I agree with everything above!! After reading the above article in cycling plus a few months ago i've bought a fuji track bike for #349, chucked some brakes on it and now do a daily 18 mile round trip commute. It seriously works your legs over, does 30 on the flat till your lungs burst, accelerates like a rocket and is generally seriously good fun. Buy one!

What does it do to your knees ? Specially if you already have a few problems with them ?

Casbar,

from what little I've read on going 'fixed' it would appear that the extra strain placed on knees whilst braking etc. is something to consider - especially if you have dodgy knees to begin with. The knees just weren't designed to cope with the force placed through them when braking with your legs. This can - when combined with hills, cold weather and high gears - play havoc on them. Generally though, as long as you don't spend every hour riding fixed (commuting and/or one or two short sessions per week should be fine), have a fairly low gear, avoid hilly routes and have front and rear brakes then go ahead... you can always sell the bike later on if you don't get along with it...

I highly reccomend fixed gear use. I've been an advocate for fixies for 20 years. With the time I've spent riding fixies, it's advisable to consider using the same length of crank with your fixie as you would with your road bike. I used to use my track length (165) but have found that using my normal 175 length helps me with a higher leg speed later in the season (on my road bike), though spin up's slower. Just my experience, could be different for anyone else.

Training with a fixed on the road is total and utter rubbish. If there was the faintest possible benefit contintental pros would do it - and they don't. Ever. What's so wrong with spinning the legs on the 39 ring on a normal winter bike with a double chainset?????

Fixed is an affectation. A grim reminder of a bygone age.

A guy came out of the club run on Sunday with a fixed. He was fine as the outward route didn't involve any hills. But he cut short the hiller return leg. So, yeh, go for the fixed wheel: knacker you knees, cut short your winter training rides, avoid decent hills and do something that is anti-intuitive to every decent pro on the continent.

PS don't tell me Bradley Wiggins uses one on the road. He all know how many pro road races he's won.

haha good work PADONBIKE, im also a pesimist as to all this fixie stuff, then again i haven't tried it, but, if someone gives me a fixie i would give it a go.

Personally though i ride a custom mountain bike 20km a day in Geneva, with a 700c rear wheel/19-12 custom 5 speed cassette on a 46tooth ring with two brakes. With this i hardly ever spin out, go just as fast as fixies on the flat and can turn and stop, with less warning, normally speeding up my average speed, i would imagine...

pardonbike, ever heard of time trail? fixed wheel is usually idea for TTing.

'Fixie' vs 'fixed' comments deleted. Build a bridge.

padonabike - so one bloke missed a hill out and thats why its rubbish ?

1. Its easy to maintain.

2. Its a good workout - no rest.

3. Its a different type of riding - a change is as good as a rest

4. If we all did what continental pros did - then we'd be stuffing EPO in our veins. (allegedly).

5. Boardman rode fixed in the UK - and did some fast times - OK _ i dont know how his records stack up against your own, but clearly fixed is good to race on.

6. Nice slagging of off Wiggins

7. Guy in our club is Masters WC - he's ridden fixed for years in winter - never misses a hill and is as fast as the geared guys down hill too - v smooth.

8. I dont miss hills out in winter - my fixed outclimbs my mates geared carbon bikes. But that could just be me.

Give it a go - its a real buzz - great to feel connected.

I agree that fixed riding makes you work harder, and therefore has fitness benefits, but as for developing souplesse, I think that the guy from Pez sums it up pretty well here: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=6366

You don't have to pedal smooth on a fixed, cos the bike does it for you. If you were a pedal masher when you started riding fixed, you'll be one when you get back on to a freewheel.

I have to says that the article is a bit poorly research with little knowledge on fixed wheel bicycles.

It's total personal preference. I have a fixed (52/20) and find an hours ride on it is not particularly harder than an hour on the geared, plus the average speed is so much lower on the fixed. Long hilly rides on them are just purely frustrating if you ask me. The fixed bikes are ok for a short ride to get your legs spinning quickly now and again, but other than that I don't rate them.

thiscocks - obviously if your speed is lower on the fixed then an hours ride wouldnt be harder than on the geared bike. You are taking it too easy - are you over geared ?

If you ride them hard - of course its a good work out.

Theres a good clip somewhere of Armstrong riding fixed back in Texas - he's flying too.

No if anything I'm under-geared. I loose speed on the flat and down hill compared to the geared even when pushing as hard as I can. At the end of the day it will always be a compromise riding single speed.

It's fun to ride different types of bikes.

I often ride with a group of oldsters on a Tuesday, and most of those guys rode fixed as youngsters. They say they rode fixed because that's all they had and none would go back.

Even after the advent of gears they rode fixed in the winter, but only to save their best bikes :)

They don't seem to think much of wool as a material for riding kit either :)

Maybe they're just grumpy :)

My experience of fixed is pretty much reflects the article. I was commuting on a nice audax bike with gears and doing time trials over the summer on a TT bike.

I switched to fixed for commuting to spend less time cleaning gears. Come the spring I was knocking big lumps off my PBs in the time trials.

Last year I bought a carbon track frame and set it up as a fixed TT bike, first time out I was 2 minutes faster than the previous year when I was on a very expensive TT machine.

My knees are fine.

I can understand people who view fixied with suspicion, I've met touring cyclists who think carbon fibre forks are the work of the devil.

Glad most of you liked the article, really good to get feedback and always good to spark a bit of debate.... thought I'd add my two cents worth. My main reason for riding the fixed is that I enjoy it. Hard to put my finger on exactly why but it's just really satisfying. The lack of maintenance is an absolute joy (why I also ride a single-speed mountain bike in the winter) and saves a heap of cash. I'm sure some pro's do ride fixed (have seen footage of Armstrong) or, at the least, hit the track in the winter for similar reasons. However, a lot of the issues that affect us mortals (such as bike cleaning and maintenance) are not applicable. I honestly do believe it improves my fitness and pedal stroke but concede you do have to think a bit about your route. Gearing choice is essential... I ride 48X18 and live in the Peak District but this also use to give me a good workout lapping Richmond Park. OK, I can't get up some of the really steep stuff but regularly ride over the Cat and Fiddle on it. For dodgy knees it might not be the best idea in the world but most of the strain can be removed by correct gearing, rear and front brakes and sympathetic route choice.... anyway, not for all but I love mine.

If you really wish/want, aspire to be a cyclist of any merit, then one should spend at least 12 months straight on a low -68 geared fixed wheel. Uphill, downhill, learn to do the mandatory 90 rpm consistently.It's all about pedalling, efficiently. When you have that right, then decide on size of the gear you can ride, to the best effect. Work on it. No arguments entered into. End of story.

The debate about whether or not any continental pros are using a fixed gear for training purposes is really irrelavant to whether using them for training has any benefit to riders wishing to improve their abilities. Yes, years ago, riding fixed was a normal early season endevour for most pros of the era. Today's pros are a different animal, and with much more scientific training methods at their disposal, using a fixed gear for them might not be best use of their time. But how many of us are continental pros? How many pros would post here dissing other posts? My point about fixed gear use in the early season for podunk average enthusiast riders who don't have a scientific training plan available to them is that riding fixed is very beneficial. More leg spinning in a shorter amount of time (no coasting) during limited daylight of winter, less exposure to the cold wind chill because you are going slower, and mechanical simplicity are but three of the many benefits, which for non professionals can be a better use of time. Inappropriate disapproval of an activity you don't do, or understand is commonplace on forums, and I'm sure those in the negative view voice an uninformed opinion. As many have said here, they ride fixed because they enjoy riding fixed. I recall seeing a U-tube of a certain retired, now unretired 7 time tour de france winner shown thrashing a group of fixed gear riders in Austin, Tex., aboard his fixed gear in a friendly little road rivalry. Mellow Johnny's does a huge business in fixed gear bikes because it's owner is very enthusiastic about fixed gear bikes.

I take it when you refer too fixed you mean 'singlespeed'?

Anyhow, there is a way to carry out single speed riding on a geared bike - stay in the same equivalent gear as the single speed and DONT change gear!!!!!!

Hi Spitchips...

Fixed is very different from singlespeed in that a singlespeed bike/hub still allows you to freewheel/stop pedaling. But with the fixed drivetrain, if the wheels are going round then so are your legs.

....And you get better power transfer with fixed

Good article and great comments if I can say so.

I have been riding/racing on the road for 5 years (not long, hey?) with a few good results and heard so many times from experienced riders that I will improve still by ridind a fixed and/or racing on the track - because of all the above reasons.

My next bike purchase will be a fixed gear machine of some kind... for the track and commuting. What gearing? No idea yet...

Thanks all!

AMR

The sheldon brown web site has good articles on ss and gearing help, worth checking out...

I am not sure if this is good article. It doesn't add anything new to debate on fixed gear training – more like stirring-up old 'news'. Although recently published online, it doesn't react to Josh Horowitz article on the 'Myth #1: Riding a fixed gear improves pedaling efficiency and leg speed', published online in October 2008 (http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=6366). elpapanegro is also mentioning the article in her/his post. I think people who are considering fixed gear riding for pure training purposes should also read Horowitz's article. Also here nobody really reacted to the points Horowitz made. Literature-wise I also liked Mike Kalla's 'The Way Of The Fixie' which is much more modest about alleged effects fixed gear training (http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/fixed.shtml).

Having said all these, I have to admit that I really fell in love with fixie riding. I built mine on a modest alloy track frame with fittings for brakes. I use 39/18 gear so I can climb most hills in undulating Devon. I am using Schwalbe Marathon's 700x28c (they just fit under the fork…), which means I can add a hint of cyclo-cross to my rides. It is quite nice to be much less road-lock compared to my road bike. I can very much agree with maintenance issue. It is a good feeling that I can't destroy so much expensive stuff on my fixie. I solved my problems with the knees by installing and using the front brake on the road and no 'crank braking'. Nevertheless on slippery surface there is nothing better than using the cranks/fixed hub for braking. I can also confirm that on average I am slower on my fixie (between 2-5kph on average), which comes properly down to the lack of high gears downhill and on flat bits (and maybe I am less daring with only one brake, should install the 2nd one…).

But the most important bit: It is a hell of a lot of fun. For me, an hour or 2 on the fixie is much more satisfying than on the road bike. Fixie is great if you just have little time - but it's nothing for epic rides. I need the comfort gears on longer rides – so it will be the road bike for LEL…

what is the equivalent gear on a road bike as on a fixe? surely i could just use this gear instead of having to buy a brand new bike!!??

bear baun,

you could leave it in your 39X18, but the effect is not the same. On your geared bike, if you stop pedaling, you coast. On a fixed, if you stop pedaling, you legs still spin with the cranks. The real point is, and I think the article that started this whole discussion was alluding to re-using an older bike that might be ready to scrap. If the frame and wheels are still usable, why not make it into a fixed gear (or single speed) for the sloppy winter months and save your good bike for the summer. The expense is minimal, (but can get extravagant in no time!), and getting along on a fixed gear can be a rewarding experience.

i no i sound like an idiot but what gear is 39X18? could you explain how this gear rating works? thanks

"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"

- Henri Desgrange, L'Equipe article of 1902

Agree with the article. I use fixed for most on road training during winter, rides up to 6 hours with 1000m-2000m ascent. I've got knackered knees but fixed doesnt make these worse.