. If that were
happening on my bike, I'd hear the freewheel mechanism engage and disengage
with each stroke. Maybe this happens to elite cyclists, but I'm just not that
strong_

Yeah the reasoning does sound suspect. As long as your feet are attached to
the pedals you should be able to power the rotation continuously and as you
say never freewheel so you'd get no benefit over a fixed wheel. More
importantly while in a track situation getting the power down might be a
bottleneck in a road course surely the bottleneck is the rider actually being
able to produce the power in the first place. As long as the drive system is
efficient at transmitting power when it does exist there shouldn't be much
more to gain from it.

~~~
analog31
As I understand it, there's a small amount of mechanical efficiency to be
gained from ditching the derailleur, but the road cyclists need multiple gears
in order to match their power output to the conditions: Terrain, wind, etc.

With all of this said, I'm planning to build a fixed gear wheel for one of my
bikes this summer, just to try it out. But I am not a competitive cyclist by
any wild stretch of the imagination, and this is just for curiosity and fun.

------
lurkincyclist
"do not worry about what is happening in the second decimal place until you
understand what is happening in the first." On a fixie you have to work your
legs just as hard (in someways harder) going down hills as you do going up
them. With a freewheel you only have to pedal up the hills.

I was a bicycle mechanic for 6 years, I've been a mountain biker and bmxer for
12, and rode a fixie for 2 years. You do feel efficient and intimate on a
fixie and what he says about the longer stroke length (and more effective
torque) is true. But the benefits of coasting down hills, being able to make
sharp turns without pedal bite, and having gears more than make up for this,
and are why the vast majority of cyclists don't ride fixies.

On a more bike snobby note, bunnyhopping on a fixie sucks too.

------
blacksmith_tb
Anything that inspires you to ride is a good thing; that said, fixed-gear
drivetrains represent some serious tradeoffs. For enhanced power transmission
and ease of maintenance gained you have to give up low gearing for hills
and/or carrying a bunch of groceries etc., and of course being able to coast
downhill.

~~~
virtualritz
The thing that always escapes me is that these fixed gear fanboys seem to
ignore hub gear bicycles. That's what I grew up with in Europe. That's what
comprises the majority of bicycles that people ride in cities (hilly or not)
in Germany.

They are literally service free and if you select the gear with the 1:1 ratio
and never change gear, there is no difference to a fixed gear bicycle except
that you can switch, whenever you want/need.

After a year of being flabbergasted at his utter rejection of Derailleur gear
cycles, and praising of fixed, I learned that an Italian friend of mine wasn't
even aware of hub gears! Him, a self proclaimed bicycle aficionado! He had
grown up close to the mountains and all bicycles sold there have Derailleur
gears. Even those that people ride in the city on the plain.

Similarly, my ex GF who was from South Australia, had never seen or heard
about a Derailleur gear bicycles until she first set foot on European soil at
the modest age of 30.

Given that, the hipster hype around fixed comes as much less a surprise.
However, knowingly ignoring hub gear bicycles in favor of fixed still borders
on imbecility to me. Kindly pardon my bluntness.

